MODULE 2

DEVELOPING PUPILS’ SKILL TO ASK QUESTIONS

Nature of Inquiry Approach

- The inquiry approach provides pupils with opportunities to develop the skill to
ask questions. When the skill becomes a habit, the development of critical thinking
among the pupils follows.

Critical Thinking
is a mental set which requires the mind to analyze information before accepting
it. It seeks to find the reason or reasons behind what is observed. For example, the child
observes that during Christmas time in the Philippines there are dawn masses. The
child does not merely end with such an observation but he seeks to find the reason for
it. The development of this habit can very well be facilitated in the classroom by a
creative teacher who uses the inquiry approach

Assumption
We can assume two things in using the inquiry approach. First, one can assume
that the written record of the past is not totally exhaustive. The historiographers cannot
claim that they have obtain all the information they need to know to formulate their
conclusions. Diaries, archeological artifacts, and fossils may still turn up after a long
period of time. Their discovery may change significantly the perspective of history.
The elementary pupils are not expected to perform their own inquiry in the
manner that historians do, they can already begin to develop the skill of asking
questions which will prepare them to do more serious inquiries in the future.
Second, human interest is so diverse, complex and vast. Investigations in this
area of study are a continuous process. for as many continues to people the earth,
history, civics and culture and the other social sciences will continue to grow. As people
continue to discover and migrate to unknown lands, many communities are born and
new cultures evolve.
The inquiry approach is characterizing by the following:
1. It emphasizes the development of the skill to ask questions.
The skill to ask questions can be easily developed at an early age by the pupils if
they are systematically guided by the teacher. Teachers can lead the pupils to
ask questions that clarify, analyze, organize, evaluate facts and information.
 When they get used to the habit of asking questions, the quality of their questions
will develop in breadth and depth.
2. It gives the pupils the opportunity to satisfy their curiosity by going to the body of
knowledge.
The pupils will find the information using in the classroom inadequate to answer
their questions. For instance, asking their parents or their grandparents about the
EDSA Revolution could be an interesting experience for them if they want to
know more about it. Talking to a postman in the Barangay will give them idea
how the Post Office serves the people in the community.
3. it gives emphasis on the interest and experiences of the pupils.
The pupils will be better motivated to study if the subject matter content or
activity they are about to engage in excites their interest. To achieve this, the
subject matter content may be arranged in such a way that it follows as closely
as possible the development of events and/or the experiences of the pupils in the
local Barangay, in the national, or international scene. The curiosity of the pupils
will be aroused to a higher degree as the people around them talk of the same
subject matter.
4. It counts on the active participation of the pupils.
The approach emphasizes skill development, the pupils acquire it only through
active participation and constant or frequent use of the skill. The teacher guides
the pupils by creating an environment permeated with the spirit of democracy
which encourages them to actively participate and share their thoughts with their
classmates.

Strategy
The success of the use of the inquiry approach is greatly dependent on the
teacher’s art of questioning and his creativity. The teacher’s skill to ask questions in a
developmental fashion has a tremendous effect in focusing the interest of the pupils on
the subject matter on the subject matter and on the unfolding of subsequent discussion.
Questions should be arranged such that one question leads to another. This establishes
or strengthens the relationship of thoughts, facts, and information with one another thus
facilitating understanding of the subject matter. Developmental questions should follow
a pattern of increasing complexity when applied in the classroom. Illustration below
demonstrates this.
SYNTHESIZING: What can you conclude about the way people honor their dead?
ANALYZING: Why do they honor their dead the way they do?
COMPARING: and How do Filipinos honor their dead?
CONTRASTING: How do Chinese honor their dead?
DESCRIBING: What did you observe?
FOCUSING: What did you do last November 1? Where did you go?
The illustration above is centered on a content discussion showing how the
classroom discussion proceeds and becomes increasingly complex as the questions
unfold the level of thinking. This is shown in Illustration below:

FOCUSING
This is a picture of a monument which you see in our school ground.
Whose monument is this?
What do you know about him/her?
What do you want to know about him/her?
PUPILS’ QUESTIONS (Assuming that the monument of Dr. Jose P. Rizal is in focus
and the class is a grade 1 class)
Where did he live? (Recall)
Who were his parents? (Recall)
How did he live? (Comprehension)
How did he die? (Comprehension)
Why was he executed? (Analysis)
Why is he important? (Analysis)
Two illustrations suggest the following strategy:

1. FOCUSING.
It is the starting point of the activity. It is actually the springboard to the
lesson. The teacher creates a situation for the pupils to focus their attention on
the subject matter. It utilizes the interest of the pupils. The teacher should use
situations that are within the interest of the pupils. The teacher should use
situations that are within the experiences of the pupils and will interest them. It is
good to align the springboard with the current trend of situation in the immediate
environment of the pupils.
The practice of openness should be followed in an atmosphere of
democracy. The teacher should accept the questions of the pupils as far as
practicable. This will enhance their courage to ask questions. This step is called
as identification of the problem.
2. The Process of inquiry

At this point the teacher guides the pupils through the scientific way of
going through the lesson. The following steps should be taken:
2.1. Drawing the topic of discussion.
When focusing has been successfully done, drawing the outline of the
topic of discussion becomes easy. This is done by eliciting questions from
the pupils. The questions they will raise will serve as the guide for the
succeeding discussion or activity.
2.2. Organizing the questions or topics of discussion.
The teacher will guide the pupils in analyzing their questions. The class
under the guidance of the teacher, will do the following:
- Analyze the questions on the board carefully;
* What questions are the same?
* What questions can be put together?
* What questions do the class find worthy to answer?
- Arrange the questions logically.
The end product of this step is an outline of the lesson drawn by the pupils
themselves. Because they participated in formulating the lesson, the
pupils will develop greater interest in learning it.
2.3. Drawing hypothesis from the pupils.
If the pupils are ready, the teacher will then challenge the pupils to try to
answer the questions. Their answers at this point are considered tentative
only. The pupils should understand this situation. They should realize then
temporary answers are acceptable or not.
2.4. Gathering data.
When the outline of the topic has been clearly drawn, the next step is
gathering data. This will require pupils to go to the sources of information.
The pupils may go to the library, interview people, or make their own
observations. The teacher should give them enough time to collect the
date they need to answer their questions.
Before the collection of data start, the teacher should allow the pupils to
decide how they will gather data. Will they collect data in groups; or will
they do it individually? Once a consensus has been reached by the pupils,
the collection of data begins. If the class chooses to collect data in groups,
 the pupils will need to organize themselves under the guidance of the
teacher before proceeding. To ensure the participation of everyone in the
group should be kept small like 4 to 5 members.
2.5 Analyzing, organizing, and presenting the data.
The teacher should teach the pupils how to put their data together
according to the question and hypotheses they have set in class. He/she
should closely guide the pupils in writing down the data into a report if
necessary.
In the lower grades. This step will become simpler. The pupils may not be
required to write their data lengthily, but the teacher needs to teach them
how to share their findings with the class. They can initially be trained to
interview people in their homes, in school, or in the neighborhood and
share with their classmates orally what they found out from them.
2.6. Verifying the hypothesis
After the date has been presented, the teacher should call the attention of
the pupils to the tentative answers (hypothesis). the pupils will now judge
whether the hypothesis they gave are acceptable or not according to the
data they presented.
2.7. Formulating conclusions and generalizations.
After the gathered data has been has been shared in class, the pupils are
now ready to formulate their conclusion to every question similar to the
following:
* Based on what we have learned, what sentence can we give regarding
the……? or
* Based on the data presented in class, what conclusion can we formulate
regarding the …...?
This strategy will be applied differently in the various grade levels. The
constant factor remains that of providing the pupils with opportunities to
ask questions and to seek the