Assessment of Inquiry Learning Assessing what we claim to teach.

Questioning is the heart of inquiry Misconception – Asking a lot of questions does not make for an inquiry lesson. Reality – A class is inquiry-oriented when students work to find the answer to a question. The four ”centers” of an inquiry-oriented classroom: Student centered Community centered Knowledge centered Assessment centered

Questioning should be constant An unanswered question is the focus of every inquiry lesson. Teachers are not the source of information; rather, they are the source of questions. If students are to become active inquirers, they need to learn how to answer questions through the gathering and interoperation of data. The approach is that of the Socratic Dialogue

Questions focus on skill sets For instance, if we are focusing on the nature of science, then our questions should focus on the broad range of topics that define the nature of science: Scientific Terminology Scientific Process Skills Rules of Scientific Evidence Assumptions of Science Scientific Dispositions Major Misconceptions We should us Socratic dialogues to the best of our ability. We should use a wide range of question types.

Rhodes Typology (1995) I. Content-directed: They are intended to obtain responses based upon the material being considered. II. Student-directed: They are intended to obtain a personal responses from students rather than a response based upon the content itself. III. Rhetorical: Rhetorical questions are used to provide for self-expression, to obtain a certain effect, or as a means of giving directions. Answers to rhetorical questions are neither expected or needed. IV. Ambiguous: These questions are intended to obtain answers, but intentionally or not, the nature of the question is not clear.

I. Content-directed A. Informational 1. Descriptive a. What is it? b. What kind is it? c. Where is it? d. When is it? e. Who is it? 2. Operational a. How does it work? b. What does it do?

I. Content-directed B. Interpretive 1. Conceptual a. What does than mean? b. What could that mean? 2. Authority-related a. What does the writer mean by that? b. What could the writer mean by that?

I. Content-directed C. Explanatory 1. Causal a. Why does it work that way? b. What is the reason for that? 2. Teleological a. Why did he do that? b. What was the purpose for that? 3. Historical a. How did it come to be? b. How has it come to be?

I. Content-directed D. Procedural 1. Methodological a. What it done? b. What could be done? 2. Technical a. How is that done? b. Is it done this way?

I. Content-directed E. Relational 1. Priority a. Which is most important? b. Is this more important? 2. Spatial/Temporal a. What is largest? b. Which came first? 3. Comparative a. How do these compare? b. How do these contrast?

I. Content-directed F. Verificational 1. Evidential a. What are the facts to support it? b. Where are the data? 2. Logical a. Where is the proof? b. What is the reasoning? 3. Epistemological a. Is this known? b. How is this known?

I. Content-directed G. Heuristic 1. Speculative a. What would happen if? b. What could happen if? 2. Investigative a. What could we find out? b. How could we find out?

I. Content-directed H. Evaluative 1. Normative a. Is it any good? b. How good is it? 2. Significance a. What difference does it make? b. So what?

II. Student-directed A. Conceptual: those concerned with meaning, e.g., 1. What do you mean by that? 2. How could you mean that?   B. Purposive: those concerned with purpose, e.g., 1. Why did you do that? 2. Why would you want to do that?

II. Student-directed C. Cognitive: those concerned with thought, e.g., 1. What do you think about that? 2. Do you think we can do that?   D. Affective: those concerned with feelings, e.g., 1. What do you feel about that? 2. Why do you feel that way?

II. Student-directed E. Verificational: those concerned with evidence and truth, e.g., 1. How do you know? 2. How can you tell? F. Evaluative: those concerned with values, e.g., 1. What good do you believe it is? 2. Is it valuable to you?

II. Student-directed G. Preferential: those concerned with likes and dislikes, e.g., 1. Do you like it? 2. Which do you prefer?