Inquiry Science for Secondary Teachers

Discussions about teacher strategies that move students deeper into inquiry learning.

How teachers deepen learning in secondary science focusing on developing the inquiry skills of students is the focus of this discussion area. For deeper understanding of developing student inquiry skills please participate in the Inquiry Science area in the Teaching Practice section of our community.

You must login or register in order to post into this group.

What barriers do you see when implementing inquiry methods in the classroom?

by Karl Forest on Mon, 08/02/2010 - 1:52pm
Karl Forest's picture

What barriers have you encountered or predict when implementing inquiry-oriented approaches? Are there blockages or constraints that must be addressed to better ensure success? 

What types of questioning strategies can the teacher use to elicit higher-level discussions?

by Karl Forest on Mon, 08/02/2010 - 12:39pm
Karl Forest's picture

What kinds of questions can you ask to facilitate an inquiry discussion? What factors are important to consider when developing questioning skills with students? Are there good examples of effective questions that foster inquiry?

How do you increase motivation and balance equity in the inquiry-based classroom?

by Karl Forest on Mon, 08/02/2010 - 12:36pm
Karl Forest's picture

How can teachers keep all students involved in an inquiry classroom? What design and instructional factors are critical to full engagement and the development of questioning and analysis skills during classroom activities? How can we facilitate students to develop their own questioning strategies?

How do you describe Inquiry vs "Hands on" science teaching?

by Karl Forest on Mon, 08/02/2010 - 12:32pm
Karl Forest's picture

How is inquiry science teaching different than "hands-on" science teaching? When are both beneficial in instruction? Does one lead to deeper learning than the other? If so, in what ways?

What are some starter ideas for beginning to develop inquiry lessons?

by Karl Forest on Mon, 08/02/2010 - 12:28pm
Karl Forest's picture

When beginning to create inquiry lessons, what strategies are used when preparing to move to this deeper learning? How are you thinking you can begin to build techniques of inquiry into your existing lessons? What needs to change?

How will you analyze your "Inquiry Skill Set?"

by Karl Forest on Mon, 08/02/2010 - 12:04pm
Karl Forest's picture

How might you use the inquiry continuum to reflect on your teaching practice? Any ideas on how you might use it with your students? How can teachers and students analyze skills in order to identify areas on which you want to focus for improvement to teaching and learning?