Learning Science - the Inquiry Way

On the way to the neighbourhood coffeeshop for breakfast, little Gabby notices a snail on the side of the pavement. She stops to watch it move. The snail leaves a wet trail on the path and she asks: Daddy, why is there a wet line behind the snail? 

Have you faced a similar situation? If you have young children, a resounding YES is the likely answer. If you’ve ever wondered whether curiosity is something we’re all born with, all you have to do is to observe a young child. When a toddler begins to communicate, we wait with eagerness for the first word, the first utterance of ‘Mama’ or ‘Papa’. But soon, the floodgates are open – ready or not, here comes the “Why?”, “Why not?”, “How come”, or “What for?”. When the flow of questions is particularly relentless, many a parent may have wished long and hard for a ‘mute’ or ‘time out’ button, but there just isn’t one! Years ago, the common practice was: children should be seen and not heard - plain and simple. It was our parents’ way of telling us to stop asking so many questions. However, this mindset has been evolving, particularly in schools.  Based on research into methods of learning, Science educators are changingthe ways of instruction and nurturing the thinking, inquiring learner. 

What’s happening in our classrooms today  

The Ministry of Education (MOE) acknowledges the need to develop questioning or thinking individuals, as seen through the changes in the Science syllabus this year. MOE describes this approach as teaching and learning through inquiry. Based on the latest Primary Science Syllabus (available on the MOE website at www.moe.edu.sg), students need to go beyond the facts and the final answers. Students are encouraged to ask questions and  appreciate the process of getting to the outcome. In doing so, they are treading the path taken by many inventors of yesteryear. Most of these people were not PhD holders, but all were keenly inspired to seek out solutions through the process of observing, asking questions and assessing the situation from various angles. So what might a typical Science lesson aim to do?

Let’s consider this scenario:The teacher sets up a science experiment for her Primary 5 class with this objective: to find out the relationship between height and distance travelled by a ball when it is dropped from varying heights. By the end of the experiment, the students concluded that the higher the ball, the further it travelled.

However, the learning doesn’t stop there. Today’s ‘thinking’ student needs to take a closer look at the experiment and question the other factors that could influence the result. How about the weight or the size of the ball? What about the material that the ball is made of?

 

Today’s lessons place more importance on the process of inquiry, rather than the correct answers that lie at the end. Mr Ang didn’t know the answer to little Gabby’s question so he told her that they would find out together. They observed the snail for a while, taking note of its movements and where the wet trail was coming from. After breakfast, they both went on the Internet to search for more information about snails. 

Sparking off the spirit of inquiry in your child 

It is possible for any parent to raise a little Einstein. Science is everywhere around us – you don’t have to spend a lot of money on a tutor or a specialised course.  It helps to bear these in mind:

Science is everywhere around us — you don’t have to spend a lot of money on a tutor or a specialized course.

Stop worrying over how to teach your child the right questions to ask.There is really no such thing as a stupid question.Nurture the natural curiosity in your children (even if it means the end of ‘peace and quiet’ at home) 

And the most important thing:Don’t be afraid to NOT know the answer – take this chance to figure it out together.

You will both learn something new, while strengthening the bond between you and your child. There are many ways to look for possible answers. Go online and search the Internet, drop by the library, check out the Science Centre Singapore. This is a good option for a family outing with an educational purpose. Children can look for the answers to their queries, ask more questions there and find those answers too. The most important thing is to enjoy the experience with your children.  Inquiry learning is not rocket science. It harks back to a time not too long ago when we ran around the kampong barefoot, rubbed rubber seeds and got ‘burned’, and tried various ways to climb a tree to get at rambutans hanging just beyond our re ach. The essence is in the journey, not the destination. Chances are, you will be enriched by the gems of knowledge that you discover during the process, while trying to get at the answer.

Inquiry Learning at Science Centre Singapore 

The Science Centre’s mission is to promote interest, learning and creativity in science and technology through imaginative and enjoyable experiences. The experience of our visitors is our top priority. We enhance this experience by creating opportunities for direct interactions by our visitors with our exhibits so that they are able to appreciate science or a scientific principle through experimentation and questioning. 

Touch a Tornado!

An example is the Tornado exhibit in the Centre’s Atrium. It not only showcases the phenomena by creating a mini tornado live in front of the visitors’ eyes, but also allows the visitors to stick in their hands in to disturb the wind, blow on it, try all kinds of experimentation to see what happens. By keeping our exhibits open forexperimentation, we allow our visitors to ask themselves questions and then try out their theories to see if they fit.

 - Daniel Tan, Manager, Exhibitions, Science Centre Singapore 

Science Centre Singapore is located at 15 Science Centre Road. For more information, call 64252500 or visit www.science.edu.sg 

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