The Inquiry/Problem-Solving Model

The Inquiry Model builds on natural human curiosity.

• Why are caterpillers fuzzy?• Why do cats land right side up?• Why are they called “Brussel Sprouts?

Goals and Assumptions

• The basic goal of inquiry is to teach students how to ask questions and seek out answers in a rational way

• The “scientific method” is an effective way to solve authentic problems

Syntax of the Model• Phase 1- Confrontation with the Problem

– Explanation of inquiry process (Discrepant Event)• Phase 2- Data Gathering/Verification

– Verification of the problem situation– Initial Hypotheses

• Phase 3- Data Gathering/Experimentation– Independent or Group Investigation

• Phase 4- Organizing/Formulating an Explanation (theory)

• Phase 5- Analysis of the Inquiry Process

Structure• The model varies from high structure

to moderate structure.–Guided Inquiry

• The “problem” is one for which the teacher has a solution (i.e. Suchman Inquiry)

–Open-Ended Inquiry• The Problem is one for which there are

numerous hypotheses, but no definite solution

Support System

• Teacher/student roles–Teacher directs the complete process

in Guided inquiry. Provides the students with necessary materials

–The teacher allows more student input in all the phases of inquiry.

Principles of Reaction• This model is inductive and is

grounded in Constructivist learning theory. Consequently, the teacher’s reaction should be based upon an understanding of how well students are able to engage in the Inquiry process.

Instructional & Nurturant Effects

Applications• Ecology

– What might be causing CCS (Colony Collapse Syndrome)?

• Math 3rd Grade– How much paper do I need to wrap a birthday present?

• Health– Why can dieting cause me to gain weight?

• P/E.– Why do golf balls have “dimples?

Applications• Music

– Can listening to music help me do better on tests?• Speech

– Can someone “read” my emotions through non-verbal communication?

• American History ’60– Was there a conspiracy to kill President Kennedy?

• American History Early Settlement– What happened to the lost colony of Roanoke?

Applications• American Literature

– Is “Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry” based on Mildred Taylor’s Life?

• Latin American History– Was the fall of the Incan Empire Inevitable?

• Kindergarten– What is the best way to get from school to the

store?

Problem Presentation & Initial Data Gathering in Suchman

Inquiry• Give students a short description of the problem• Tell them you have a hypothesis in mind and they

are to guess what it might be• Tell them that you will answer any “yes-no”

question• Anytime a student thinks they have the

“hypothesis”, they should raise their hand, state the hypothesis and give the preliminary evidence.

Problem Presentation & Initial Data Gathering in Group

Investigation Inquiry• Indentify the Discrepant Event• Either provide groups with data or give

them resources to gather data • Have them formulate hypotheses.• “Experiment” in group with data• Have groups present hypotheses and

supporting evidence.

The Salem Witch Trials

It was a tough, cold winter in Salem, Massachusetts and sometime during February 1692, a small girl became strangely ill. She complained of pain and fever, burst out in incomprehensible

gibberish, experienced convulsions and contortions; her symptoms baffled everyone. Cotton Mather had just written a popular book

describing suspected witchcraft in nearby Boston. Then three other girls, playmates of the afflicted Betty Parris, began to exhibit similar

unusual behaviors. Doctor Griggs examined the girls and after his first administrations failed, he declared that the girls' afflictions might

be the result of witchcraft.

The Salem Witch Trials That grim diagnosis triggered a Puritan inquisition throughout the community. Finger pointing began. The first to be arrested were a Caribbean-born slave along with Sarah Good and Sarah Osburn, two elderly women of poor reputation. The hysteria raged into the summer months and filled the prisons with innocent people. Eventually, 150 "witches" were taken into custody. By late September, 19 men and women had been hanged on Gallows Hill, an eighty year old man pressed to death under stones for refusing a trial, five more accused had died in jail, but none of the executed had confessed to witchcraft. Then almost as fast as it had started, the witch hunt ended.

Causes of Witchcraft in Salem?• Strong belief that Satan is acting in the world. • "The invisible world": disease, natural catastrophes, and bad fortune attributed to the

devil.

•A belief that Satan recruits witches and wizards to work for him. • Prior witchcraft cases in New England (and Europe before)

•A time  of troubles, making it seem likely that Satan was active. • Smallpox• Frontier wars with Indians

•Young adolescent women “called out” witches to gain attention (role/identity confusion)

•Convulsive ergotism, a disease caused by eating infecting rye that can produce hallucinations, causing strange behavior.

•Magistrates and judges receptive to accusations of witchcraft. • Admission of spectral evidence

•Confessing "witches" adding credibility to earlier charges.

•Old feuds (disputes within congregation, property disputes) between the accusers and the accused spurring charges of witchcraft. Map of old and new Salem