anita b's Profile

Infants begin to make sense of the
world by inquiring.

Infants begin to make sense of the
world by inquiring.

Infants begin to make sense of the
world by inquiring.

The
process of inquiring begins with gathering information and data through applying
the human senses -- seeing, hearing, touching, tasting, and smelling.

In traditional schools,
students learn not to ask too many questions, instead to listen and repeat the
expected answers.

A complex process is involved when individuals attempt
to convert information and data into useful knowledge. Useful application of
inquiry learning involves several factors: a context for questions, a framework for questions, a
focus for questions, and different levels of questions. Well-designed inquiry
learning produces knowledge formation that can be widely applied.

Inquiry implies a "need or want to
know" premise. Inquiry is not so much seeking the right answer -- because often
there is none -- but rather seeking appropriate resolutions to questions and
issues

knowledge be transmitted

through structures like
schools, families, and training courses

generating and effectively transmitting
the fund of knowledge

attributes

Experts see patterns and meanings not apparent to novices.







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Experts have in-depth knowledge of their fields, structured so that it is most useful.







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Experts' knowledge is not just a set of facts -- it is structured to be
accessible, transferable, and applicable to a variety of situations.







.





Experts can easily retrieve their knowledge and learn new information in their
fields with little effort.

The figure below illustrates why trying to transmit "what we know," even if it were possible, is counterproductive in the long run. This is why schools
must change from a focus on "what we know" to an emphasis on "how we come to
know."

An important outcome of inquiry should be useful knowledge about the natural and
human-designed worlds.

An appropriate education should provide individuals with different ways
of viewing the world, communicating about it, and successfully coping with the
questions and issues of daily living.

ust as students should not
be focused only on content as the ultimate outcome of learning, neither should
they be asking questions and searching for answers about minutiae.

Inquiry in education should be about a greater understanding of the
world in which they live, learn, communicate, and work.

There’s a lot of ownership by the kids in their work instead of teachers lecturing and being the givers of all knowledge,” Ms. Nichols explained. “The classes are just much more alive. They don’t sleep in class.”

Sir Mark says he is convinced that advances in computing, combined with improved understanding of how to tailor the technology to different students, can help transform education.

they insist that they need to take their own notes in real time to learn. I pushed back: Is this the only way to learn?