The 5 phases of inquiry - University of Washington



“Doing science” in the classroom

How is inquiry defined? – very broadly.

Inquiry is a multifaceted activity that involves making observations; posing questions; examining books and other sources of information to see what is already known; planning investigations; reviewing what is already known in light of experimental evidence; using tools to gather, analyze, and interpret data; proposing answers, explanations and predictions; and communicating the results. Inquiry requires identification of assumptions, use of critical and logical thinking, and consideration of alternative explanations. (p. 23 of the National Science Education Standards)

Structuring our own thinking about the planning process: The 5 interrelated phases of inquiry

1. Hooking students & building a knowledge base to prepare for inquiry

2. Crafting questions, hypotheses, predictions & initial models

3. Designing and conducting the investigation

4. Analyzing data and representing it as evidence

5. Reconsidering the model, coordinating evidence and theory

We will take a disciplined approach to understanding each of these phases of inquiry. Although they are intimately connected with one another, we can consider each of the phases one by one.

For each of the phases, we will ask 5 questions:

• How does this phase fit into the overall context of the inquiry process?

• What are typical actions that teachers and students would undertake in this phase?

• For students, what knowledge and skills are necessary in this phase?

• How can teachers scaffold the student activities in this phase?

• How can the teacher assess student understandings and skills in this phase?

This guide meant to provide suggestions for thinking about each phase. Not all strategies suggested are needed to conduct a successful inquiry experience with your students. For each phase blank spots are left for you to add ideas…

Model-Based Scientific Inquiry

The diagram shows how the phases of inquiry are interdependent and iterative.

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A note on scaffolding scientific inquiry

Vygotsky suggested that we not measure what a child can do by his or herself but rather what he or she can do with the help of others. Our role as educators is to actively guide students as they experience science. Scaffolding is a term that collectively describes the types of guidance teachers or more capable peers provide. These social interactions and collaborations are critical to help students actively build ideas about him or herself and about science. The idea is that through the use of scaffolding teachers can, over time, provide an appropriate amount of challenge, promote self-regulation, and grant the student more responsibility for learning and mastering science. In this way, scaffolding requires teachers’ attention to social, emotional, and cognitive elements of the student and his or her environment.

This guide outlines types of scaffolding that correspond with each inquiry phase. Through scaffolding it is our hope that students learn about the nature of science, about how to do science, about science, and about science in relation to their lives.

Phase 1. Hooking students & building a knowledge base

|How does this phase fit into the |To help make inquiry content-rich, versus content-lean, the experience needs to be rooted in content |

|overall context of the inquiry |related to physical, chemical, or natural phenomena. In this way inquiry can help students learn through |

|process? |model-building. |

|What are the typical actions that |Students |

|teachers and students undertake in|Write questions that are relevant |

|this phase? |Provide examples, make a diagrams |

| |Identify vocabulary OR describe processes in own terms |

| |Create analogies |

| |Read |

| |Identify relevant information |

| |Journal writing |

| |Concept mapping |

| | |

| | |

| |Teacher |

| |Survey class’ prior knowledge, instincts, feelings about the topic |

| |Create opportunities for class discussion |

| |Emphasize processes not vocabulary |

| |Clarify vocabulary |

| |Give students guiding questions |

| |Provide questions that push students to think beyond reading |

| |May provide direct instruction for basic content knowledge |

| |May provide common experiences for students to start thinking about scientific phenomena (i.e. field trips)|

| | |

| |Model ways to organizing class information and new information ( representing knowledge and looking for |

| |gaps in information |

| | |

| | |

|For students, what knowledge and |Organizing thinking & research |

|skills are necessary in this |Defining key terms |

|phase? |Know what resources are available |

| |Where to look for existing information |

| |Distinguishing & evaluating sources |

| |Comparing & contrasting sources |

| |Reading comprehension and metacognition skills |

| |Methods of science thought & argumentation |

| |Know appropriate tools for research and how to use them |

| |Draw connections from previous experiences |

| |Understand microscopic and macroscopic content levels |

| |Ideas about how scientists work together |

| |Ideas about how historically thoughts have changed in science |

| |How to contact experts |

| |Motivation to learn |

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| | |

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|How can teachers scaffold the |Start with students’ prior knowledge & experiences |

|student activities in this phase? |Survey class’ prior knowledge, instincts, feelings about the topic (KWL charts) |

| |Draw connections from previous experiences |

| |Engage students in brainstorming about a topic |

| | |

| | |

| |Organize new information and distinguish what is important |

| |Model ways to organizing class information and new information (make a diagram or a concept map) |

| |Help students focus on science processes not vocabulary |

| |Provide guiding content questions that can help the students conduct background research |

| | |

| | |

| |Link students’ knowledge to Models |

| |In small groups have students consolidate knowledge, make posters and explain to class (class can begin to |

| |create a unified model if doing similar inquiry projects) |

| |Model ways to represent knowledge (create an analogy or a skit) |

| |Draw a preliminary model |

| |Encourage students to look for gaps in information, revise model |

| |Ask questions about the topic from the microscopic to macroscopic levels, revise model |

| | |

| | |

| |Make processes explicit |

| |Make explicit ideas about how scientists work together to build background knowledge |

| |Make explicit ideas about how scientific thoughts have changed in over time |

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|How can the teacher assess student|Ask questions that have to do with processes or popular science |

|understandings and skills in this |Pre instruction quiz & post (assess prior knowledge) |

|phase? |Eliciting ideas (formative evaluation) |

| |Create a debate- stress taking sides and looking for holes in their thinking |

| |In small groups have students consolidate knowledge |

| |Journal writing |

| |Make posters and explain to class |

| |Multiple choice class test |

| |Use what they know to ask questions |

| |Free-write & pictures |

| |KWL |

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Phase 2. Crafting questions, hypotheses, predictions & initial models

|How does this phase fit into the |Crafting scientific questions for research depends on the previous phase and also provides a guide to |

|overall context of the inquiry |research. This phase also encourages student ownership of ideas related to the research. |

|process? | |

|What are the typical actions that |Students |

|teachers and students undertake in|Creating questions that are personally relevant and interesting to the students |

|this phase? |Coming up with questions that are actually testable and solvable & practical |

| |Coming up with questions that have to do with learning science content |

| |Brainstorming about a topic |

| |Critically looking at background knowledge, initial understandings, or models |

| |Finding holes in previous knowledge |

| |Identifying assumptions |

| |Discussing possible outcomes of an experiment |

| | |

| | |

| |Teacher |

| |Survey class’ prior knowledge about writing questions |

| |Create opportunities for class discussion about types of questions, variables, controls, writing |

| |hypotheses, & making predictions |

| |Move students from wonderment to experimental questions |

| |Provide questions that push students to ask questions beyond reading & beyond simple comparisons |

| |Guide hypothesis writing (i.e. show students how to use “if-then” statements |

| |Model ways to develop initial models, represent knowledge and look for gaps in information |

| | |

|For students, what knowledge and |Know that questions drive scientific inquir |

|skills are necessary in this |Know what a solvable question is |

|phase? |Know what constitutes assumptions & different types of assumptions |

| |Understand the historical context of the scientific question- past trends in research and gaps in |

| |understandings |

| |Know what sort of question is good for inquiry |

| |Operationalize & measure variables |

| |Use variables in questions & models |

| |Types of models |

| |Identifying controls & incorporating controls into models |

| |Use part of the model to develop & justify a question |

| |Determine the scientific scope of a question- macroscopic/microscopic focus |

| | |

| | |

|How can teachers scaffold the |Distinguish scientific questions & create a common language |

|student activities in this phase? |Provide questions that are personally relevant and interesting to the students as a starting place for |

| |helping students think about different types of questions |

| |Create a table of questions and have students identify various types of questions in relation to different |

| |types of scientific studies: descriptive, correlational and experimental studies |

| |Assist students in devising questions that are actually testable, solvable & practical—explicitly define |

| |the differences among various types of questions (basic information, wonderment, co-variation questions) |

| |and provide criteria for “testable, solvable & practical” Ask: Could this question be answered by |

| |collecting data? What words/phrases do I need to clarify (operationalize)? |

| |Have all students generate wonderment questions and then develop them into testable questions as a class |

|How can teachers scaffold the |Model the question writing process & make it visible to students in initial experiments |

|student activities in this phase? |Have students practice evaluating their own questions or revising each others’ questions based on criteria |

|cont. |provided |

| |Provide examples from real research- have students analyze the types of questions that were asked and the |

| |types of hypotheses tested |

| |Have students create new questions and hypotheses from results of an experiment (either from the literature|

| |or from a previous experiment in the classroom) |

| | |

| | |

| |Link students’ knowledge to models |

| |Help students see how their questions relate to their initial models |

| |Help students understand how their questions link to science content |

| |Encourage students to be cognizant when they alter their questions and hypotheses- Have them discuss this |

| |question: How did knowing background information or thinking about experimental outcomes influence their |

| |questions? |

| | |

| | |

| |Break down hypothesis writing |

| |Lead brainstorming sessions about alternative hypotheses (other explanations for the same phenomenon) and |

| |all possible outcomes |

| |Use if-then statements to help students structure hypotheses (following an if statement should be a |

| |description relating to a central model) |

| |Help students state the assumptions that are in their initial model and how these influence their |

| |hypotheses |

| | |

| | |

| |Make processes explicit |

| |Include discussions about: Good questions and hypotheses are not just present at the start or the |

| |completion of a study, several related questions are raised and hypotheses devised during the process. In |

| |fact asking good questions is characteristic of inquiry across disciplines. Moreover it encourages critical|

| |thinking when reading, regardless of content. |

| |Help students think about the whole process, beyond just writing questions. Ask: What kinds of things would|

| |we need to measure in order to answer the question? How would you go about collecting data? Then revise |

| |questions. |

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| | |

|How can the teacher assess student|Examine complexity of prediction and questions & the ways in which the model is applied |

|understandings and skills in this |Examine how students create new questions and hypotheses using a revised model from results of an |

|phase? |experiment |

| |Examine if students can identify the assumptions that go into their initial model used to create their |

| |hypotheses |

| |Have students keep journals (or a paper trail) of how their ideas about questions, hypotheses & initial |

| |models have developed and write/or articulate how these have changed over time |

| | |

Phase 2 Supporting Activities

• Work toward having students write questions every day at the start of class. The teacher can start by writing questions and discussing why he/she chose the questions to the class. Eventually students should write and answer their own questions. For example, students could write two content-related questions and one personal interest or real-life application question at the start of class.

• Alternate assigning homework questions from the book with student generated questions about content or related content. Provide feedback on student choice of questions in addition to content response.

• Encourage students to ask questions during a lecture. For example, interrupt lecture every five minutes to allow students to record and discuss questions they have about the material or related issues.

• When reviewing homework or guiding questions from a lab or activity, have the class generate one possible explanation and then challenge the students to devise two other plausible explanations.

Phase 3. Designing and conducting the investigation

|How does this phase fit into the |The study design is dependent on the question asked, the theoretical model, and the type of analysis that |

|overall context of the inquiry |will be applied. This phase is a reflection of what is already known (methodologically & conceptually) and |

|process? |it functions as a method for collecting data that can contribute to the development of a theoretical model.|

|What are the typical actions that |Students |

|teachers and students undertake in|Operationalizing variables, controls and considering limitations & assumptions |

|this phase? |Determining & conducting a series of experiments that help students refine questions |

| |Evaluating data as it is collected to guide further experimental refinements |

| |Determining limitations of methods used |

| |Designing flow charts, data sheets |

| |Noting changes in procedures and why changes were made |

| | |

| | |

| |Teacher |

| |Providing discussions for students to evaluate designs in light of theory, previous research methods, & |

| |initial data collection |

| |Scaffolding discussions about limitations & assumptions |

| |Guiding students in making data tables- drawing on questions asked, models used, important variables, & |

| |analysis that will be conducted |

| |Direct instruction on particular methods useful to the students’ investigations |

| | |

|For students, what knowledge and |Analyze initial data |

|skills are necessary in this |Know that a number of different investigations may be necessary in order to answer one question |

|phase? |Know that a science experiment is often reshaped several times depending on preliminary evidence |

| |Know how to operationalize & include relevant variables and controls in an experimental design |

| |Know that science depends on repeated trials; the reliability of the data collected is often established by|

| |conducting multiple trials using the same materials and procedures |

| |Know that scientists constantly try to refine methods as theories evolve |

| |Understand how the chosen research methods corresponds with methods typically used to research the concept |

| |Identify types of limitations & assumptions and how they influence study design |

| |Know that scientists collect data to answer questions by carefully controlling procedures so that: |

| |- they use the same procedure each time |

|For students, what knowledge and |- they only vary one variable at a time(fair test) |

|skills are necessary in this |Know that scientists seek to make very precise observations, which often involves using measurement with |

|phase? |devices that are calibrated to a standard |

|Cont. |Know that scientist systematically observe, and when those observations are measurement, they are recorded |

| |in chart form. |

| | |

|How can teachers scaffold the |Examining variables in relation to the questions & procedures |

|student activities in this phase? |Have students create a data table for the investigation and discuss problems that arise. |

| |Have students circle variables within their questions and then operationalize each- students define what it|

| |means so that others can understand. |

| |Help students walk through their variables, identifying which they are changing (IV) and which they are |

| |measuring (DV). Then help them identify additional variables that they may not have taken into account—some|

| |of these can be written as assumptions. |

| |Provide students with several examples from recent scientific findings. Provide an overview, a list of |

| |materials, and a brief description of the procedures for each experiment. Then have students identify what |

| |they would use for a control and variables. Compare student controls and variables to the actual ones used |

| |by the researchers. Have students evaluate the researchers’ controls and variables and decide if they are |

| |suitable for the experiment or if the students’ ideas might work better. Have student groups report their |

| |findings and justify their arguments to the class. |

| | |

| | |

|How can the teacher assess student|Provide class discussions that foster student-student discourse about methodological choices- evaluate both|

|understandings and skills in this |questions asked by students and rational provided by students who are designing the study |

|phase? |Examine components of students’ data tables, flow charts & student justification for their designs |

| |Examine students’ written limitations and assumptions & how they explained these in light of their study |

| | |

Phase 3 Supporting Activities

• Have students write a detailed guide for how to work effectively in groups. Tell students that they are writing for a younger audience learning how to collaborate.

• Have students read about a scientific phenomenon from their textbook or newspaper articles. Allow the students to work in groups and develop a list of procedures would nullify or support the studies. Have students evaluate other students’ lists and discuss how these procedures align with the variables that were studied.

• Have the students read about a high-tech or procedure intensive technique. For example, if studying genetics, students could read about DNA gel electrophoresis. Have students make a list of the materials and procedures. They will need access to books or the web to research how the procedure is accomplished and what materials would be needed.

Phase 4. Analyzing data and representing it as evidence

|How does this phase fit into the |This phase is a product of the other phases. It is a sense-making component in which data is considered as |

|overall context of the inquiry |evidence that supports, refutes or adds to theoretical models. |

|process? | |

|What are the typical actions that |Students |

|teachers and students undertake in|Compare and contrast multiple data sources. |

|this phase? |Consider data in light of models. |

| |Working with data tables & drawing graphs. |

| |Work with peers to discuss findings. |

| | |

| | |

| |Teacher |

| |Provide opportunities for discussions about locating trends in data, using data to establish claims. |

| |Show students multiple types of representations of data and attributes of each. |

| |Use concept building activities to help students understand the value of a claim that is supported with |

| |evidence. |

| |Provide opportunities to practice writing claims using multiple sources of evidence. |

| | |

|For students, what knowledge and |Know that scientists organize their data and represent them in ways to help them find patterns |

|skills are necessary in this |Know that scientists construct knowledge claims describing the patterns that they found in their data. |

|phase? |Know that claims may be empirical relationships and/or theoretical explanations. |

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|How can teachers scaffold the |Making sense of numbers & graphs |

|student activities in this phase? |Have students present their data tables to classmates. Classmates can help presenters identify 1) trends in|

| |their tables, 2) outlier data points, 3) discuss the types of graphs that would best suit the data, and 4) |

| |discuss any calculations or statistical tests that might describe the study results. |

| | |

| |Have students highlight portions of their data tables and describe how they developed a claim based on |

| |their data. |

| | |

| |Choose articles that relate to the topic being covered and that contain graphs. Graphs from various |

| |sources (newspapers, magazines, journals) can be compared with the description of what the graph is |

| |supposed to represent. Students can decide if the graph is an accurate representation of the research. If|

| |it does portray the major findings clearly then students should justify why they believe it does. If it |

| |does not accurately portray the major findings, students should suggest how the authors might improve the |

| |graphs. Students should present their arguments to the class for feedback. |

| | |

| | |

| | |

| |Have students assess the percent error and then correlate the amount of error with an explanation of |

| |possible sources of error. Students could use a “round robin” to review and add to each group’s error |

| |assessment. The group that started with a particular data set would consider other student comments and |

| |present the combined effort assessment to the class. |

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|How can the teacher assess student|Examine both students’ data and claims together and provide feedback on the specificity and |

|understandings and skills in this |generalizability of their claims. |

|phase? |Examine students’ graphical representations and their justification for their choices. |

Phase 4 Supporting Activities

• When presenting a new concept in class, especially a concept that is based on an experiment, ask student “How could you measure this?” or “If we graphed this, what would it look like?”

• Again, relevant journal or magazine articles can be evaluated. Students can evaluate data sets and make note of the context in which the authors made mathematical manipulations. Over time, student can evaluate if the researchers did appropriate calculations given their data.

• Provide an overview (include outcome predictions or expectations) as well as graphs from scientific research that relates to current topics covered in class. Have students write short paragraphs about what the graphs indicate and whether or not it matched with the researchers’ predicted outcome.

Phase 5. Reconsidering the model, coordinating evidence and theory

|How does this phase fit into the |This phase is dependent on all phases and helps students engage in model building. As such they move from |

|overall context of the inquiry |evidence, to claims, to theory- looking for interconnections between the three. |

|process? | |

|What are the typical actions that |Students |

|teachers and students undertake in|Refining models by considering evidence along side of initial models and background literature. |

|this phase? |Incorporating additional literature to refine models. |

| |Asking questions of peers, teachers, experts, literature. |

| | |

| | |

| | |

| |Teacher |

| |Providing opportunities for students to make sense of their data in light of initial models and additional |

| |background research. |

| | |

| | |

| | |

|For students, what knowledge and |Know that scientist may invent ideas to provide explanations for patterns and these are called theories |

|skills are necessary in this |(e.g., there are particles of matter that are “positively” and “negatively” charged;) this idea can be used|

|phase? |to present their knowledge claims to the scientific community for review. |

| |Know that the adequacy of knowledge claims is a function of the strength of the evidence (data) supporting |

| |them. |

| |Know that knowledge claims evolve over time as the scientific community evaluates the extent to which the |

| |evidence supporting the knowledge claim is refutable. |

| | |

| | |

|How can teachers scaffold the |Direct attention back to models & evaluate evidence |

|student activities in this phase? |Have students draw their original model and then highlight the part of the model that their data can best |

| |speak to. |

| |Have the students work in groups to summarize their 2-3 key findings from their studies. They should focus |

| |on the pieces of their data that support, refute or add to what is already known. This means that the |

| |students should also write down 2-3 statements that their model or theory would support or predict. Help |

| |the students write these statements in the simplest way possible. Then have the students draw lines that |

| |connect the statements from their findings with their statements from their models. |

| | |

| |Findings |

| |Theory/ Prediction from Model |

| | |

| |Trends in data & results of statistical tests |

| |General statements supported by research, statements made in supporting textbooks, or statements that |

| |(based on one’s model) describe why the specified outcomes occur |

| | |

| | |

| | |

|How can teachers scaffold the |Have students construct arguments for their models using the following techniques: |

|student activities in this phase? |1) Seeking a gapless model- Students can look for shortcomings in the models they create. Asking: “What |

|Cont. |are the assumptions underlying this model and how might those assumptions invalidate the model?” “Are there|

| |any ‘missing links’ in this model?” |

| | |

| |2) Putting the model at risk- Students can test their models by thinking of alternative hypothetical |

| |conditions. Asking: “Are there any cases in which this model does not apply?” “What counter-evidence |

| |exists?” “What are our biases favoring this model?” “What ‘excuses’ are we making for this model and how |

| |did we try to ‘patch’ the model together based on those excuses?” |

| | |

| |3) Detecting flawed evidence- Students can examine the accuracy of the evidence that they used to make the|

| |model. Asking: “How might our evidence have been different under different experimental conditions?” “How |

| |might a ‘limited sample’ affect our findings and thus our model?” “Is it possible that we had ‘confounding |

| |variables’ in our study and how might this affect our model?” |

| | |

| |4) Building from counterevidence- Students can examine the counterevidence for their models and build |

| |revised models. Asking: “What is the core of our model that holds in the face of counterevidence and what |

| |can be considered ‘minor discrepancies’?” “How can we use the core of the model and tweak other parts of |

| |the model to alleviate problems with counter-evidence?” |

| | |

| | |

| | |

|How can the teacher assess student|If students have conducted similar inquiries, they could participate in a debate in which they present |

|understandings and skills in this |claims and models. Strength of claims and connections within models could be evaluated. Questions that |

|phase? |students ask classmates could also be evaluated. |

| |Alternatively students could combine their claims and models to develop a model that incorporates all |

| |students’ models. |

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Overall themes that should be infused into inquiry experiences

• The interests and the culturally relevant experiences of students

• Connections with the Essential Learnings

• Placing inquiry into the larger context of curriculum

• Collaborative work among students

• Including writing in the process

-----------------------

Refers to some

aspect of model

Predictions based on

potential validity of model

Claims relate to aspects

of focal theory/model

Forms basis of empirical claims and

arguments for revisions of model

Model shapes observations in

terms of entities, relationships

Composed of entities

and relationships

Rhetoric based on conclusions

Argue for revised model

Select tentative model

Argue connections between

evidence and claim

Analyze data

Design and conduct investigation

Create hypothesis

Develop question

Observe

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