Parachutes

1. Involves learning through direct interaction with materials  

2. Investigations start from learner's ideas or questions  

3. Requires the use of process skills

• Observing (collecting, measuring, and comparing evidence )
• Hypothesizing
• Planning (including prediction)
• Interpreting
• Communicating

4. Requires discussion with others, working cooperatively and sharing ideas  

5. Allows multiple points of access  

6. Facilitates development of 'big ideas' 

7. Level of understanding is appropriate to the learner's development  

8. Leads to further investigations  

9. Requires learner to reflect critically  

Necessary but not sufficient  

10. An appropriate variety of materials in sufficient quantity  

11. Simple and safe equipment that the children can use themselves  

12. Relevant to children's experience, of all cultural backgrounds  

13. Interesting and intriguing to children  

14. Time to allow messing about before more ordered investigations  

15. Directions for getting started are clear  

Materials developed through a collaboration of the Exploratorium Institute for Inquiry and Wynne Harlen.