Chapter Seven of the book, Pathways for Inquiry, discusses how to move beyond the specific facts of an inquiry to arrive at large ideas that answer the questions "So what? What does this inquiry contribute to my learning?" The chapter explores the importance of logic in reasoning from particulars to large ideas.
Student Inquiry Projects illustrate how answers to questions about a topic can lead to understandings that are larger than the topic studied. These large ideas may be expressed as generalizations, reasoned hypotheses ,or propositions that help to explain the natural environment and/or the characteristics, behaviors, and qualities of human beings.
Read the following Inquiry Projects, paying special attention to the big ideas (denoted in bold type) that the authors report to have emerged from their studies. Trace the logic of the students’ inquiries — from questions to resources to clues to big ideas.
Rosemary El Ammari An Inquiry Project about Johnny Tudyk, Inquiry Project, Part 2 (Winner, 2000 Martinello Prize for Inquiry)
Lorena Huerta The Impact of The Great Depression and WW II on My Grandfather, Inquiry Project, Part 2
Shawne S. Ortiz How a Civil Rights Case Affected the Members of LULAC Chapter #4456, Inquiry Project, Part 2 (Winner, 2000 Martinello Prize for Inquiry)
John Wallace Hypotheses on Europan Life Inquiry Project, Part 2
