There was a significant lack of scientific inquiry during my years of education in science (secondary and post-secondary); laboratory activities usually involved following predetermined steps to answer predetermined questions. However, this is rather ironic given that in actual practice scientists propose their own questions and proceed to answer those questions based on methods they determine. The practice of science is the practice of inquiry.
Inquiry-based lessons that encourage the act of investigating, questioning, creative thinking, and/or problem-solving are important for the development of higher-level thinking skills. There should be less emphasis on memorizing facts and more emphasis on providing challenging opportunities for students to learn science through exploration. I look forward to implementing inquiry-based learning into my teaching practice.
National Treasure: Black Box of Secrets
An example of inquiry-based learning (that also promoted collaborative learning) from my practicum is the Black Box activity I did with my science 10 students. In groups students took the role of scientists using the scientific method to investigate the secrets of the Black Box. The box itself was created by me using materials I found in the classroom and at home.
After conducting the demonstration (500 mL of water was poured into a funnel placed in a hole at the top of the box) students worked as a group to come up with a hypothesis that explained their observations (speed, total volume of liquid that came out, colour change, etc.), that is, what does the inside of the box actually look like. However, just like in actual practice it’s important to test your hypothesis before making any claims to it’s accuracy. As a result, I conducted the demonstration two more times in which after each demonstration new observations were made (see pictures below) and the groups were forced to modify their original hypotheses.
Initially Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3
Below are some examples of what my students came up with. I was very impressed with their level of practicality and originality.
