Here are two potential launching activity questions from the KWL chart and a discussion of how they could be used: Question 1: How do plants get their food? This is a fundamental question about photosynthesis that students likely have. An engaging launching activity could have students observe and compare plants that are with and without sunlight to start forming hypotheses about how plants get their food. Question 2: What are the parts of a plant and what is their function? Providing students with pictures or physical examples of plant parts and having them work to correctly identify and describe the function of roots, stems, leaves, flowers etc. This gets students interacting with examples to build their base knowledge before exploring these concepts in more depth. Disc

1. It’s implementation within the classroom
Cherine Spirou – LMC NSWDEC

2. Tell me and I forget,
show me and I
remember, involve me
and I understand.

3. Wherever there is a child there
is curiosity and where there is
curiosity there is science.

4. "Questions and inquiry make
way for innovation.
When you already have the
answer there is no longer a
reason to innovate."
Twitter: @ktenkely

5. Inquiry Based Learning – what is it?
Inquiry Based Learning is a student – centred instructional method that
is based on substantially increased student involvement in the learning
process.

6. INQUIRY
Understanding
New knowledge
Involvement Skills & Attitude

7. Definition of Inquiry
“A seeking for truth, information or knowledge – seeking
information by questioning”
“Involving the learner and leading him/her to understand”
Students become less prone to ask questions as they move through the
higher years of education.
For example: kindergarten children will ask hundreds of questions; while
students in Year 9 may ask one or two questions depending on the reason
behind it.

8. “To inquire into
specific scientific
phenomena, students
need to draw upon a
foundation of
experience”

9. What is Science Inquiry?
1) What does Science inquiry mean to you?
2) What is the difference between a traditional classroom and an Inquiry
Based classroom?
Traditional Classroom
What would the teacher be doing? What would the student be doing?
Inquiry Based Classroom
What would the teacher be doing? What would the student be doing?

10. So what’s the difference between
IBL & traditional classroom
practice?
Inquiry Based Traditional
Principle Learning Theory Constructivism Behaviourism
Student Participation Active Passive
Student involvement in Increased responsibility Decreased responsibility
outcomes
Student role Problem solver Direction follower
Curriculum goals Process oriented Product oriented
Teachers role Guide/facilitator Director/transmitter

11. Effective Inquiry
Effective inquiry is more than just asking questions.
It involves:
 A Context of questions
 A framework of questions
 A focus on questions
 Different levels of questions

12. Essential Elements of Inquiry Based Learning
1. Meanings should not be deceptive to beginners
(easy to understand)
2. Useful knowledge should be structured
(easy to map out)
3. Structured knowledge should be applicable, transferable and
accessible to a broad range of applications & students.
(easy to use and be shared easily)
4. Structured knowledge should be easily retrieved so that new
knowledge can be gained without too much effort.
(can relate to others and to further new knowledge)

13. “Students open
exploration leads to a
range of interests and
questions that lead into
deeper investigation and
understanding”

14. “Exploring ways that inquirers
collect and record first hand
data, and observe and raise
questions, make predictions, test
hypotheses and develop
understanding allows us to
formulate student patterns and
relationships”

15. Inquiry Learning – Is it happening in your
classroom?
1. Make a list of what you think regularly happens in your
science class by reflecting on a lesson you did recently.
2. What were you doing? What were your students
doing? Was it inquiry based or traditional learning?
3. Use the following table to assist you in reflecting on
your answers:

16. Question Answer Traditional or IBL
Are students exploring?
What questions were
asked?
Did students ask
questions?
What type of questions
did students ask?
Are students working
with materials?
What did you do to
facilitate student
thinking?

17. The 5 E’s Learning Cycle

18. ENGAGE!
Students need to:
 First encounter and identify the task
 Make connections between past and present learning
connections
 Need to be asked a question or to define a problem to
be engaged and focussed.

19. Students:
EXPLORE
 Have the opportunity to get directly involved
 Develop a knowledge and get experience in task
 Build a base of common experience
 Learn to share and communicate with other team
members
 Allow the inquiry process to drive the instruction
 Have the teacher as the facilitator – to provide
materials and guide their focus.

20. EXPLAIN
Students:
 Begin to learn to put the experience into a communicable
form.
 Have the teacher there to help with the language needed
to communicate and “explain” the task.

21. ELABORATE
Students:
 Expand on the concepts they have learned
 Make connections to other related concepts
 Apply their understanding to the world around them

22. EVALUATE
Students:
 Allow the teacher to determine if they have reached
understanding of concepts and knowledge.
 Give the teachers a chance to revisit any misconceptions
that student may have received from the inquiry process.

23. Starting the Inquiry Process in the
classroom.
1. How do you motivate your students when starting a topic?
2. How do you engage your students?
3. How do you assess your students’ level of understanding
of a new topic?
4. How do you know what your students want? (Using the
method KWL (What do we Know, what do we Want to
know and what have we Learnt) method for the beginning
of a topic is always an easy way)

24. Focus the Inquiry
What do we Know (K) What do we want to What have we learnt
learn (W) (L)
Once you have designed a KWL chart, you can use that to
design your investigation or start the topic.
1. Select one or two of the questions from the KWL chart
that you could use a launching activity for your class.
2. Discuss the two questions on how you would use these
questions to build upon your topic/lesson.