ongoing inquiry for younger children

teachers can use student's interest and can provide focused questions that engage in observations and direct students to a problem that they can solve. The activity described in this article... See More

teachers can use student's interest and can provide focused questions that engage in observations and direct students to a problem that they can solve. The activity described in this article addresses the size of drops of water and can lead to an understanding of different states of matter. Author gave idea of how inquiry could be used for younger children in everyday class.

Inquiry

Some teachers will design science activities including measurement and require students to document their writing. These kinds of activities seem interesting and professional for students. B... See More

Some teachers will design science activities including measurement and require students to document their writing. These kinds of activities seem interesting and professional for students. But it may fail to “promote the deep thinking that leads to understanding of concepts” (Ashbrook, 2011). The results can be improved if teachers decide to use an ongoing inquiry. Teachers do not need to prepare new materials every week to maintain children’s curiosity. The new challenge which adds some new items, such as new topics, can make students engaged in learning science. Furthermore, hands-on experiences help students practice using their knowledge to discover science. Then, a mind-stretching discussion should not be ignored. Students will pose questions and seek answers with the guidance of teachers. To support their investigation, teachers can show interest and ask questions such as “What do you notice about…?” to their ideas. In addition, reading some relevant books can be useful. Therefore, students will be able to deepen their thinking on the relationship between the information from textbooks and their investigation. As teachers, it does not mean that we know everything and we should be glad to learn from our students. Do not “be embarrassed to be a beginner” (Ashbrook, 2011). All that we do is to help students find great ways of learning science and stimulate their further exploration.