What are the big goals for science education? To make life long learners? (Answer: Yes). To make students critical thinkers? (Answer: again, yes). Another big goal for science education is for students to apply scientific thinking in the real world. More specifically, we want students to be able to use their science skills to conduct inquiry. However, doing inquiry (especially student led inquiry) can be challenging for students. In fact, there’s a mountain of stuff to overcome (asking a good question, designing and conducting a fair experiment, analysis, etc). And, none of this comes from a textbook. Thus,, where do we start? What can teachers do to help students start doing inquiry? I suggest an inquiry bellringer.

The best way to teach inquiry, I find, is to get lots of practice doing it. I suggest starting the class everyday with an inquiry bellringer where students come up with a question-of-the-day. I outline the strategy below along with some tips from my own experience.  Handouts are also available for download at the end of this blog post.

Better Readers make better writers

During my undergraduate degree, I took a writing course where the instructor had us keep a book list populated with books she recommended. Everyday, the instructor gave us her latest recommendation. And, everyday, we recorded them. According to the instructor, the idea behind keeping a book list was to have us become better writers by having us be better readers first. That is, by having us read good literature, we would hopefully be able to model good writing in our own work. She also collected our list periodically throughout the year (a way of keeping us motivated to come to class, I suppose). When I first started teaching, I did a similar thing with my own science classes.

However, instead of keeping a book list, my students kept a question and answer list. It was a simple way to have students ask interesting science questions. It was, in effect, a science inquiry bellringer. At the beginning of the year, students came up with 3 interesting science questions and submitted them. For example, I remember some students asking why the sky was blue or why Michael Jackson’s skin was getting whiter. Then, the night before each class, I chose one and wrote the answer on the overhead projector (with the help of Google). The next day, students had to record the question and answer on their list. And, I collected their lists periodically.

Through this science inquiry bellringer, students got practice asking interesting questions that they were genuinely interested in. And, after a while, the inquiry bellringer was something students came to enjoy – often kicking off some good discussion or raising a number of follow up questions. I found this to be a fun, engaging way to have students practice asking their questions. And, it was also a regular activity through which I can show students how I solved a problem, answered a question, and conducted an inquiry investigation using the scientific skills and processes we talked about in class.

Practical Tips on running this inquiry bellringer

1. Ask for Googleable and nonGoogleable questions

A Googleable question is something Google can answer. A nonGoogleable answer is something Google cannot. Most questions students come up with will be the Googleable kind (ex. Why is the sky blue? How do we know the universe is expanding?). It’s ok if most questions start here because (a) students may genuinely not know and would like to know the answer, and (b) students may not know how to ask good, inquiry questions yet. Good inquiry questions are the nonGoogleable kind. For example, how do I make a living wall that removes the most toxins from the air? Or, what is the best way to cool down my room on a hot day while using the least amount of electricity? Although Google can help in answering these questions, there is no definitive answer because the answers are contextual and require a test or test(s) to find the answer.

2. Update the list of questions regularly

As you answer more and more questions, students will naturally have more and more questions to ask. And, students also ask better and better questions as they get practice in asking them. Thus, have students submit more questions throughout the year. I suggest having students submit questions at the beginning of each term or earlier (depending on how quickly you runout of questions).

3. Provide the process, not just the answer

The only way students are going to get better at doing inquiry is by seeing it in action. Thus, when answering a question-of-the-day for this inquiry bellringer, model the process through which we finally get the answer. Approach the question or problem by first proposing a possible explanation that is testable. In other words, develop a hypothesis.  Then, develop a quick experiment that can be done to test the hypothesis. And, outline what the results could be and what they would mean. Finally, if there is a real answer to the question, provide it. If there isn’t a real answer (most nonGoogleable questions won’t), having the process of how to approach a question is good enough.

4. Provide a Q&A format

The simplest format has a question followed by an answer. However, if it is process we are hoping to highlight, we need to have students document the process too. One suggestion is to include a hypothesis, independent and dependent variables along with an explanation of what the results may mean for each possibility.

5. Answer some questions, but have students solve some too.

After answering some questions yourself, start getting students to come up with their own answers. From time to time, post a question and have students develop a hypothesis, experiment, and possible outcomes and their meanings. This is where students get to practice their inquiry skills. For days like this, highlight the best student solution as the answer for the question-of-the-day. Or, have students merely craft their own solutions as a possible answer.

Wrap up

How do we teach students to do inquiry? And, where do we start? With so many aspects of inquiry that need our attention, it can be a daunting task. An inquiry bellringer – where students get to practice running inquiry via a daily question that is asked and answered – is one solution. Such an inquiry bellringer is student-centered (students come up with the question and,  perhaps, the answer too), relevant, and collaborative. And, it’s fun too. Click on the link below to download our handouts. Please leave us a comment and/or share our website with your colleagues too.

Until next time, keep it REAL.

Resources

Handout(s): 44 – Simple Inquiry Icebreaker Notes

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