Inquiry
is
central
to
science
learning.
When
engaging
in
inquiry,
students
describe
objects
and
events,
ask
questions,
construct
explanations,
test
those
explanations
against
current
scientific
knowledge,
and
communicate
their
ideas
to
others.
They
identify
their
assumptions,
use
critical
and
logical
thinking,
and
consider
alternative
explanations.
In
this
way,
students
actively
develop
their
understanding
of
science
by
combining
scientific
knowledge
with
reasoning
and
thinking
skills.
--National
Science
Education
Standards
As
we
grow
up,
we
all
develop
everyday,
common-sense
views
of
the
world.
These
ideas
may
get
us
through
the
day
and
help
us
make
sense
of
what
we
see
and
experience
on
a
practical
level,
but
they
aren't
necessarily
in
concert
with
the
current
scientific
view
of
the
world.
The
earth,
for
instance,
looks
flat
from
our
perspective;
the
sun
appears
to
move
across
the
sky.
There's
no
real
reason
to
think
otherwise--unless
we're
helped
to
see
and
understand
it
differently.
Children
need
to
develop
a
scientific
view
of
the
world,
and
to
really
understand
the
meaning
of
scientific
concepts.
One
critical
aspect
of
science
education
is
to
help
children
develop
the
skills
they
need
to
think
like
scientists
in
their
pursuit
of
understanding.
Children
need
to
be
nurtured
to
fully
develop
their
abilities
to
become
real
thinkers--to
puzzle
through
problems,
to
see
multiple
ways
of
finding
solutions,
to
gather
and
weigh
evidence,
and
to
apply
and
test
scientific
ideas.
They
need
opportunities
to
experience
the
joy
of
discovery
and
develop
scientific
attitudes
such
as
perseverance,
risk
taking,
curiosity,
and
inventiveness.
These
skills
of
inquiry
can
ultimately
equip
children
with
the
ability
to
function
effectively
as
adults,
both
at
work
and
in
the
everyday
world.
What
is
inquiry?
Inquiry
is
an
approach
to
learning
that
involves
a
process
of
exploring
the
natural
or
material
world,
and
that
leads
to
asking
questions,
making
discoveries,
and
rigorously
testing
those
discoveries
in
the
search
for
new
understanding.
Inquiry,
as
it
relates
to
science
education,
should
mirror
as
closely
as
possible
the
enterprise
of
doing
real
science.
The
inquiry
process
is
driven
by
one's
own
curiosity,
wonder,
interest,
or
passion
to
understand
an
observation
or
solve
a
problem.
The
process
begins
when
the
learner
notices
something
that
intrigues,
surprises,
or
stimulates
a
question--something
that
is
new,
or
something
that
may
not
make
sense
in
relationship
to
the
learner's
previous
experience
or
current
understanding.
The
next
step
is
to
take
action--through
continued
observing,
raising
questions,
making
predictions,
testing
hypotheses,
and
creating
theories
and
conceptual
models.
The
learner
must
find
his
or
her
own
pathway
through
this
process.
It
is
rarely
a
linear
progression,
but
rather
more
of
a
back-and-forth,
or
cyclical,
series
of
events.
As
the
process
unfolds,
more
observations
and
questions
emerge,
giving
occasion
for
deeper
interaction
with
the
phenomena--and
greater
potential
for
further
development
of
understanding.
Along
the
way,
the
inquirer
collects
and
records
data,
makes
representations
of
results
and
explanations,
and
draws
upon
other
resources
such
as
books,
videos,
and
the
expertise
or
insights
of
others.
Making
meaning
from
the
experience
requires
reflection,
conversations,
comparisons
of
findings
with
others,
interpretation
of
data
and
observations,
and
the
application
of
new
conceptions
to
other
contexts.
All
of
this
serves
to
help
the
learner
construct
a
new
mental
framework
of
the
world.
Good
science
education
requires
both
learning
scientific
concepts
and
developing
scientific
thinking
skills.
Effective
classrooms
rely
on
many
different
ways
of
teaching
science.
This
book
is
devoted
to
one
approach,
inquiry
learning,
which
has
proven
to
be
a
powerful
tool
in
learning
science
and
in
keeping
wonder
and
curiosity
alive
in
the
classroom.
©Exploratorium