DEVELOPING PUPIL’S SKILL TO
ASK QUESTIONS
Children love to ask
questions. It is not a
surprise to hear children
ask almost endless “why”
for a lot of thing.
Nature of the inquiry
approach
The inquiry approach provides the
pupils with opportunities to
develop the skill to ask question.
When the skill becomes a habit, the
development of critical thinking
among the children follows.
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.
Secondly, human interest is so diverse,
complex and vast. Investigation in this
area of study are a continuous process.
For as man continues to people the earth,
history, civics and culture, and the other
social science will continue to grow.
The teachers should thus expose the
children to opportunities for simple
investigation.
The inquiry approach is characterized by
the following:
1. It emphasizes the development of skill to ask
questions.
The skill to ask question 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.
2. It gives the pupils the opportunity to satisfy their
curiosity by going to their question of knowledge
Many times, the pupils will find the information in
the classroom inadequate to answer their question.
Pupils in the higher grades can gather information
using the library, while pupils in the lower grade
can gather inforation through observation.
3. It gives emphasis on the interests and experience
of the pupils.
The pupils will be better motivated to study if the
subject matter content or activity content are
about to engage in excites their interest. The
curiosity of the pupils will be aroused to a higher
degree as the people around them talk the same
subject matter.
4. It counts on the active participants of the pupils.
Since 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 pupil by creating an
environment permeated with the spirit of
democracy.
Strategy
The success of the use of the inquiry
approach is greatly dependent on the
teacher’s art of questioning. Question
must be arranged such that one
question leads to another.
SYNTHESIZING - What can you conclude about they
people honor their dead?
ANALYZING - Why do they honor their dead the way they
do?
COMPARING - How do Filipino 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?
FOCUSING
This is a picture of a monument of our national hero.
• Whose monument is this?
• What do you know about them?
• What do you want to know about them?
PUPIL’S QUESTIONS ( Assuming that the monument of
Doc. Jose P. Rizal is in focus and the class is a grade 1
class)
• Where did he lived?(Recall)
• Who were his friends?(Recall)
• How did he lived?(Comprehension)
• How did he died?(Comprehension)
• Why was he executed?(Analysis)
• Why is he important?(Analysis)
1.Focusing.
It is the starting point of the activity, it is actually the
springboard to the lesson. As emphasized earlier, the
inquiry approach utilizes the interest of the pupils.
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 the focusing has been successfully done, drawing
the outline of the topic of discussion becomes easy. This
is done by eliciting questions from the pupils as shown
in Illustration
2. The questions they will raise will serve as the guide
for the succeeding discussion.
What happens if the questions turn out to be far
from what the teacher hopes for?
The questions should not turn out to be far from the
one in the mind of the teacher. This situation will be
prevented if the springboard clearly leads the pupils
to the questions and if the teacher is able to manage
and control the process of drawing the questions
well.
During this exercise, 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 Scientifically, this step is referred to
as the identification of the problem.
2.2. Organizing the questions or topics of discussion.
At this point, 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, that they will need to
gather data to see whether their 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 the data. This will
require pupils to go to the sources of informa-tion.
The pupils may go to the library, interview people, or
make their own observations. The teacher should
give them enough time to collect the data they need
to answer their questions.
Before the collection of data commences, 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, the size of the group should be
kept small; say 4 to 5 member
2.5. Analyzing organizing, and presenting the
data.
At this point, the teacher should teach the
pupils how to put their data together according
to the question and hypotheses they have set
in class. She or he 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 data has been presented, the
teacher should call the attention of the
pupils to the tentative answers
(hypotheses).
Convergent Versus Divergent Questions
What kind of questions should the pupils
experience in class? Many questions in class are
convergent. This means there is only one answer
to the question. Constant exposure to this might
create convergent thinking among the pupils.
This could lead to lack of imagination.
To prevent convergent thinking among the pupils,
they could be exposed to divergent questions in
class. These are questions with many possible
answers, enabling the pupils to organize their
thought and exercise their imagination. Constant
exposure to divergent questions can lead to
divergent thinking. Divergent thinking encourages
the pupils to be imaginative.
Lower Level Versus Hight Level Questions
Critical thinking undoubtedly requires the
development of a high level of thinking, and a high
level thinking is developed on through frequent
exposure to high level questions. The teacher
can start by examining the level of questions
she/he asks in the classroom and the the test.
Higher-level questions require the pupils to
develop the following skills:
1. The skills to compare and contrast. This means
that the pupils can single out the similarities and
differences.
2. The skill to relate cause and effect. This mean
that the pupils can single out the cause of what is
being perceived.
3. The skill to draw out the binding principle. This means
that the pupils can single out the basic element or principle
in a thought being perceived.
4. The skill to classify. This means that the pupils know
how to group things, people, events, etc. under a given
heading.
5. The skill to organize related ideas into a whole. This
means the pupils can put ideas in order, summarize
thoughts, or arrange things in a particular perspective.
Values Development through Questions
Using the inquiry approach, the pupils will be exposed
to opportunities where individual and group values
develop and grow. Since they participate actively in
the learning process, the pupils interact with one
another more often and are able to exercise in class
the value they get from their lessons.
When possible, the teacher may employ Values
Inquiry to help the pupils analyze their personal values
with the hope of giving them the chance to choose
more acceptable values in case their values are not
acceptable.
The teacher should be quick to pick opportunities
which will enhance the values a the pupils. The values
of the pupils should be processed in the most natural
way possible and never in a judgmental way.
Conclusion
The inquiry approach develops the pupils skill to ask
questions. It takes advantage of the innate curiosity of
children: converting such curiosity into a capacity for
scientific inquiry. The inquiry approach follows the
scientific steps: identifying the topic/problem
formulating hypothesis; gathering of data, verifying the
data, and formulating conclusions.
To enhance the pupils' skill to ask questions, the
teacher should also develop the art of questioning. An
important consideration is the teacher's skill to ask
divergent and high-level questions. This skill is vital, if
the inquiry approach is to be applied in the classroom.
Finally, inquiry approach does not only develop the
pupils' skill to as questions, it is also a powerful tool for
individual and group values formation.
