“We have remarked that teaching science merely as authoritative facts and dogma has had an extremely bad effect on American attitudes toward science and scientists. Such methods of teaching science divorce the conclusions of science from the data and the conceptual frames that give conclusions their meaning. As a consequence, the student often learns a lesson we never intended to teach. He learns that science is unreliable and unrelated to reality.” Biology Teachers’ Handbook, 1963

What is inquiry? There are three different perspectives in science education: 1.The teaching strategies that support student inquiry 2.The abilities of inquiry 3.The understandings of inquiry There are three different perspectives in science education: 1.The teaching strategies that support student inquiry 2.The abilities of inquiry 3.The understandings of inquiry

Some essential ideas about inquiry-based teaching  Inquiry is content.  There are many ways to teach inquiry.  There are some essential features of inquiry. (NSES)  There is a spectrum, or continuum, for each of these essential features. (NSES)  Inquiry is content.  There are many ways to teach inquiry.  There are some essential features of inquiry. (NSES)  There is a spectrum, or continuum, for each of these essential features. (NSES)

“If science is a way to ask questions about and develop explanations for phenomena in the natural world, there is no science without inquiry.” Why Does Inquiry Matter? 2006

Why should we teach inquiry?  The findings from research in the cognitive sciences are very supportive of using inquiry-based approaches in our classrooms.