When is Inquiry Problem

Solving and When is Problem

Solving Inquiry?

Panelists: Marcia Fetters, Western Michigan University,

Caroline Beller, University of Arkansas, Paul Hickman,
Northeastern University

Questions to ponder

Inquiry is .
Inquiry is Not
Problem solving is ..
Problem solving is Not

Talk to your neighbor!

What are the similarities and differences

between these terms?
Offer a definition of each term?

Inquiry
Problem Solving

What prompted the exploration?

PhysTEC 3rd annual meeting: Audience of

Physicists; Physics educators, Science
educators; and Teachers-in-Residence (mostly
high school physics teachers)
Same language used, but clear (for some of us)
that different meanings and applications used
for key terms such as: Inquiry; problem
solving; cooperative learning; evidence;
research; concept; laboratory work; etc..

Context and Quandary

Audience energy was around building

connections and community so differences in
language were not addressed
(congeniality/collegiality environment
dichotomy).
Was this mismatch real and is it critical to
collaborative efforts between education and
content specialists or is it just the nature of
large collaboratives and does not influence the
work and progress of reform?

Context/Historical Perspective
If a single word had to be chosen to
describe the goals of science education
during the 30-year period that began in
the late 1950s, it would have to be
inquiry (DeBoer, 1991, p. 206).

Methodology

Started collection of personal definitions

of problem solving and inquiry from a
range of audiences and sources:
undergraduate science students,
elementary education students,
secondary science education students,
middle grades science education
students, physics faculty, science
education faculty,
Lit. Review of common definitions
collected.

Our challenge to you

Given the statements around the room -how would you categorize these
statements?
red problem solving;
green inquiry;
yellow neither;
blue problem solving and inquiry

Statement #1
The process of starting from your own
observations to develop an understanding of
a concept. The most open [kind of this]
_____ would start out with deciding what
concept you wanted to explore. To ask a
question: to figure out what observation you
need to make to answer the question, to
interpret your observations to create models
that not only explain what you saw but
predicted something else you might see.
Inquiry
Scientist

Statement #2
_____ is the curiosity of the mind in action.
The ability to question...
Inquiry
MS Education Major

Statement #3
Addressing a situation, occasionally having
to determine what the outcome needs to
be, but usually with that defined, and
determining how to achieve that
outcome. This usually involves
comparing the situation to previous
experiences, identifying similarities and
differences.
Problem Solving
Scientist

Statement #4
Using whatever tools one knows how to use
in order to implement a solution to a
given hypothesis.
Problem Solving
MS Education Major

Statement #5
When you look into something. You take
time out to examine something or learn
about it.
Inquiry
Elem. Education Major

Statement #6
Exploring some event or idea and trying to
understand it.
Inquiry
Physics Major

Statement #7
_________ as a teaching strategy embodies
most of the techniques and learning
skills science educators consider
important when learning science by
investigative methods.
Problem Solving
Science Educator (Methods Text)

Statement #8
To take a systematic approach to a task.
Problem Solving
Elem. Education Major

Statement #9
Trying to fix something, or some situation.
Problem Solving
Biology Major

Statement # 10
Doing hands on things. Getting messy in
science.
Inquiry
Geology Major

Statement #11
In school science, _________ refers to how
students attempt to develop knowledge
and understanding of scientific ideas.
Through activities, students learn how
scientists go about studying the world,
communicate with one another, and,
through consensus, propose explanations
for how the world works.
Inquiry
Science Educator (Methods Text)

Statement #12
_____ is taking systematic approach to
exploring something.
Problem Solving
Geology Major

From the literature.

Oxford English Dictionary

Inquiry 1.a The act of seeking, esp.. (not always)

for truth, knowledge, or information concerning
something; search, research, investigation,
examination.
attrib. and Comb., as .. problem-solver, one who
finds solutions to difficult or perplexing questions or
situations; hence problem-solving n., the action of
finding solutions to such problems;

From NSES

National Science Education Standards -Pg 23

Inquiry is a multifaceted activity that involves making
observations; posing questions; examining books and
other sources of information to see what is already
known; planning investigations; reviewing what is
already known in light of experimental evidence;
using tools to gather, analyze, and interpret data;
proposing answers, explanations, and predictions;
and communicating the results. Inquiry requires
identification of assumptions, use of critical and
logical thinking, and consideration of alternative
explanations.

From a Methods Text

Problem solving is also an important strategy
for constructing and negotiating meaning.
Learning to Teach Science: A model for the 21st Century(J.
V. Ebenezer & S. Connor; 1998) pg. 140-141

Methods text.. continued

In general, inquiry is finding out about
something. It centers around the desire to
answer a question or to know more about a
situation.
Science Instruction in the Middle and Secondary Schools
(Chiapetta, E. L. and Koballa, Thomas R.; 2002) pg 91

Documentation of quandary

Problem solving is often used

synonymously with inquiry and science
process skill reasoning (Helgeson, 1989,
1994).

Implications in Science Education

Shared language differences between

disciplines in how terminology is used as part of
pedagogy and content for:

Arts and Sciences and Education

Pre-service and Faculty
Teachers and K-12 students

Implications for instruction in content courses;

education courses and K-12 settings
Reform Efforts
Implications for how language is used in relation
to state and/or national testing

Questions to be pondered

Does the difference in how people use these terms

create a real barrier to collaboration or does it
provide a platform for conversation that
facilitates the collaboration?
If the difference is real and significant what effect
does it have on programs and reform efforts that
call for collaboration across audiences?
How can or when should discussion about the
difference occur to maximize the potential of
reform efforts? How do you do this without
jeopardizing the partnerships?

Next Steps

Challenge to audience Would any one like to

join us in gathering additional definitions?
What other words/phrases have shared meanings?
Is there a difference between disciplines (i.e.
biology, chemistry, physics, earth science,
mathematics)? Our sample is currently small and
these distinctions cannot be made with current
data.
What is the role of past experiences of
participants? Prior science courses and
experiences