Student-propelled inquiry Student inquiry based on authentic questions enables children to learn in the ways scientists learn. Authentic questions are generated by students, or represent objectives meaningful to students.
Teachers can certainly help students form questions.
Children should read texts and ask for explanations. But these should not be the starting points of learning. Knowledge of science is more complex than a uniform list of familiar facts and skills, atomized and isolated from the contexts, motivations, and decisions which make ideas meaningful. A sensor attached to a Palm Pilot allows children to conduct investigations in ways that they couldn't before. Computational Tools Computers add something new to science investigation.