1. Inquiring Minds Want to Know
Web Inquiry Projects
Inquiring Minds Want to Know
Philip Molebash
San Diego State University

2. Ways of Thinking & Acting Associated with Inquiry
Asking questions
Planning and conducting investigations
Using appropriate tools and techniques to gather data
Critical thinking about relationships between evidence and explanation
Constructing and analyzing alternative explanations
Communicating results/arguments
Understandings about scientific inquiry:
Investigations involve asking questions and comparing answers with what scientists already know about the world.
The type of questions determines the kind of investigation;
Scientist use technology to gather data and extend their senses;
Scientists develop explanations using observations (evidence) and what they already know about the world;
Scientist communicate the results of their investigations
Scientists review and ask questions about the results of other scientists work.

3. Ways of Teaching Commonly Associated with Inquiry
Science Experiments
Problem-Based Learning
Socratic Dialogue
Constructivism
WebQuests
Understandings about scientific inquiry:
Investigations involve asking questions and comparing answers with what scientists already know about the world.
The type of questions determines the kind of investigation;
Scientist use technology to gather data and extend their senses;
Scientists develop explanations using observations (evidence) and what they already know about the world;
Scientist communicate the results of their investigations
Scientists review and ask questions about the results of other scientists work.

4. Defining Inquiry
Exploratorium Institute for Inquiry (1996) developed the following definition: “Inquiry is an approach to learning that involves a process of exploring the natural or material world, that leads to asking questions and making discoveries in the search for new understandings.”

5. Coming to new understandings
Core of Inquiry
Exploring the world
Asking questions
Making discoveries
Coming to new understandings

6. The problem is…
Teachers’ and students’ understandings aren’t always correct
5 basic elements: earth, water, air, fire, and ether
Earth is at the center of the universe
The world is flat
Heavier objects fall faster
Leaves change color because it gets colder outside

7. Four Stages a Learner Must Go Through to Accept New Explanations
Dissatisfaction
Understand new explanation
New explanation must be plausible
New explanation must be fruitful
This is also true for teachers

8. Four Stages a Teacher Must Go Through to Accept New Methods
Dissatisfaction
Understand new explanation
New explanation must be plausible
New explanation must be fruitful

9. Four Stages a Teacher Must Go Through to Accept New Methods
Dissatisfaction – There’s got to be a better way
Understand new explanation
New explanation must be plausible
New explanation must be fruitful

10. Four Stages a Teacher Must Go Through to Accept New Methods
Dissatisfaction – There’s got to be a better way
Understand new explanation – This other way of teaching/learning makes sense
New explanation must be plausible
New explanation must be fruitful

11. Four Stages a Teacher Must Go Through to Accept New Methods
Dissatisfaction – There’s got to be a better way
Understand new explanation – This other way of teaching/learning makes sense
New explanation must be plausible – I believe it can be applied in my classroom
New explanation must be fruitful

12. Four Stages a Teacher Must Go Through to Accept New Methods
Dissatisfaction – There’s got to be a better way
Understand new explanation – This other way of teaching/learning makes sense
New explanation must be plausible – I believe it can be applied in my classroom
New explanation must be fruitful – I can apply this approach in other contexts

13. Why is it so important for teachers to experience inquiry?

14. What’s a teacher to do? Give yourself inquiry learning experiences
Discover the scaffolding required to be successful at providing inquiry learning environments
Opportunity to use technology appropriately
Finding information needed to solve problems
Manipulating information to solve problems

15. Spiral Path of Inquiry Reflect Report Findings/ Draw Conclusions
Ask Questions
Analyze/
Manipulate
Data
Analyze/
Manipulate
Data
Define
Procedures
Gather/
Investigate
Data
Gather/
Investigate
Data

16. Onion Layers of Scaffolding Inquiry
Habits of Mind
Strategies
Thinking
Skills

17. Scaffolding Inquiry – Developing Thinking Skills
Analyzing, comparing, contrasting, predicting, hypothesizing, making conclusions, etc.
Ask students to explain, to infer, to interpret, to transfer what they’ve learned and to predict
Listen to (and watch) students’ explanations Language of Learning (Karen Gallas)

18. Scaffolding Inquiry – Developing Strategies
Knowing when and how to apply thinking skills to solve a problem
Providing problem-based situations to students so that they can apply their acquired thinking skills
Let students’ questions drive learning

19. Scaffolding Inquiry – Developing Habits of Mind
Being inclined to put problem solving skills into action
Consistently model listening, being curious, striving for accuracy, and asking new questions based on new understandings
Desire these traits from your students (most teachers do not)

20. Levels of Inquiry Learning (Herron, 1971)
0. CONFIRMATION/VERIFICATION – confirmation of a principle through an activity with the results are known in advance.
1. STRUCTURED INQUIRY – students investigate a teacher-presented question through a prescribed procedure.
In this investigation you will confirm that the rate of a chemical reaction will increase as the temperature of the reacting materials increases. You will use the commercial antacid Alkaseltzer to verify this principle. Using the following procedure, record the results as indicated and answer the questions at the end of the activity.
2. In this investigation you will determine the relationship between temperature and reaction rate of substances. You will be using the commercial antacid Alkaseltzer and water of varying temperatures. Using the following procedure, record the results as indicated, and answer the questions at the end of the activity.

21. Levels of Inquiry Learning
2. GUIDED INQUIRY – students investigate a teacher-presented question using student-selected procedures.
3. OPEN INQUIRY – students investigate topic-related questions which are student formulated through student-selected procedures.
Design an investigation to answer the question: What effect will water temperature have on the rate at which an Alkaseltzer will react? Develop each component of the investigation including a hypothesis, precedures, data tables, appropriate graphs, and conclusion. Implement your procedure when it has been approved by your teacher.
4. Design an investigation to explore and research a chemistry topic related to the concept we have been studying. Implement your procedure when it have been approved by your teacher.

22. Levels of Inquiry Learning
Problem?
Procedure?
Solution?
Not Inquiry
No problem
Complete worksheet
Locate answers  1 – 2 3

23. The Internet to the Rescue?
WebQuests developed as an early step in answering the question: “How can Internet resources be effectively used in the classroom?”
When the WebQuest concept was created over seven years ago, there was no formal method of using the Internet to support “learners’ thinking levels of analysis, synthesis and evaluation”

24. WebQuest definition
A WebQuest is an inquiry-oriented activity in which most or all of the information used by learners is drawn from the Web
How “inquiry-oriented” is a WebQuest?

25. How Do We Scaffold in a WebQuest?
by…
Specifying the Task
Specifying roles and perspectives
Providing links and offline resources
Providing outlines, guides and templates
Guiding thinking through visual and other means
Sounds a lot like structured inquiry (Level 1)

26. Fading the WebQuest Support
TASK: Gradually allow more flexibility in how and what to produce in the task
PROCESS: Gradually provide fewer URLs and expect learners to find more
PROCESS: Gradually move scaffolding of notetaking, information organizing, writing prompts, etc. from required to implicit.
CONCLUSION: Put more resources here for learners to explore on their own later

27. WebQuests Web Inquiry Projects
1. Structured Inquiry
Remove Scaffolding
Learners’
Responsibility
Web Inquiry Projects
2. Guided Inquiry
3. Open Inquiry?

28. Web Inquiry Projects Use online uninterpreted data/information
primary sources, weather data, sports statistics, music lyrics…
used in ways that allow learners to actively pursue answers to questions that are both interesting and relevant to their required studies.
Facilitated learning plan for teachers to promote guided and open inquiry

29. Web Inquiry Projects Reflect Hook Defend Report Findings/
Draw Conclusions
Ask Questions
Focus
Tools
Analyze/
Manipulate
Data
Define
Procedures
Methodology
Resources
Gather/
Investigate
Data

30. Web Inquiry Projects

31. self-directed learners
Aiming for…
self-directed learners

32. Stages of Self-Directed Learning
1. Dependent
2. Interested
3. Involved
4. Self-Directed

33. It All Starts With the Learner
Conceptual Changes
Learners must have personal experiences confronting the inconsistencies in their theories about how the world works (Posner, Strike, Hewson & Gertzog, 1982; Watson & Konicek, 1990)
“Learning is not complete until knowledge can be applied in a problem-solving situation” (Arthur L. Costa)

34. Philip Molebash