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We've veered off a bit from podcasting...

Anyhoo, David said (about what Mat said)...

========
I disagree with the implied equivalence of inquiry and interactive in
this statement.  A non-interactive event such as a lecture (or podcast)
can, in the right circumstances, lead to inquiry learning (by which I
mean learning that is motivated by the need to answer a question and
that is based on the collection and analysis of data - see the essential
features of inquiry discussed in the National Science Education
Standards, etc.)  The problem is that a lecture can only lead to inquiry
learning if I bring to it the question it was designed to answer, if I
am at the level of pre-existing understanding for which the lecture was
designed, and if it presents data for my analysis (as opposed to
preformed conclusions presented as factoids).  
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But on the subject of inquiry... does the question necessarily have be
brought to the table ahead of time? Could one go to a non-interactive
lecture (or, more likely to the point for most science centers, a
demonstration) with no questions in mind, but have the lecture/demo create
those questions, thus catalyzing the inquiry?

And is the level of pre-existing understanding necessarily a deal-breaker?
After all, couldn't the lecture/demo lead to new understanding (and then on
to further inquiry)?

And for that matter, couldn't this take place considerably down the line?
For example, say I do an inertia demo for an audience that includes first
graders. They may not (probably not!) grok Newton's first law, certainly not
in its entirety... but when they encounter this law again in the future,
they may be able to successfully relate it to "that one time when I saw this
science doofus* do this thing with dishes and a tablecloth." [*Remember -
they're talking about yours truly.] This could spur on further
understanding, via inquiry, or some other method, in fact.

Jonah Cohen
Outreach & Public Programs Manager
Science Center of Connecticut
Science Doofus

"There's more than one way to skin a cat - and I happen to know that's
literally true!"
	-Richard Wilkins III

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