How to Design an Inquiry-Based Lesson with Simulations
Updated 2026-10-02
An inquiry-based lesson asks students to answer a question by investigating it, instead of confirming an answer you have already given them. Simulations make this practical in a normal lesson: trials take seconds, nothing breaks, and every group can test a different variable. This guide shows you how to choose the right level of inquiry, design a guided-inquiry lesson in six steps, and keep it from turning into aimless clicking. It includes a complete 55-minute lesson on what controls how fast a plant loses water, with the data students will really collect and a question set to attach to the link.
Four levels of inquiry
Inquiry is not all or nothing. A widely used way to describe it is by who provides the question, the method and the answer.
| Level | Question | Method | Answer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Confirmation | Teacher | Teacher | Known in advance |
| Structured | Teacher | Teacher | Students find it |
| Guided | Teacher | Students | Students find it |
| Open | Students | Students | Students find it |
Most "labs" in textbooks are confirmation: students follow steps to reach a result they already know. Simulations fit structured and guided inquiry especially well. In this guide, guided inquiry means you pose the question and students design the investigation.
Choosing the level for your class
- Structured suits students who are new to controlling variables, or a simulation with many controls. You give the steps; students discover the pattern.
- Guided suits students who can already plan a fair test. If they can name the independent, dependent and controlled variables without prompting, they are ready. If not, a short practice with the fair test simulation helps first.
- Open inquiry is powerful but slow. Use it for an end-of-unit project, once students have done several guided investigations with the same tools.
Move one level at a time. A class that jumps from confirmation to open inquiry usually spends the lesson asking you what to do.
Six steps to design a guided-inquiry lesson
1. Choose a question the simulation can answer but doesn't print
Open the simulation and check what is on the screen. If it displays the formula that answers your question, students will copy it instead of investigating. That's fine for structured inquiry. For guided inquiry, pick a simulation, or a question, where the relationship has to be found.
2. Run every variable yourself and find the surprise
Spend 15 minutes collecting the data your students will collect. Look for anything non-linear: a peak, a plateau, a threshold. The surprise is what makes students think, and you need to know where it is before they find it.
3. Decide what you give and what students decide
In guided inquiry you give the question, the simulation and the time. Students choose the variable to test, the range, the number of values and the table layout. Write down in advance which decisions are theirs, so you don't take them back when a group hesitates.
4. Check the plan before anyone touches the simulation
A three-line plan is enough: "We will change ___ from ___ to ___. We will measure ___. We will keep ___ the same." Read it, ask one question, and approve it. This five-minute check prevents most of the wasted time in inquiry lessons.
5. Plan the share-out
Give different groups different variables, so the class answer is built from everyone's data. Leave at least ten minutes for groups to present their graphs and compare.
6. Assess the inquiry, not just the answer
Attach a question set to the class link. Number questions confirm that students measured correctly. Short answers show whether they can reason about their method, including the limits of their conclusion.
Worked example: what controls how fast a plant loses water?
Level: guided inquiry · Ages: 13–16 · Time: 55 minutes Simulation: Transpiration and stomatal control
The simulation shows a plant, a close-up of a stoma and four sliders: Light, Humidity, Wind and Soil moisture. The line under the model reports the stomatal opening, the transpiration rate in g/dm² per hour and whether the plant's water balance is positive or negative. No formula is shown, so students have to find the relationships themselves.
Before the lesson
Create a class link with the default starting values: light 70%, humidity 55%, wind 1 m/s, soil 70%. At these values the stomata are 70% open, the transpiration rate is 1.02 g/dm²/hour, and the water balance is positive (1.08). Attach the question set below.
Hook (5 minutes)
Open the link in present mode on the projector. Press Blazing noon. The stomata are 63% open, the transpiration rate jumps to 1.97, and the water balance turns negative (−1.07). Then press Night: the stomata close and transpiration stops. Ask: "What changed between these two? Which of those changes matters most?" Write the four factors on the board.
The question (given)
"How does each factor affect the transpiration rate?"
Plan (10 minutes)
Each group chooses one factor. Make sure all four are covered. Groups write their three-line plan, and you approve it. Typical prompts if a group stalls:
- "What range does the slider allow? Will you use all of it?"
- "How many values do you need to see the shape of the graph?"
- "What will you do with the other three sliders?"
Investigate (15 minutes)
Groups set the starting values, change their factor in steps, record the rate and draw a graph. These are the results they should get, with the other three factors at the starting values (teacher copy):
| Light (%) | 0 | 20 | 40 | 60 | 80 | 100 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rate (g/dm²/h) | 0 | 0.29 | 0.58 | 0.87 | 1.17 | 1.46 |
| Humidity (%) | 20 | 40 | 60 | 80 | 100 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rate (g/dm²/h) | 1.81 | 1.36 | 0.91 | 0.45 | 0 |
| Wind (m/s) | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rate (g/dm²/h) | 0.76 | 1.29 | 1.81 | 2.34 | 2.87 |
| Soil moisture (%) | 5 | 10 | 20 | 30 | 40 | 50 | 70 | 100 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rate (g/dm²/h) | 0 | 0.13 | 0.38 | 0.64 | 0.89 | 1.02 | 1.02 | 1.02 |
The surprise is soil moisture. From 45% up, it makes no difference at all. Below 45%, the stomata start to close and the rate falls to zero. A group that only tests 50%, 70% and 100% will conclude "soil moisture has no effect", which is true only for the range they tested.
The wind group finds a second surprise: from 5.5 m/s the water balance turns negative (−0.24 at 6 m/s). The plant is losing more water than its roots take up, even though the soil is moist.
Share and explain (15 minutes)
Each group shows its graph and states its result in one sentence. Then build the explanation together:
- Light opens the stomata, so more water vapor escapes.
- Humidity sets the difference in water vapor between the leaf and the air. At 100% there is no difference, so transpiration stops.
- Wind sweeps away the moist air next to the leaf, keeping that difference large.
- Dry soil triggers a signal that closes the stomata to save water. The plant loses less water but also takes in less CO₂.
Ask the soil group directly: "Was your conclusion right?" This is the most valuable minute of the lesson: a conclusion only holds for the range you tested.
Exit (10 minutes)
Students answer the question set below the simulation, individually.
Question set for the link
- Prediction, multiple choice, asked again: "Starting from the values on screen, which single change raises the transpiration rate most?" Options: light to 100% / humidity down to 20% / wind up to 3 m/s / soil moisture up to 100%. Answer: humidity down to 20% (1.81, compared with 1.46 for light, 1.55 for wind and no change for soil).
- Number: "Set soil moisture to 30% and keep the other starting values. What transpiration rate does the simulation show?" Answer: 0.64, tolerance ± 0.02, unit g/dm²/hour.
- Number, range: "Keep the other starting values. Find a wind speed that makes the water balance negative." Answer: range from 5.5 (included) to 8 (included), unit m/s. At 5 m/s the balance is still just positive.
- Short answer, read by hand: "A group tested soil moisture at 50%, 70% and 100% and concluded that it has no effect. What would you tell them?" Model answer: their result is right only for that range. Below 45% the stomata close and the rate drops, so they need to test the full range before concluding.
- Short answer, read by hand: "Write your group's conclusion as: When ___ increases, the transpiration rate ___, because ___."
The same simulation at three levels
You can reuse one simulation as a class moves up the levels. Here is the transpiration lesson at three levels of inquiry.
- Structured (ages 11–13): "Set light to 0, 20, 40, 60, 80 and 100%. Leave the other sliders alone. Record the rate each time and draw the graph." You give the method; students find the pattern. They should notice that doubling the light from 40% to 80% doubles the rate, from 0.58 to 1.17.
- Guided (ages 13–16): the lesson above. You give the question; students choose the factor, the range and the steps.
- Open (ages 15–18, end of unit): students pose their own question. Two that work well with this simulation: "Which combination of conditions gives the highest rate while the water balance stays positive?" and "Is wind more important on a dry day or a humid day?" The second needs two variables at once, so ask how they will keep the test fair.
Moving up a level changes who decides, not the simulation. That makes the progression easy to plan across a year.
Common mistakes
- The answer is on the screen. Check before the lesson. If the simulation prints the equation, keep the lesson structured or ask a different question.
- Two sliders at once. Groups that move two controls get results they can't explain. Role cards help: one student's only job is to check that a single slider moved.
- Conclusions beyond the data. "Soil moisture has no effect" from three values above 45% is the classic case. Ask every group for the range it tested.
- No time to share. Without the share-out, each group knows a quarter of the answer. Protect the last fifteen minutes.
- Grading only the final answer. The plan and the reasoning about the method are the inquiry skills. Assess them too.
Scaffolds that keep inquiry from turning into guessing
- A planning frame. The three-line plan above, printed or pasted into the instructions for students.
- Role cards. One student drives the simulation, one records, one checks that only one slider moved.
- A hint ladder. Prepare three hints of increasing help for each likely sticking point, and give the smallest one first.
- Claim, evidence, reasoning. Ask every group for one claim, two numbers that support it, and one sentence of reasoning.
- A range check. Before any group writes "no effect", ask: "Did you test the whole range?"
Where POE and 5E fit
Inquiry, Predict–Observe–Explain and the 5E model work together.
- A POE cycle is one prediction tested once. Use it as the hook of an inquiry lesson, as in the Blazing noon demo. The Predict–Observe–Explain guide covers that routine.
- In a 5E lesson, a guided inquiry is the Explore phase, and the share-out leads into Explain. The 5E lesson plan guide shows the full arc.
- For a formal practical with repeats and uncertainty, turn the investigation into a virtual lab activity.
Other simulations that work well for guided inquiry: heat transfer and insulation ("which change saves the most energy?"), thermal expansion of solids ("what does the expansion depend on?") and industrial enzymes ("when does adding substrate stop helping?"). For more ideas, start with how to use interactive simulations in the classroom.
FAQ
What is the difference between guided and open inquiry?
In guided inquiry you pose the question and students design the investigation. In open inquiry students also choose the question. Guided inquiry fits a single lesson; open inquiry usually needs a project.
How long does a guided-inquiry lesson with a simulation take?
Plan 50–60 minutes: a short hook, ten minutes of planning, about fifteen minutes of investigation and at least fifteen for the share-out and explanation.
Can younger students do inquiry with simulations?
Yes, at the structured level. Give them the question and the steps, and let them find the pattern. Move to guided inquiry once they can plan a fair test on their own.
How do I assess an inquiry lesson?
Check the plan, the data and the conclusion. A question set on the link can check the measurements automatically. Read the short answers for reasoning about the method, especially whether students respect the range they tested.