Selected quotes on inquiry:
"Inquiry is a set of interrelated processes by which scientists and students pose questions about the natural world and investigate phenomena; in doing so, students acquire knowledge and develop a rich understanding of concepts, principles, models, and theories."
—National Research Council. National Science Education Standards. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1996.
"Newton provided a model for the development of modern science in many ways. He was the first to use the scientific method, and he was the first to show that scientific theories can develop by incorporation rather than revolution."
—Science Matters: Achieving Scientific Literacy. Bantum Books, 1991.
"Discovery, like surprise, favors the well-prepared mind."
—Bruner. The Process of Education. Harvard University Press, 1960.
"Children should be led to make their own investigations, and to draw upon their own inferences. They should be told as little as possible."
—Herbert Spencer. Education: Intellectual, Moral, and Physical. 1864.
"Asking the correct question is half the problem. Once the question is formulated there remains to be found only proof of that question. The path to the proof is then direct."
—Sir Isaac Newton (1642–1727)
Science Inquiry
Observation in Science Inquiry
Scientific observation is a skill which requires visual acuity, the careful notice of details, the ability to generate questions about the object of one's observation and often a sense of wonder or fascination. Scientific observation takes time. Observation takes place over an extended time period both during a single session and throughout a series of sessions.
As students develop their observational skills, they are able to see, hear, feel or smell more detail at a single session and become more engrossed (particularly, if they are observing live organisms) thus the sessions take longer. In addition, students are able to observe more complex systems as their skills become more sophisticated. Thus the Kindergarten student may begin by spending two minutes observing a simple inanimate object, while the high school student may need a semester to observe interactions in an ecosystem.
Levels of Skill in Observation
The student will observe a simple natural object and describe at least three characteristics of that object.
The student will observe a natural object over an extended period of time and describe at least ten characteristics. The student will generate a question about the observed object.
During a minimum of three observation sessions the student will observe a living organism and describe changes in the organism (i.e. body position, speed of movement, activity).
After observing a living organism, the student will generate a list of questions about the organism and with the guidance of the teacher, select one question that may be answered through follow-up observations, and continue on-going observation to answer their question.
The student will select two variables in a system to observe and be able to describe interactions between those variables, if any.
The student is able to observe the interactions of three variables in complex systems.
The student knows how to observe four variables in complex systems.
The student develops a method to observe abiotic factors in an ecosystem and carries out observations.
The student observes the interactions between abiotic and biotic factors in ecosystems.