INQUIRY

APPROCH
BACKGROUND

The inquiry approach is one of the most effective and success-guaranteed methods in
teaching science and mathematics.
It is sometimes termed discovery, scientific thinking, heuristic and problem solving.
Kuslan and Stone (1985) define inquiry teaching as a teacher and student study
scientific phenomena through the approach and the spirit of the scientists.
Inquiry teaching aims to help students seek answers to their own questions, gather
pieces of evidences and draw own conclusions and generalizations.
Employ such processes as analyzing, evaluating and synthesizing with an end in view
at discovering concepts by themselves.
The teacher provokes the students into asking questions and participate in historical
analysis.
INSTRUCTIONAL
CHARACTERISTICS

1. The inquiry approach offers a generous use of scientific processes such as

observing, comparing, measuring, predicting, inferring, communicating and
drawing generalizations. They are habitually employed during their investigations.
The development and enhancement of this skill is the primary aim of this method.
2. The answers and procedure to be followed are not known in advance to the students.
Confronted with questions and problems, they suggest ways of finding solutions. This
leads to the real meaning of discovery, thus making learning more lasting and
meaningful.
3. The students are genuinely interested and highly motivated to work either
independently or in small groups. Full and active involvement is spontaneous. A keen
sense of responsibility is exhibited.
4. During the investigation, such questions as how, why, prove, justify and other persist
which drive them to continue pursuing in order to gather adequate data and
evidences to support their conclusions and solutions.
5. Suspense and excitement occur in a highly eager classroom atmosphere especially is
modeled by an inquisitive and curious teacher.
SUGGESTIONS/RECOMMENDATIONS

1. She should help students learn how to ask questions. Her own questioning technique will serve as a
model. Some teachers who are in a hurry to finish the lesson ask endlessly what questions, resulting in
an encyclopedic presentation of terms and memorized concepts.
2. She should refrain from restricting them to the traditional step-by-step procedures, rather they must be
involved in planning their own ways of gathering data to test their own hypothesis.
3. Creativity is a value that they will be able to enhance, if she will plan procedures that are original and
new. Surprise them with interesting questions rather than the very traditional what type of inquisitions.
4. Inquiry teaching extracts tremendous demands on the teachers ability to plan learning activities that will
improve critical thinking objectivity and rationality among students. Hence, a consistent and continuous
employment of science processes as observation, experimentation and inductive and inductive and
deductive reasoning can pave the way towards developing higher-order thinking skills.
5. Above all, the teacher herself should be fully aware of her changed role as that of a guide, facilitator and
counselor rather then the usual authority who not only determines the material to be learned but also
dictates how it should be learned.
SUGGESTIONS/RECOMMENDATIO
NS

6. Exercise flexibility in judging their initial responses or else they might experience fear in pursuing
further the completion of an activity.
7. Inquiry should not be hampered by textbook-tied verifications nor by teacher directed procedures.
The teacher should serve as a guide and refrain from ordering students what they need to do.
8. The questions or problems must originate from the students themselves. Expose them to situations
that will capture their interacts and imagination such as nature around them and a rich collection of
materials suited for their age.
9. Guide them in formulating their own hypothesis, choose the likely hypothesis and plan together the
procedure to be followed in testing the hypothesis. Flexibility in implementing the procedure is a
must.
10. Provide a conductive classroom setting that will allow, among others, freedom of movement, wide
choice of appropriate tools and equipment and an adequate supply of materials for both instant and
planned experimentations. Such an atmosphere will motivate them to freely undertake the activity.
If were born to inquire,
then why must it be taught?