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On the positive side, inquiry-based learning releases you from the requirement to be the expert source of everything the learner needs to know. Since inquiries can take unexpected directions, it would be unreasonable to expect that you would know the answers to all of the questions, and if you did, that might interfere with the investigation step of the inquiry, in which the learner is expected to deal with multiple sources of information. Malcolm Knowles has suggested that the main functions of the inquiry facilitator are to design and manage the inquiry process and to direct learners towards resources that might be useful to their inquiries (Knowles, 1984, p. 14). If you take this approach, then your most useful assets will be familiarity with the inquiry process, familiarity with many resources, and the ability to help learners locate even more resources if necessary.

You can find a great deal of useful advice on guiding inquiries in the sources suggested in the Resources section below. Meanwhile, as you plan the structure and process for the inquiry that you will lead, you may find it useful to ask whether your plan adheres to the following guidelines.

    A good inquiry will:

  • Begin with a question or problem that the learner is naturally curious about. For example, a lesson for young children might be about how to share something fairly, a question that is of natural interest to most children, and which can easily lead to exploration of important math concepts such as division, fractions or keeping track of time. Students who are accustomed to inquiry may be able to develop good questions themselves; others may need a teacher or facilitator to help construct a question that is relevant to their interests and will lead to useful learning. However, the facilitator should be careful not to impose an inquiry that holds no real interest for the learners; for example, children who have just visited a zoo may be very curious about what they noticed, which could lead to some good inquiries into science, but they may have little interest in pursuing science questions that the teacher prepared before the trip.
  • Involve the learner in the discovery of the answer. Giving learners the facts or answers does not require that they think deeply about the information or the problem. It does not give them space to make sense of the facts or to discover connections between a specific problem-and-solution, and the more general, abstract principles that make it relevant to other questions and problems that they will encounter. Involving them in activities, discussions, and creative projects helps them actually connect with and think through the problem.
  • Allow room for exploration and alternative solutions. The lesson intended for the "sharing" problem may have been fractions or telling time; but the solution that is attractive to the students might be writing a classroom code of conduct, or constructing an hourglass-type timer. In inquiry, the learning happens when the student makes the connection between the question/problem and the answer/solution. It can be sorely tempting to try to impose the "correct" solution, but if the solution has to be imposed by the teacher, the students are not likely to understand where it came from or be able to apply it to similar problems.
  • Not be satisfied with answers that do not involve learning. For example, curiosity about "pirates" could lead to a superficial lesson that simply reinforces popular imagery and stereotypes, or it could lead to an educational inquiry into a specific historical period, or current events, or the relationship between law and international spaces such as the ocean and the Internet. One important role of the facilitator is to ensure that students are not satisfied with easy, superficial answers.
  • Encourage critical thinking, questioning, and awareness of perspective. This includes students asking questions that are not on the syllabus, challenging standard answers, and developing their own perspective on the subject. For example, "is downloading music from the Internet really piracy?" is a reasonable question, and it is ultimately more useful for the student to be aware of the complexity of debates and laws in this area; to form and be able to defend an informed opinion on the subject; and to understand why others may have different opinions, than it is to memorize an official answer to the question.
  • As much as possible, mimic, teach, and model the way knowledgeable people answer such questions "in the real world." For example, real historians and reporters don't rely on a single source; they check multiple sources to develop a more well-rounded and nuanced view of "what happened." When an experiment produces an unexpected result, real scientists do not assume they got the "wrong" answer; instead they investigate the causes of the surprise. Students can learn a great deal about "how to do" and "how to be" in the real world from the example you set in dealing with unexpected problems, consulting and checking sources, and searching for explanations for surprising results.
  • Lead to another question that the learner is naturally curious about , thus continuing the learning process indefinitely.

Questions & Answers

what is mutation
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what is a cell
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mahase Reply
classification of plants, gymnosperm features.
Linsy Reply
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Linsy
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What is Atoms
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urine is formed in the nephron of the renal medulla in the kidney. It starts from filtration, then selective reabsorption and finally secretion
onuoha Reply
State the evolution relation and relevance between endoplasmic reticulum and cytoskeleton as it relates to cell.
Jeremiah
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Konadu
how is urine formed in human
Rahma
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Diamond
malaria is caused by an insect called mosquito.
Naomi
Malaria is cause by female anopheles mosquito
Isaac
Malaria is caused by plasmodium Female anopheles mosquitoe is d carrier
Olalekan
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Commander
what are pathogens
Don Reply
In biology, a pathogen (Greek: πάθος pathos "suffering", "passion" and -γενής -genēs "producer of") in the oldest and broadest sense, is anything that can produce disease. A pathogen may also be referred to as an infectious agent, or simply a germ. The term pathogen came into use in the 1880s.[1][2
Zainab
A virus
Commander
Definition of respiration
Muhsin Reply
respiration is the process in which we breath in oxygen and breath out carbon dioxide
Achor
how are lungs work
Commander
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Achiri Reply
in the mouth
EZEKIEL
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stimulates the follicle to release the mature ovum into the oviduct
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endocrine secrete hormone and regulate body process
Achor
while pituitary gland is an example of endocrine system and it's found in the Brain
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Egbodo Reply
Biology is the study of living organisms, divided into many specialized field that cover their morphology, physiology,anatomy, behaviour,origin and distribution.
Lisah
biology is the study of life.
Alfreda
Biology is the study of how living organisms live and survive in a specific environment
Sifune
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Source:  OpenStax, Music inquiry. OpenStax CNX. Mar 18, 2013 Download for free at http://cnx.org/content/col11455/1.4
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