Barton and Levstik: Inquiry

In How We Think by John Dewey, Dewey argued that although beliefs about what is true can rest on any number of foundations -- tradition, authority, imitation, and so on -- important beliefs should be grounded on evidence. They should result form "conscious inquiry into the nature, conditions, and bearings of the belief."  Reflective thought, Dewey says,is  "active, persistent, and careful consideration of any belief or supposed form of knowledge in the light of the grounds that support it, and the further conclusions to which it tends."

Begin with a problem -- a felt difficulty or some perplexity, confusion, or doubt. "This was followed by an attempt to define the problem clearly and to suggest a possible solution, hypothesis, or theory to resolve it -- or better still, according to Dewey, a variety of alternative solutions. The implications of these solutions or hypotheses would then be considered, and empirical observation or experimentation would take place to see which best matched the evidence. This provided the basis for conclusions -- beliefs grounded in evidence" (187).

Inquiry engages students in the process of knowledge construction.

"Given that some students begin with prior knowledge more closely matching the historical perspectives sanctioned at school, it seems likely that some will be better positioned to understand and benefit from a curriculum delivered through textbooks, lectures, or other transmission-oriented methods. That is, those students whose prior knowledge already reflects the dominant historical narratives of school will be better able to comprehend and retain the new information they encounter at school, even if the instruction is poorly delivered. Meanwhile, those students whose prior knowledge conflicts with school history (or which is simply unconnected to it) will have more difficulty mastering a curriculum that does not meet them halfway.As a result, initial differences among students will increase the longer they are in school, with one group of students unlikely to encounter challenges that expand their perspectives while the other groups become increasingly alienated from the curriculum and are provided with little validation of their own ideas" (189-90).

Allow students to pursue their own investigations and reach their own conclusions. Critical to a democratic pluralism is reaching conclusions based on evidence.

They key, however, is the felt difficulty. So the task for teachers is to facilitate this before moving students to their work. The questions cannot arise from "reproducible student pages" but from students' own concerns about the past (or present). The meaning making comes from the felt difficulty; otherwise, it is just analysis or reading without purpose without constructions. The whole point is to recognize and move beyond such recognition that our understanding of the world is constructed and that we construct meaning, too.