The Inquiry Process

Formulate Questions

At this stage of the Inquiry Process we…
- notice, wonder and ask questions about a topic of interest
- share our thinking and questions with our peers and others
- dialogue about possible ways to learn more
- review and re-frame our questions
- make predictions about possible outcomes or answers

Interpret and Analyze

At this stage of the Inquiry Process we…
- compare, sort, classify and interpret information
- use information to answer our questions and test our hypotheses
- describe characteristics and make note of patterns
- talk about what we’ve learned and understand
- draw conclusions about our questions and our hypotheses
- think about the information to create new questions and hypotheses

Gather and Organize

At this stage of the Inquiry Process we…
- gather information first-hand in a range of ways and from a variety of sources
- connect our current thinking to previous knowledge
- clarify and extend our questions
- talk about our observations and ideas in order to generate more questions
- record information and keep work samples

Communicate

At this stage of the Inquiry Process we…
- consider a variety of representations and plan ways to express our learning
- identify different avenues for action and application
- create opportunities together to celebrate our learning

Evaluate and Draw Conclusions

At this stage of the Inquiry Process we…
- reflect on what we learned, as well as how and why we learned
- make connections between our prior knowledge and our new discoveries,
- apply our new understandings to different contexts and situations
- ask how we have changed the way we think about other things in the world
- pose new, deeper questions for independent investigation