Thoughts on Inquiry

In my undergraduate experience at Penn State, I remember there being a very strong emphasis on inquiry.  It was a big buzzword for a while there in education, at least for the subject of science.  What stood out to me at the time was the authentic approach it encouraged in terms of kids asking questions and following their own line of inquiry, but all the while using evidence to inform their explorations of the natural world.  To me, this is the heart of the scientific enterprise.  And in my own classroom, I continually come back to the importance of the E word: evidence.  How do we know what we know?  It's an exercise in reasoning, and using logic to analyze the world around us.  Not only that, but this approach allows students to work through their confusion and frustration to reveal new, deeper questions in an ongoing attempt to get a firmer grasp on reality.

What I have learned through this first unit is how this same basic model can apply to all sorts of disciplines other than science.  In "Inquiry-Based Teaching: The Inquiry Approach", it was enlightening to hear history and math teachers discussing their own ideas about inquiry and how it can be used to address all sorts of topics for students coming from diverse backgrounds.  It's not just about the scientific method; it's more of a general outlook on social discourse that offers students the opportunity to engage in discussion and back up their own points of view without having to worry about getting the "wrong answer".  And this is what real life is like.  There often isn't a right or wrong answer to real questions students will encounter in the real world, and life isn't neatly divided or compartmentalized into distinct subjects.  

My own teaching style is informed by this realization in that I try not to teach science in isolation.  It's always important to step back and analyze the bigger picture.  The classic question, "Why do we need to know this?" is becoming more and more important as we prepare students for an uncertain future, and to enter into an uncertain workforce in which globalization is changing the entire landscape around us.  Many (most?) of our students will eventually have jobs that don't yet exist, and the inquiry model is a way to foster the critical thinking skills and resilience necessary to succeed in the 21st century.  Helping our students to become informed citizens capable of making wise decisions should really be the ultimate endgame for educators, no matter what subject they teach (although I'm still partial to science!).

A couple questions I still have at this point:  What sorts of research has been done on using inquiry effectively with modern edtech tools?  I use a lot of computer simulations like the "Gizmos" found on ExploreLearning.  Sometimes, we don't have all the materials or time to do the real experiment.  Are these types of web interactives just as effective as doing the real experiment?