Image description for Inquiry Diagram

1. SITUATION: Every inquiry starts with some observation, claim, and/or need for understanding. The explore and focus process allows students to learn more about the situation and decide on a possible place to focus an inquiry. (Most situations have more than one possible place to focus.)
2. Once the FOCUS is decided, the student still needs to learn more about that focus before deciding on the CENTRAL QUESTION that will guide the inquiry. It is at this stage that the student decides if the focus is important and relevant enough to pursue.
3. Note that the CENTRAL QUESTION is midway through the inquiry process; one needs to know something before one can ask good central questions.
4. Sometimes in the process of researching identified possible answers one comes up with MORE POSSIBLE ANSWERS.
5. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS - discuss overall findings, implications and need for further work. (Back to Diagram)