The Inquiry Training Model was designed by Richard Suchman to teach students to engage in causal reasoning and become more proficient in asking questions, developing hypotheses, and testing them through interaction with teachers and peers. The model aims to help students develop intellectual discipline and inquiry skills by having them raise questions and search for answers related to problems or puzzles. Key elements include confronting students with problems, gathering data through verification and experimentation, and encouraging interaction as students develop and test hypotheses.

1. Dr. Manju Gehlawat
Assistant Professor
C. R. College of Education,
Rohtak
INQUIRY TRAINING MODEL

2. INQUIRY TRAINING MODEL
This model was designed by Richard Suchman to teach students
to engage in casual reasoning and to become more fluent and
precise in asking questions, building concepts and hypotheses, and
testing them. Inquiry learning provides opportunities for students to
experience and acquire processes through which they can gather
information about the world.
It belongs to the information processing family of teaching
models.
This requires a high level of interaction among the learner, the
teacher, area of study, available resources, and the learning
environment, students become actively involved in the learning
process as they:
• Act upon their curiosity and interests;
• Develop questions;
• Think their way through controversies or dilemmas;
• Look at problems analytically;
• Inquire into their preconceptions and what they already know;
Develop, clarify and test hypotheses;
• Draw inferences and generate possible solutions.

3. ASSUMPTIONS OF THE
MODEL
• All knowledge is tentative;
• Most of the problems are amenable to several equally
plausible explanations. There is no one particular
answer to a problem;
• Inquiry is natural. All of us often inquire when
confronted with a problematic situation or puzzle;
• An individual can be made amenable to the process of
inquiry. He can be made to learn to analyze his
thinking strategies;
• In addition to what is already known to an individual,
he may be taught the new strategies to enquire and
explore things;
• The inquiry process is a co-operative effort. It is always

4. OBJECTIVES OF THE MODEL
• To develop the scientific process skills;
• To develop among students the strategies for creative
inquiry;
• To develop among students independence or autonomy in
learning;
• To develop among students the ability to tolerate ambiguity;
• To make students understand the tentative nature of
knowledge; and
• To develop the spirit of creativity among students.
ELEMENTS OF INQUIRY TRAINING MODEL
1. Focus: The goal of this model is to help students develop
the intellectual discipline and skills necessary to raise
questions and search out answers streaming from their
curiosity;
2. Syntax: the Inquiry Training Model has five phases-
 Phase 1 Confrontation with the problem
 Phase 2 Data Gathering (Verification)
 Phase 3 Data Gathering (Experimentation)

5. 3. Social System: Inquiry Training model provides high
weight to the controlling of social system. Teacher and
students, however participate as equals where
exchange of ideas is concerned;
4. Principles of Reaction: It involves the following:
• Ensuring that questions are phrased so that they can
be answered in ‘Yes’ or ‘No’;
• Asking students to rephrase invalid questions;
• Neither approving nor rejecting student theories
(hypotheses);
• Pressing students for clearer statements of theories
and more support for generalizations;
• Encouraging interaction among students.

6. 5. Support System: A set of confronting materials and
resource materials bearing on the problem for inquiry
are needed. Sometimes the materials are not
available. Teachers will have to develop such
materials;
6. Application/Nurturant Effects: This model was
developed for natural sciences to start with, but its
procedures can be used in all subject areas. Any event
topic from a curriculum area, which can be converted
into a problem situation, can be selected for inquiry
training.

7. ADVANTAGES OF INQUIRY TRAINING MODEL
• It develops the scientific process skills;
• It develops among students the strategies for creative
inquiry;
• It develops among students independence or autonomy in
learning;
• It develops among students the ability to tolerate ambiguity;
• It make students understand the tentative nature of
knowledge; and
• It develops the spirit of creativity among students.
LIMITATIONS OF INQUIRY TRAINING MODEL
• This model does not help in teaching primary content or
subject matter, for example, ne concepts and formula;
• If the information about the puzzle is not presented in the
form of a problem requiring explanation, the student cannot
effectively arrive at generalization through inquiry. In such
cases simulation may be more useful;

8. CONCLUSION
The Inquiry Training model promotes the processing
skills which are helpful for inquiring. The process skills
therefore include the observing, collecting and
organizing data, identifying the variables in a situation,
formulating hypothesis based on cause-effect
relationship, experimenting or otherwise listing the
hypothesis, inferring and drawing conclusions.
REFRENCES
• https://physicscatalyst.com/graduation/inquiry-training-
model/
• Joyce, B. Weil, & Calhoun, E. (2009). Models of
Teaching and Learning. 8th ed. Boston: Allyn and
Bacon.