The Interrogative Model of Inquiry and Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning

The purpose of the study was to examine how the Interrogative Model of Inquiry (IModel), developed by Jaakko Hintikka and Matti Sintonen for the purposes of epistemology and philosophy of science, could be applied to analyze elementary school students’ process of inquiry in computer-supported learning. We review the basic assumptions of I-Model, report results of empirical investigation of the model in the context of computer-supported collaborative learning, and discuss pedagogical implications of the model. The results of the study furnished evidence that elementary school students were able to transform initially vague explanation-seeking question to a series of more specific subordinate questions while pursuing their knowledge-seeking inquiry. The evidence presented indicates that, in an appropriate environment, it is entirely possible for young students, with computer-support for collaborative learning, to engage in sophisticated knowledge seeking analogous to scientific inquiry. We argue that the interrogative approach to inquiry can productively be applied for conceptualizing inquiry in the context of computer-supported learning.