Abstrakt
The inquiry based science education (IBSE) differs from the instruction which insists on remembering facts only; it is a transformation into such a process which emphasizes understanding the concept and process of acquiring new knowledge itself. The centre of the problem is in the fact learners become involved into inquiring science relations and principles, they connect information into a meaningful context, develop their critical thinking and support to the positive approach to natural sciences.
The term of "inquiry" is synonymous with research, exploration, investigation, survey, examination, testing, i.e. with procedures which are typical for natural sciences as such; and which should be reflected and implemented in their process of teaching and learning. Sometimes the "inquiry-based" instruction is defined as the transition from the deductive to inductive instruction.
Despite this really is a method of considerable strengthening the inductive approach to the cognitive process, it cannot displace deductive ways of cognition from the science education. It should work in co-operation of both sides of one process, i.e. it provides mutual complementarity of cognitive tools of empirical-inductive and theoretical-deductive type.
The IBSE is characterized by four levels which relate to the share of management within pupil's activities from the teacher's side - the confirmed, structured, guided and open inquiry. Each type requires specific application of the ICT depending on the support of basic methodological tools of the natural science cognition.
Theoretical background and practical examples are described and discussed in the article.