What is science inquiry learning?
Many science educators, as well as the National Science Education Standards, promote an active, student-centered format of science learning referred to as inquiry. Through a natural process of asking questions and developing the means to answer them, students are engaged in the process of science as well as the content. The inquiry process begins with the opportunity to ask a question about something the learner observes. The learner then makes predictions, develops a hypothesis, and plans and conducts an investigation to test the hypothesis. The learner collects data and analyzes it with regard to the original hypothesis. The next steps should be to examine alternative explanations, communicate results, and ask a new question raised by the findings. Students learning through inquiry: • develop their reasoning skills and increase their problem-solving ability • practice teamwork in a way increasingly needed in workplace • are motivated-they have increased ownership in the process and t
