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Jeff -
I teach this to grad students. Here are excepts from my lecture notes 
and some of the links I give them:


What is "inquiry" in education?
Inquiry is a multifaceted activity that involves:
- making observations;
- posing questions;
- examining books and other sources of information to see what is 
already known;
- planning investigations;
- reviewing what is already known in light of experimental evidence;
- using tools to gather, analyze, and interpret data;
- proposing answers, explanations, and predictions; and
- communicating the results.

Inquiry requires identification of assumptions, use of critical and 
logical thinking, and consideration of alternative explanations.

Developing the ability to understand and engage in this kind of activity 
requires direct experience and continued practice with the processes of 
inquiry. Students do not come to understand inquiry simply by learning 
definitions for words such as "hypothesis" and "inference" or by 
memorizing procedures such as the steps of the scientific method. They 
must experience inquiry directly to gain a useful understanding of its 
characteristics.

Yet experience in itself is not sufficient. Experience and understanding 
must go together. Teachers need to introduce students to the fundamental 
elements of inquiry. They must also assist students to reflect on the 
characteristics of the processes in which they are engaged.

Here is the best online (credit bearing, btw), tutorial I have found. It 
has its own links and references:
http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/inquiry/index.html
This will provide you with a good global understanding of Inquiry-based 
learning. One thing you may note after completing the tutorial is that 
whatever your subject area, inquiry-based learning is applicable.

In the workshop on inquiry-based learning we discussed that inquiry is 
the natural way we find out things about our environment and our 
relationship to it; that through training, experts can get much more out 
of inquiry than novices; and that knowledge in a society can also 
evolve. Inquiry-Based Learning systems are open systems which use 
resources beyond the local learning environment. Constructivism fits 
nicely into the Inquiry-Based Learning paradigm, because subsumed in the 
notion of "inquiry" is the pursuit and/or evolution of knowledge within 
the self (or if collaboratively, within the individuals of the group). 
As is obvious from looking at the Venn diagram in Orey, both Project and 
Problem-based learning are learner directed and Constructivist in 
nature. They also lend themselves to the use of technology and feed into 
the scientific approach (but can be applied to any discipline). They can 
be seen as variants of the Inquiry-Based approach.

For a tutorial on Problem-Based Learning, go to:
http://www2.imsa.edu/programs/pbln/tutorials/
Then go to the Instructional Module for Project-Based Learning here:
http://www.edutopia.org/modules/PBL/index.php
So how do these approaches come together in MST classrooms? This site 
sums it up.
http://eduscapes.com/tap/topic43.htm

The last topic for this week is "critical thinking," which is the basis 
for analytical thinking and the ability to provide depth to inquiry. 
Critical thinking is essential for inquiry-based learning. Information 
for this part of the lecture is taken directly from 
http://www.criticalthinking.org/


What is Critical Thinking?

The Problem:
Everyone thinks; it is our nature to do so. But much of our thinking, 
left to itself, is biased, distorted, partial, uninformed, or downright 
prejudiced. Yet the quality of our life and that of what we produce, 
make, or build depends precisely on the quality of our thought. Shoddy 
thinking is costly, both in money and in quality of life. Excellence in 
thought, however, must be systematically cultivated.

A Definition:
Critical thinking is that mode of thinking-about any subject, content, 
or problem, in which the thinker improves the quality of his or her 
thinking by skillfully analyzing, assessing, and reconstructing it. 
Critical thinking is self-directed, self-disciplined, self-monitored, 
and self-corrective thinking. It presupposes assent to rigorous 
standards of excellence and mindful command of their use. It entails 
effective communication and problem-solving abilities, as well as a 
commitment to overcome our native egocentrism and sociocentrism.

To Analyze Thinking:
Identify its purpose, question, information, conclusion(s), assumptions, 
implications, main concept(s), and point of view.

To Assess Thinking:
Check it for clarity, accuracy, precision, relevance, depth, breadth, 
significance, logic, and fairness.

The Result:
A well-cultivated critical thinker:
- Raises vital questions and problems, formulating them clearly and 
precisely;
- Gathers and assesses relevant information, using abstract ideas to 
interpret it effectively;
- Comes to well-reasoned conclusions and solutions, testing them against 
relevant criteria and standards;
- Thinks openmindedly within alternative systems of thought, recognizing 
and assessing, as need be, their assumptions, implications, and 
practical consequences; and
- Communicates effectively with others in figuring out solutions to 
complex problems.

One of the difficulties with getting students to think critically is the 
effect of language and meaning. Words mean different things to different 
people (according to Piaget's constructivist doctrine). Piaget indicates 
that children will construct their own knowledge from experience. 
Levi-Strauss extends this idea into the manipulation of objects and 
ideas (bricolage). This means that we need to be critical of language 
and, yes, even for children to realize that, how they come to know 
something (epistemologically, not memorization-wise) depends on how we 
talk about it. The critical thinking folks use the Socratic Questioning 
Method to overcome the limitations of language and specifically, be 
systematically critical of it.
There is an excellent introduction to Socratic Questioning in: R. Paul, 
Critical Thinking: What Every Person Needs to Survive in a Rapidly 
Changing World. Rohnert Park, CA: Center for Critical Thinking and Moral 
Critique, 1990.

I hope its useful.

- Steve


Jeff Rosenblatt wrote:
> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
> *****************************************************************************
>
> Hello all,
>
>  
>
> I am looking for recent journal articles/studies about the subject of
> Inquiry Based Learning.
>
>  
>
> I know many of you have shared insight on this subject before....but
> please, share again.  Thanks for any intellectual edification.
>
>  
>
> --Jeff--
>
>  
>
> Jeff Rosenblatt
>
> Education Manager for Physical Sciences
>
> Science City at Union Station
>
> phone:  816-460-2218
>
> email:  [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]> 
>
>  
>
>
> ***********************************************************************
> For information about the Association of Science-Technology Centers and the Informal Science Education Network please visit www.astc.org.
>
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-- 
Stephen Miles Uzzo, Ph.D.
New York Hall of Science
47-01 111th Street
Flushing Meadows Corona Park
New York 11368     U.S.A.
v. +1.718.699.0005 x377
f. +1.718.699.1341
http://www.nyscience.org

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