What is the difference between a linear procedure and a recursive process?

The distinction between recursive processes and linear procedures is so important to the discussion of inquiry-based learning that it is essential to initially take a look at the difference between the two concepts. George Geahigan, a Purdue University professor, provides the main framework for understanding the difference between a procedure and a process (1998a; 1998b).

According to Geahigan (1998a), linear procedures exist when, classroom activities are “…broken down into a number of discrete steps or stages through which students proceed in a linear fashion” (p. 293). Hence, it is the expectation that the students will “follow” the teacher mandated procedure, and by doing so will learn (Geahigan, 1998a, p. 293). Geahigan further explains that a procedure’s intent is to have “…a set of activities linked together in consecutive order for the purpose of attaining some goal,” like a surgeon “…performs a set of activities to effect the cure of some ailment” (1998a, p. 294).

In contrast, a process is focused on “searching and finding”, where answers have not yet been discovered (

The inquiry-based process in which students engage has six stages through which students negotiate (See Figure A). According to Geahigan (1998a; 1998b) students will experience all of these stages, and there will be “…back and forth movement between” the stages of the process (Geahigan, 1998a, p. 297). The approach that the students will take in experiencing a particular stage of inquiry will also be dependent upon the student, as these stages are not procedural activities (Tower, 2000). The combination of stages rather then activities, and the idea of student negotiation back and forth through said stages is what makes inquiry-based learning a recursive process. The heart of inquiry-based learning is that students “…pursue answers to problems that seem real and meaningful to them” (Vanfossen and Shiveley, 1997, p. 72). For this to happen there has to be great flexibility in terms of where students are in the process outlined in Figure A; this allows for unique learning situations to occur. And inquiry is unique because it allows “teachers and students [to] enter a process of social construction of knowledge that encourages critique, diversity”…“and meaning making” (Fecho, 2000).

Conversely, the goal of critical literacy is to make students aware of who obtains and possesses power, allowing the students to question their world (Freire, 1970; Macedo, 1994). Teaching that is both process oriented and recursive in nature therefore proves to be fruitful for children’s learning (Langford, 2001; Geahigan, 1998a; Geahigan, 1998b; McCallister, 2002, Fecho 2000).

Learning is a process (Chilcoat, 1996; Everett-Allsup, 2003; Langford, 2001; Geahigan, 1998a, Geahigan, 1998b, Short & Burke, 1996; Cousin, Dembrow, & Molldrem-Shamel, 1997; Tower, 2000). By viewing learning as students engaged in processes that questions their world, students wil

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