Inquiry in the classroom can take many forms. Investigations can be highly
structured by the teacher so that students proceed toward known outcomes, such
as discovering regularities in the movement of pendulums (as noted in the
Foreword and in the classroom vignette on pages 146-147 of the National
Science Education Standards). Or investigations can be free-ranging
explorations of unexplained phenomena, like the tree leaf discrepancies in Mrs.
Graham's schoolyard. The form that inquiry takes depends largely on the
educational goals for students, and because these goals are diverse, highly
structured and more open-ended inquiries both have their place in science
classrooms.