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2. Theoretical Framework 23
Inquiry Cycle
Inquiry learning is often used as a method to guide the learner through complex
scientific problems. It is an activity that involves several phases such as coming up
with a research question and developing a hypothesis. In a next phase, the research
question is investigated by systematically altering variables in an experiment
(Künsting, Thillmann, Wirth, Fischer, & Leutner, 2008). Data from this experiment
including several experiment runs and students‟ observations can then be used in an
analysis and evaluation phase to build the base for developing scientific knowledge.
Although the phase of collecting empirical data can vary depending on the approach
taken (Quintana et al., 2004), much iteration is required (Blank, 2000; White &
Frederiksen, 1998). Therefore, to engage students in scientific thinking by
investigating particular problems, a continuous cycle of inquiry is needed (White &
Frederiksen, 2000). Inquiry learning is cyclical; the investigation of a phenomenon
requires usually more than conducting one experiment because results from one
experiment often lead to conducting a follow-up experiment. After a first full inquiry
cycle, spanning from orientation to analysis and results, there should be a next full
inquiry cycle and so forth. An inquiry activity also can and should be iterative,
because the inquiry cycle does not consist of a rigid sequence of phases, but of a
flexible one, which can be adapted. That is why, the scientific method can help
learners during the scientific investigation process. Every phase of the inquiry cycle
leads to the next phase of that cycle. This sequential process allows the learner to
transform empirical data into knowledge, and this knowledge leads to a new
question, which then can be investigated in the next inquiry cycle.
Inquiry Phases
The phases in an inquiry cycle are important for a learner in order to process the
information he or she generates when running an experiment. Typically, inquiry
cycles that are mentioned in inquiry research consist of the following phases:
orientation phase, hypothesis phase, experiment phase and analysis/results phase
(Löhner, Joolingen, Savelsbergh, & Van Hout-Wolters, 2005). Even though most
advocates of inquiry learning promote the cyclical nature of inquiry, the cycle is