Running head: CSR7 1

CSR 7

Timothy Henley

Ivy Tech Community College

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Independent Inquiry vs Guided Inquiry

Independent inquiry, as far as I understand it, is when the student defines what questions

they will ask and determine what path they will follow to find their answers. This is much akin to

this final project we have been working on over the last few weeks. We were tasked with

creating ideas of possible subjects to inquire about, then when positioned in groups we were

tasked with determining appropriate experiments to achieve the answers to the questions we

formulated.

Guided inquiry is when the instructor already has an answer that they want the students to

figure out and tasks them directly towards that outcome. This utilizes what the students already

know and by scaffolding students and working within their "zone of proximal development"

(Vygotsky 1978) achieve the desired results. This akin to the moving flags, we knew we had to

figure out why they moved, that was our guidance, and how we came to our conclusions was

on us though.

Role of Independent Inquiry in the Classroom

If student agency and empowerment is at the core of maker-centered learning, then the

role of the teacher is to create an environment that supports students to construct their own

meaning. (Vanderwerff 2016) The role independent inquiry becomes more and more important

as the child progresses in their academic career. Obviously you can run a lesson like our final in

class with students in the first grade, their foundation of knowledge is just too limited and their

critical thinking ability has physically not developed yet. But as the child progresses in life, and

develops a greater understanding of the world around them, the more an independent inquiry
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angle can and should be utilized. The transition from guided to independent inquiry is an

important step in creating our future critical thinkers of the world.

The Benefits?

Asking if this type of learning is beneficial is like asking if it benefits a poker player to

start off with 3 aces in their hand. An old parable states Give a man a fish and you feed him for

a day, teach a man how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime (Ritchie 1885). Developing a

strong independent inquiring mind is not just teaching our kids how to fish, its teaching them

how to charter a fishing boat and make a living feeding others. The most important thing we can

teach our students is how to teach themselves. These skills will last them a lifetime. Most people

do not remember what brand of bicycle they learned to ride a bike on, but they remember how to

ride a bike, which is the big idea that is far more important.

Class Utilization

The level of class utilization would depend on what grade I am teaching. Maybe there is

some aspect of independent inquiry that can be used in a first grade class, pertaining to

something within their wheelhouse of knowledge, but I feel as the child progresses to about 5th or

6th grade, true independent inquiry is not out of the question. This is not to say that guided

inquiry will not still have its place. I feel in all stages of the education system, both ideologies

should be used based on what the big idea is that you are trying to get across, or time constraints,

or even based on the current level of knowledge. Regardless though I hope to incorporate

scientific inquiry in my classroom more often than not.

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References

Ritchie, A.T. (1886) Mrs. Dymond, Bernhard Tauchnitz Publishing. Leipzig, Germany

Vanderwerff, A., (2016) Teaching Channel: Start Teaching Through an Inquiry Stance,
Retrieved from: https://www.teachingchannel.org/blog/2016/01/15/teaching-through-an-
inquiry-stance/

Vygotsky, L.S. (1978). Mind and society: The development of higher mental processes.