Craig A. Cunningham, Ph.D.
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INQUIRY"A process in which students investigate a problem, devise and work through a plan to solve the problem, and propose a solution to the problem." (Source: www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/misc/glossary.htm) "In science teaching, the word "inquiry" is used to describe two things. In one sense, it is used to describe one characteristic of what science is. In another sense, it is used to describe what students do in a constructivistic lesson. When students are inquiring, they are questioning and evaluating the information they are obtaining and/or observations they are making. Such inquiry is a pre-requisite if they are to "interpret" their experiences in class and try to make sense of them. As with constructivistic teaching , there is no one single teaching methodology that is called "inquiry". For more info, see four myths about inquiry." (Source: http://www.esu.edu/master/glossary.html) Dewey on Inquiry"In How We Think, Dewey presents a five-step analysis of effective inquiry. The first step involves the occurrence of a problem. Like other pragmatists, Dewey thought all inquiry began with a genuine doubt. Peirce showed that Cartesian doubt was insincere; we cannot place ourselves in doubt at will, we are thrust into doubt when our habitual ways of acting fail us in some situation. The initiation of inquiry occurs when we feel a disruption in activity and do not know how to go on. Actually, Dewey is quite clear that the "unsettled or indeterminate situation might have been called a problematic situation. This name would have been, however, proleptic and anticipatory" (LW 12: p. 111). Elsewhere, in "Qualitative Thought," the most crucial single essay for understanding Dewey's aesthetics, he observes that "intuition precedes conception and goes deeper" (LW 5: p. 249). Earlier, in "Affective Thought," Dewey wrote that "reasoning is a phase of the generic function of bringing about a new relationship between organisms and the conditions of life, and like other phases of the function is controlled by need, desire and progressive satisfaction" (p. 106). For Dewey, reason, or better still the "general method of intelligence," was practical reasoning, and practical reasoning is always reasoning for some value, some desired object, some "end-in-view" that arises in some specific context. "Next comes the specification of the problem. Dewey remarks, "It is a familiar and significant saying that a problem well put is half-solved. To find out what the problem and problems are which a problematic situation presents to be inquired into, is to be well along in inquiry" (LW: 12.112). To achieve this, data is selected (it is never "given," for Dewey), structured, its conditions specified, operations carried out, and consequences noted. In most cases there are no rules governing the selection of data or the determination of conditions and consequences. This does not mean that students cannot refine their selectivity or sharpen their intuitions through reflective practice. Among the good habits of inquiry that Dewey thought we could teach, or at least reinforce, are curiosity, orderliness, alertness, and flexibility. "The third step involves introducing a supposition, a hypothesis, or a suggestion that, if correct, would solve the problem. The construction of hypotheses involves the creative use of imagination to develop possible solutions. It also requires careful analysis of data. Further, the hypothesis must be testable. Formulating a hypothesis is not an entirely ruled governed activity, but it is does require self-control, skill, and precision. Students must learn to distinguish between carefully constructed hypothesis and wild guessing based on uncontrolled emotions, whimsical imagination, and wishful thinking. "Fourth, the hypothesis requires elaboration as to possible consequences. It must be compared to other hypotheses to determine its relative value among them. Inferences and implications need drawing out. Is the data quantifiable? If so, how? Does quantification help or hinder? Measurement and quantification is never an end in itself, only a means to solving the problem. Inquirers should ask if qualitative techniques might work better. Is it possible to generalize the hypothesis? All this calls for finesse as much as technique. "Having elaborated the hypothesis by a course of reasoning it is time to test it experimentally. The inquirer must carry out operations that establish conditions in accordance with the dictates of the hypothesis to see if the idea actually works out and the consequences intended occur. If they do, then there is warrant for believing that the idea or course of action is true, or as Dewey preferred to put it, has "warranted assertibility" (LW 12: p. 15). Elsewhere, Dewey states,"[T]his is the meaning of truth: processes of change so directed that they achieve an intended consummation. Instrumentalities are actually such only in operation" (LW 1: p. 128). Dewey emphasized not only the falsifiability of scientific claims to truth, he allowed for their complete contingency." (Source: http://www.vusst.hr/ENCYCLOPAEDIA/john_dewey.htm)
Stages of Inquiry
When is inquiry FINISHED? "Experimentalism became increasingly important as Dewey's philosophy matured. For him, not only were these experiments falsifiable, but in a contingent evolving world, their generalizability was always subject to revision. There is no end of inquiry for Dewey; nonetheless, he believed it the best way to render human experience intelligent." (Source: http://www.vusst.hr/ENCYCLOPAEDIA/john_dewey.htm) |