Inquiry in the Middle Grades Classroom

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Inquiry in the Middle Grades Classroom

• Dr. Dawn Parker
• Science Methods

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Your Science Teaching Will

• Create Scientific Literacy
• Resolve Gender and Equity Issues
• Affect Child Development
• Develop An Understanding of the World in Which We
  Live

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What is it, Really?

• What is Science?
• Why Teach Science?
• What is your image of a Scientist?

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Science as Knowledge

• Concepts
• Energy can be changed in form
• Principles
• For every action, there is an equal an opposite
  reaction
• Processes
• Inferring, Classifying, Observing

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Science as a Set of Values

• Truth
• Freedom
• Skepticism
• Order
• Originality
• Communication

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What is Inquiry?

• Scientific inquiry refers to the diverse ways
  in which scientists study the natural world and
  propose explanations based on the evidence
  derived from their work. Inquiry also refers to
  the activities of students in which they develop
  knowledge and understanding of scientific ideas,
  as well as an understanding of how scientists
  study the natural world.
• (NSE Standards)

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Examples of Inquiry Methods

• Making observations
• Posing questions
• Examining books
• Planning investigations
• Reviewing what is already known
• Using tools
• Proposing answers
• Identifying assumptions

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Inquiry Process Skills

• Observing
• Using space/time relationships
• Using numbers
• Classifying
• Measuring
• Communicating
• Predicting
• Inferring
• Controlling variables
• Interpreting data
• Formulating hypotheses
• Defining operationally
• Experimenting

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Learning Cycle Tying Together Inquiry and
Discovery

• Exploration
• Inquiry and Acquisition
• Discovery and Application