Inquiry-Based Instruction in The Context of Constructivism

The education goes from its utter beginning through some changes whose momentum factors are the needs laid on the individual in a relation to his/her integration into the society, the living in it and its prospective development. During the historical development the needs change as well as the social values, therefore during the different historical eras it is possible to encounter differently focused education emphasizing the physical development, the artistic development, the acquiring of the vast amount of knowledge, the development of the manual skills, perception, thinking, and the possibility of applying the acquired knowledge in the common life. The current social needs emphasize the education of an individual (with the creative thinking), who is not only able to find the problems, but also to solve them effectively. He/she should be cooperative, active, competitive, but also tolerant and defending the weak ones. The article reacts on the tendencies in the field of education, obvious within the international context and manifesting themselves in the use of the inquiry-based instruction. Furthermore, it is focused on the description of the development of the pupils' competencies focused on the problem solving in a relation to the constructivism. These competencies are often seen as the non-linked to the particular subjects, or as competencies superior to the subjects, however, used in the concrete activities. During a life, people have to apply what they have learned in the new situations, and for that they have to master the basic thought and other general skills which are essential for the individual competencies for problem solving. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.