When Wondering Turns into Learning:

Inquiry Based Science Education in our 5^th Grade Classroom

by Rebecca Cummings

January 2010

I need to preface this project description by saying that when I began this work with the science grant at Rivier College three years ago I had no idea that the art of teaching through inquiry would feel so comfortable and seep into all subject areas in my classroom. Not only was it comfortable for me, a student of Piaget’s philosophy when I was an undergraduate at Tufts University, but the students themselves were instantly hooked and empowered. “This is so much fun!” they would say. After a few months I began asking them questions instead of telling them answers, facilitating their inquiry in Math, Literature Groups, Social Studies, and Science. We became a team instead of a dictatorship with languid followers infused with meaningless memorization. As a new teacher it felt comfortable to be able to confess that I do not always know the answers and we would then try to find them out together. One of the most rewarding aspects was to see students with special needs take off as the barriers of their educational constraints were torn down and they could explore along with the rest of the class. Their insights were often highlighted as questions worthy of pursuing. I was able to take my life skills, my long and drawn out education, even my experiences as a mother, copywriter, business manager, gardener, and coach and apply them to my teaching. I hope that the positive results will be as apparent to you, the reader, as they are to me in the classroom on a daily basis.

The philosophy behind inquiry is simple: allow students a chance to wonder about a topic, generate their own questions first before they even open a textbook. This phase is called “Exploration.” As a teacher I enjoy this the most because I find I can creatively present a general question or materials that prompt their exploration. It becomes a collaboration at times as I group the students and allow their discussions to feed the interest. After this takes place I facilitate a class discussion when we collect all the comments and questions and categorize them into three groups: 1. Questions we can investigate 2. Questions we can research and 3. Questions that may be too difficult for us to answer. We are now ready to enter the next phase: “Data Collection/Research.”

When this phase begins the students are hooked. As a class we have generated a specific question to investigate. As a facilitator I have made sure that this relates to the GSEs, the curriculum for the unit. Once the investigation gets under way we use the text to perform research. The vocabulary is especially key to this process. I tell them that as scientists we need a specific language that ties all our learning together. Before we look up the meanings of these, however, I have them get into groups and discuss their own definitions of the word list. This is yet one more way I help them to attach meaning to what I want them to learn. By the time we get to the book they are often so curious that they welcome the labels they can now give to what they have been discussing all along. The lessons in the book are the reading and research we do to help understand the investigations. The students often question the results based on the research/reading and then can change the investigation if they want to.

The data collection in this phase takes place throughout the process. It is so rewarding to watch the growth of their drawings, writings, observations, graphs, etc. over time. I have found that when they start in the fall they are full of ideas but have no idea how to convey them to me or their classmates. By using science notebooks and journals they are able to see their own growth and the development of what becomes their personal project: their learning. As a teacher I depend on this phase for assessment as well. Once again, I do not forego the standard assessments of the textbook quizzes and benchmark tests, but the science journals and reflection papers give me a more concrete method of assessment. They show me the progress in a big picture format. Once the final phase takes place, “Sense Making,” the conclusions are discussed and the findings from the class data are merged into meaningful maps that come full circle which, hopefully, answer the initial question. I have found that these discussions are more of a celebration than a deliberation. Even the most doubtful students at the beginning phase are now equal contributors to the process. Everyone learns, especially the teacher. I learn more about my students through inquiry then I would ever do during a more traditional approach. Not only do I get a thorough understanding of their background knowledge, but I help them to discover their own abilities as scientists and thinkers. I help them label their learning.