Steps in Problem-Based or Inquiry Learning
The steps in the Inquiry Training Model are grouped into five phases.
Phase One: Confrontation with the Problem
- Explain inquiry procedures.
- Present problems or discrepant events.
Phase Two: Data Gathering - Verification
- Students gather information about the problem [event] they see or experience.
Phase Three: Data Gathering - Investigating the Problem
- Students develop predictions and design a plan to test predictions based on information gathered about the problem.
- Facilitate the implementation of student's plan.
Phase Four: Organizing, Formulating and Explanation
- Instruct students to organize and interpret their results.
Phase Five: Analysis of the Inquiry Process
- Students analyze their pattern of problem solving by:
- Determining the questions that were most effective,
- Identifying the lines of questioning that were productive and those that were not,
- Identifying the type of information needed to solve problem but was unavailable.