What Children Gain by Learning Through Inquiry by Hubert Dyasi Curiosity is a fundamental human trait. By valuing this natural impulse to learn, the inquiry process can give children the direct feedback and personal experiences they need to shape new and enduring views of the world. This essay points out how inquiry can make a difference in the way children acquire and understand scientific concepts. From an early age, humans puzzle over phenomena of nature they encounter and ask many questions about them. Whether asked verbally or in actions, these questions indicate curiosity- an intense desire to know or to find out.
Curiosity is thus a fundamental human trait.
Since curiosity is at the center of inquiry, these questions too are an integral part of inquiry, which in turn must be a human habit of mind and learning. Although this definition refers to qualities of inquiry that are especially related to the learning and practice of science, inquiry also relates to learning in other areas of study. Communicating Through Action Inquiry is at once a practical and an intellectual activity. In young children, inquiry frequently focuses on tangible items that are of immediate interest. For example, when a toddler slides off a couch and for the first time lands on her feet instead of falling flat on the floor, she may climb back onto the couch and repeat the activity.