Inquiry cycle

As I told you before, there is a very entertaining and simple way to understand and apply the scientific method in just three steps: the cycle of inquiry. Everything starts by simply observing over and over again what surrounds us, the nature that expresses itself from the incredible smallness of an atom to the wonderful immensity of a forest, the mountain range or the ocean. And by "observing" I don't mean just looking with our eyes, but rather receiving all the sensations that come from our senses. You humans have very sophisticated instruments in your body with which you can perceive the world around you: your eyes, your ears, your skin, your nose, and your tongue. They also have a brain capable of gathering all the information sent by the senses and adding it to what they already know, stored by memory. They also have a heart from which feelings and love are born, that force that attracts them, unites them with the world, and drives them to explore, discover and understand what surrounds them.

By observing, more than one thing will catch your attention and you will feel curious or want to know what is happening there, and naturally you will begin to ask yourself questions about what you have seen. Each of those questions could be answered if we took action and collected data ourselves.

That information, in addition to helping us answer our question, will make us reflect on the results we obtained through the action and about what could happen in other places and situations.

Question

Action Reflection

As a result of the complete cycle (Question — Action — Reflection), and motivated by other observations and the immortal curiosity, new questions will arise that we will be able to answer using this Cycle of Inquiry again.

The most entertaining thing about all this is that we can learn by doing experiments and measurements in the great natural laboratory that exists out here and reflect on what we have done, without having to memorize anything, simply open to learning and being surprised.

Surely you have already realized that knowledge has been built driven by the desire to know what is not known and the curiosity that has motivated them to explore the world and discover the mysteries that life hides, observing even the smallest detail of what catches your attention and wondering about what they see. And in this you, the girls and boys, are experts curious, inquisitive and explorers!

Let's get to work and start with the task of teacher Salvatierra

—"Now?" —Violet asked.

—"No, now you have to go back to class —Lihuén replied. —But as soon as you come back from school, let's get together in the patio of your house. Dress in comfortable clothes that you can get dirty and remember to take a notebook with you to put your notes and drawings.

When Violeta arrived from school, she went straight to her room, left her backpack, changed her clothes and took a notebook to quickly go out to the patio where Lihuén was waiting to guide her in her first scientific experience.