Learn science through 7Es

Children are inquisitive by nature. Their childhood days are mostly spent in endless questions. They explore the environment around them and ask questions to their parents and teachers. The curiosity to learn by questioning is seen only during their childhood days and slowly it starts disappearing because the parents and teachers try curbing it instead of encouraging it.

The attitude of questioning is very important for learning science. Science learning encourages children in observing, questioning, exploring to find his answers for his queries. Science learning arouses the curiosity of the learners. More curious children learn better. Thus science learners seek truth, information and knowledge. This is called scientific inquiry and the learning is called Inquiry based learning.

Scientific inquiry is the act of systematic observation,, induction, deduction, testing and finally evaluation of  a science based testing procedure.  It is then compared to previous findings and kept in records for later research work. Scientific inquiry does not have any biased conclusions. Thus the Inquiry based learning is a multifaceted activity.

Inquiry based learning improves logical, reflective and critical thinking skills of children. Inquiry is a vibrant approach to learning that involves exploration, questioning, making discoveries, and testing the discoveries to search for new understanding. All young children love science because they can do something with their hands and they like to satisfy their curiosity by finding the answers themselves.

It is necessary that children learn science through self- inquiry. Pedagogical approach to teach science in schools should change. The mode of instruction should make the children learn by themselves. It should be Self-Discovery, guided by their teacher.  This method of Instruction is called inquiry based learning.

This Instructional strategy is child-centred. The teacher is just a facilitator or a guide. The teacher’s role is to motivate the children to ask questions and learn. Technological tools are used for imparting knowledge. More emphasis is on children acquiring skills. Knowledge is acquired by asking hows and whys.

The Inquiry Based Instruction involves the following steps: Engage & Elicit, Explore, Explain, Elaborate & Extend and Evaluate.

Teacher engages her class so as to test the prior knowledge of the children. The activities will focus student’s attention to stimulate their thinking.

Following activities can be conducted by teachers to stimulate inquiry among children.

·         Teacher Demonstration.

·         Free Writing.

·         Brainstorming.

·         Analyzing a graphic organizer.

·         A short reading from a journal or piece of technological information from news papers or a blog post.

·         Watching a short video in YouTube.

·         Narration of scientist’s life history.

·         Narrating an environmental problem to find solutions.

·         Discussing certain problems that are persistently happening in the society.

·         & so on.

These above activities help teachers to engage and elicit the knowledge of the children. The teacher asks questions, observes, and listens to student answers. These activities help students develop an understanding of a science concept, skill, or process. These experiences should be concrete and meaningful as they are the foundation for a scientific concept, or a process or a definition.

Now the children are motivated towards the next step of exploring. In this stage all the activities are done by students themselves. The students take time to think and investigate/test/make decisions/ solve problem, form hypotheses, test their predictions, record observations, and discuss alternatives with each other. Their activities involve

·         Performing an investigation

·         Reading resources to collect information

·         Problem solving

·         Constructing a model

The next stage is the explanation. Students analyze their exploration stage. Children discuss their findings with their group members and analyze their problems. Student’s understanding is clarified and modified through a reflective thinking to present a scientific concept, a definition or a skill. They explain what they have found out to their teacher. Teacher listens to all the explanation links student’s knowledge, observations, and findings from their own exploration.

In the next stage of Inquiry learning student’s thinking expands to solve real life problems.   Now the children try to elaborate & extend the concepts and the process. In this stage they solve the problem by conducting an experiment and finally they make their decisions and state conclusion. When students learn the stage of elaboration they become successful in problem solving, decision making, other thinking skills like comparing, classification, correlation etc. in real life. This stage of learning promotes collaborative learning.

The last and the final stage of this instructional method is evaluation. The  teacher has  to assess the students  performance and understandings of concepts, skills, processes, and applications. Students are expected to ask questions to each other based on evidence, observations, and previous explanations. The teacher provides a feedback on their answers. The teacher has the option to complete a formal evaluation and administer a test to determine students’ level of achievement.

This method of instruction allows students to observe and think logically about a concept and use evidence to support their hypotheses. This method of learning increases students’ love and enthusiasm for science. Learning science through inquiry encourages and enhances their natural curiosity and motivation. It helps in connecting young minds to science in everyday life. Inquiry and inquiry-based strategies help students to develop a deeper understanding of science and encourage them to create new scientific discoveries.