•  On Mar, 15, 2019
•  Mary Keating
•   Blog

Enquiry Tasks in Primary Schools

Enquiry Tasks in Primary Schools can be a bit of a problem, especially when Enquiry Learning as a teaching method is expanding.

An enquiry task is often given to primary (elementary) students with almost no introduction to the topic. That’s often the norm. As an example, students are required  to research an animal within a biome but with little knowledge of the biome itself. 

And off they go to their enquiry task, usually via the internet. The language used in most websites, even those for children, is like this:

“. . . zone is characterized by low precipitation,
in different regions varying from highly seasonal
to unpredictable to virtually absent…”

and words like “evapotranspiration” and “unique characteristics”. 

The teachers need to do the enquiry themselves to see how unreasonable they can be when setting the task. Many children are learning very little from this method of teaching unless given a lot more direction.

The objectives of a follow-up enquiry task need to be set out in advance. This is what it could look like:

Objective: Inform students in whole class instruction of all essential facts of the Desert Biome and prepare students with specialised vocabulary to enable a successful enquiry task to follow.

So lots more support means:

~~A written introduction to the topic with essential facts and related vocabulary.
~~All essential facts appropriate to their grade level need to be given to the class as a whole.
~~This can be done through a 10-minute  introduction through whole-class teaching over several lessons. Or,  one full lesson with whole-class teaching using common materials.

This approach ensures that the teacher knows what has been learned. It forms the basis for enquiry learning to follow. Enquiry tasks cannot be left to replace the groundwork that needs to be done in the classroom.

The objectives for the enquiry task need to be specific so the parameters are clearly defined and the search words that the students will use on the internet will lead them directly and specifically to the topic. It could look like this:

“*Make use of the new words you learned in class. Research one animal of your choice. This animal inhabits the Desert Biome. Your account should explain to the reader why this animal lives in the Desert Biome and not in any other biome. Write an account of the animal’s appearance, food sources, predators and mating habits. Insert no more than two pictures into your account.  This report will be shared and assessed.”

This link takes you to an earlier post that discusses some of these problems: Enquiry Tasks Have Pitfalls, Science