ABSTRACT
This chapter includes inquiry because that title is a commonly used term in schools. Student-directed investigations include several varieties of investigations that share certain critical attributes. Precise definitions of all the various types of investigations are difficult and somewhat nebulous. Constructivism has the underlying belief that people construct knowledge as a result of their personal set of experiences. Constructivists believe that what a person knows is not a function of detached observation but created through interaction with the world and that knowledge and reality are subjective. The various types of student-directed investigation will serve different purposes, and because of this one type may be a better match for a learning target than another. Inquiry learning encourages students to think like professionals in the field. With inquiry learning the emphasis is on the pursuit of questions, making hypotheses, investigating, forming theories, and the possibility of taking action based upon evaluative judgments.
