Teaching Inquiry and Research
Inquiry and Research
When “inquiring minds want to know”, they will pursue it until they are satisfied with their knowledge. They may be building a racetrack for their lego cars, or laying out a garden for their backyard, designing a dress for a party. They may be wondering something about the past, or how to cope with today. Part of our job is to help students find a passion to study or follow an idea to its conclusion. The skills one gains within the research process are skills they will use every day of their lives from deciding what to wear in the morning, to determining a career path, to voting and participating as citizens in their communities.
Here are 4 key concepts in the inquiry and research process. Each plays a part in teaching skills that build upon each other and drive the research forward. Engagement begins with a question that needs answering. Research answers that question and more often than not brings out more questions, many which place that initial question into a larger context. Just what we’re after as teachers!
Teachers have many strategies at-hand that they can use to teach these skills. Below are 4 concepts for teaching with inquiry. They are only a part of a larger picture for For further explanation, please contact the SCOE librarian.