Inquiry based learning

and problem solving

EDSA700 Unit 3
 Inquiry based learning
• John Dewey was a philosopher of education and he is regarded
as a true proponent of inquiry based learning
• Inquiry based learning is an approach to learning in which a
teacher would pose a puzzling situation, question or problem,
and the learners would go about gathering the necessary
information to respond to the question, situation or problem
presented
• The idea is to get the learners actively involved in searching for
answers and working together collaboratively in the process
• Thereby they are constructing their own understandings of
knowledge
 How the process unfolds
• The teacher would present the question, problem or situation to
the learners
• The learners would start engaging with the teacher and each
other about the issue at hand
• They would then continue by investigating more about the
specific issue which they have identified
• They would attempt to find patterns and relationships
• These would be further discussed
• Learners would then share their findings
What skills do you believe learners would refine by using this
inquiry based learning approach?
Levels of inquiry based learning
• Depending on a number of variables, the teacher would make a
decision on what level of inquiry he/she would be following,
namely:
oStructured inquiry: teacher gives questions/s and basic
instructions
oGuided inquiry: teacher poses a situation and guides learners
through prompting, pertinent questions, providing certain
materials which learners could use
oOpen inquiry: Learner establishes problem, methods of
investigation: higher level thinking is applied
What variables might determine what level/s the teacher is likely
to use?
 Problem solving
• Woolfolk (2010:278) defines a problem as “any situation that you
are presented with in which you have to find the means to reach
a particular goal”
• Situation → path → goal
• Problem solving is more about finding solutions for problems:
often these are new in the sense that they have not been
experienced before
• There is a debate around whether problem solving strategies are
specific to a subject or whether they are more general
What is your opinion around this debate? Consider different
subjects as taught in the curriculum.
Algorithms

• An algorithm is a step-by-step approach to solving a problem

• An example is the one by Bransford and Stein (cited in Woolfolk,
2010:278) who use the acronym IDEAL to identify the five steps
in problem solving:
oI = Identify problems and opportunities
oD = Define goals and represent the problem
oE = Explore possible strategies
oA = Anticipate outcomes and Act
oL = Look back and Learn
Your thoughts on a step-by-step approach to problem solving?
I = Identify the problem

• Identifying the problem is the first step

• Finding a solvable problem that turns into an opportunity for
learners is even better
Let’s discuss the following problem as given by Woolfolk, 2010:
280:
• The machines designed to pick tomatoes are damaging the
tomatoes. What should we do?
• What is the problem here?
• How could we begin to plan how to solve the problem from
here?
• What is our goal?
D = Define goals and represent the
problem
• There is a need to focus attention to find the problem and then
develop ways in which to find an appropriate solution
• Problems need to be presented in a way that learners can
understand what is required (words used for example)
• The problem needs to be seen as a whole (certainly initially) so
that the learner has a clearer view of the goals required
• Schema are developed to solve problems and as learners are
exposed to further problems, they can be refined, extended
upon, etc.
Suppose you have black socks and white socks in your drawer,
mixed in a ratio of 4 to 5, how many socks will you have to take
out to make sure you have a pair of the same colour?
How do teachers educate learners about this?

• Using worked out examples

• Compare different ways of solving problems
• Working from familiar to unfamiliar
Any other suggestions?

Suggest a number of strategies that a teacher could use:

• Categorise problem type
• Representation of problem, words, pictures, graphs
• Attention to relevant aspects: select appropriate information
Consider examples related to your subjects.
E = Explore possible solutions
• Algorithms: a step-by-step prescription for achieving a goal
• Heuristics: a general strategy that might lead to the correct
answer (Woolfolk:2010:283)
• A “means to an end” heuristic: Where are we now and where do
we want to go? How to get there? (situation → plan → goal)
• A “backwards working” heuristic: We start with the solution and
work backwards to see what plan we need and if we have all the
data needed
• A “creating subgoals” heuristic: breaking down a larger problem
into smaller chunks or problems
• Analogies: solve future problems in the same way as those in
the past
A = Anticipating consequences
• When solving a problem, you need to consider the
consequences of your options before making your final decision
• e.g. By making tomatoes tougher, what would be the
consequences on the sales of tomatoes?
• What would be the consequences of having a litter free school?

L = Looking back
• When evaluating, you need to ask yourself if the path fitted the
problem and goal/solution you wanted to achieve, and if the
solution answered the problem in the first place
What hinders effective problem
solving?
• A mental set: A person might be locked into a particular way of
doing things
• Functional fixedness: the inability to see how familiar objects can
be used in new ways
• Letting irrelevant information cloud our attention from the original
problem
• An airliner from France crashes just off the coast of New Jersey
within the territorial waters of the USA. Although all of the
passengers and crew were French citizens, none of the
survivors was returned to France for burial. Why not?
What is the answer to this question? Why? Explain.
How should teachers facilitate
problem solving techniques?
• Guidelines from Woolfolk (2010:286):
• Ask learners if they understand the problem
• Encourage them to see problems from different angles
• Don’t just hand them solutions: let them do the thinking
• Support learners in developing systematic ways of considering
alternatives
• Teach heuristics
Conduct more research into this question for further discussion –
especially in relation to your own subjects.
Questions to consider:
• Can one use inquiry based learning in a variety of subjects?
Would you be able to use this approach in your subject/s, and if
so, where and how?
• Would the IDEAL algorithm for problem solving work in your
subjects?
• How do these concepts reflect constructivist thinking?
• How do these concepts relate to our South African scenario?
Can we teach using inquiry based learning and problem solving
in very under resourced schools? Give reasons for your answer.
References
• Crombie, 2014. What is inquiry based learning? [Online].
Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u84ZsS6niPc
[Accessed on 30 August 2020].
• Crombie, S. 2014. The benefits of inquiry based learning.
[Online]. Available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ylmVT5ikck [Accessed on
30 August 2020].
• Woolfolk, A. 2010. Educational Psychology. 11th edn. New
Jersey: Pearson Education.