Definition of "Inquiry"

The essence of the inquiry approach is to teach pupils to handle situations which they encounter when dealing with the physical world by using techniques which are applied by research scientists. Inquiry means that teachers design situations so that pupils are caused to employ procedures research scientists use to recognise problems, to ask questions, to apply investigational procedures, and to provide consistent descriptions, predictions, and explanations which are compatible with shared experience of the physical world.

Definition of Constructivism

Fosnot (1996) refers to constructivism as "a theory about knowledge and learning." According to constructivist theory, knowledge is "temporary, developmental, nonobjective, internally constructed, and socially and culturally mediated." Fosnot presents learning as "a self-regulatory process of struggling with the conflict between existing personal models of the world and discrepant new insights." Learners construct new models which are refined through "cooperative social activity, discourse, and debate" (p. ix). Such a theory of knowledge and learning has significant implications for teaching. It changes the dynamics of the traditional classroom by empowering the learner as the focus and architect of the learning process while redefining the role of the instructor to be a guide and helper rather than the source and conduit of knowledge. Constructivism has become an educational theory of choice for many within modern educational institutions. Gaining additional insight into this theory is the purpose of this document.