Inquiry Wheel

Last week in class we learned about the inquiry wheel and how it differs from the scientific method. Scientists use the scientific method to write out their experiments, but they use the inquiry wheel while they are experimenting. The wheel doesn't have to go in any order, it is not linear at all, and you can always go back to a step and try again if something goes wrong. It revolves around questions. We need to ask lots of questions in order to complete and experiment. Science is messy, so the wheel really accommodates that. Predictions can be wrong, and then you have to go back and make a new one. I really like the inquiry wheel process and I think I will definitely be able to use it in my classroom someday.

I also think it will help with our big project. We don't know how our experiments will turn out, so we will probably have to go back and forth on the inquiry wheel to come to a final conclusion. We need to ask lots of questions and know that our experiments might not turn how how we expect them to. The inquiry wheel will make it easier for us to carry out the experiments.