Integrating inquiry into teaching

It is not uncommon to find chemistry teachers sticking to traditional methods of instruction that involve a considerable amount of teacher talk and directed instruction. Teachers are often wary of changing their role from instructor to a person who guides students through a scientific inquiry. 

A guided inquiry, or problem solving, approach starts with a question and expects the students to determine the procedures that will lead to a solution. While there has been several studies looking at successful inquiry teaching they have looked at individual episodes rather than examining how the teacher makes the transitions into and out of the inquiries. Dennis Smithenry of Elmhurst College, Illinois, US has filled this gap by studying the work of one teacher over a year.