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What is
Inquiry-based
learning?
Module One Lesson
One
"Reason and free inquiry are the
only effective agents against error." Thomas Jefferson
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What is inquiry-based
learning? Welcome to
Inquiry based-learning and technology. Make sure you have read
the introduction first to understand the overview of the course, the
course requirements and how to get in touch with me.
Even though this course is called Technology and Inquiry-based Learning you may have different notions of what that means therefore your first task will be to make an inquiry to find out how well you understand this teaching strategy. To begin, write your own constitutes Inquiry-based learning, write your own definition. Be thoughtful about this even though I am not going to ask you to share this. Please do this now. Generally speaking inquiry based-learning provides the skills one needs to solve problems and make good decisions. Most of you have used inquiry-based strategies when you purchased a car, planned a trip or decided to take this course. In purchasing a car I assume you didn't serendipitously walk into an auto showroom and impulsively select a car you had never heard anything about. If you did I have a great buy for you on a bridge. How did you decide the manufacturer, model and where to buy it? Did you do some research first? Did you rely on prior knowledge? There's nothing new about inquiry-based learning, although implementing it in classrooms has been a slow process because our traditional educational systems have worked in a way to discourage the process of inquiry even though children and adolescents are curious and want to know the whys and hows of things. Now more than ever, we need to teach them how to make good decisions and to keep our practices parallel with their needs. Albert Einstein is credited with
saying
"It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education." It's not just the way we were taught or taught to teach and that makes it particularly difficult for teachers to implement inquiry-based learning in their practices. There are customs and structures in place that make it a challenge but in the long run, it will make your students more excited about learning and they will retain more of what they learned. "If the students'
questions partially determine the direction of the course, it will no
longer be possible to write scope and sequence lesson plans in advance.
The teacher and the students must have the intellectual freedom to go
where essential questions lead. . . "
by Grant Wiggins in
(November, 1989). The futility of trying to teach everything of
importance. Educational Leadership. p. 47
Throughout these lessons we will address not only the benefit of inquiry-based learning, but also the impediments as well and some ideas for overcoming them. It's Interdisciplinary One widely accepted model of inquiry based learning is depicted in the image below.  The inquiry cycle doesn't
end with reflecting but goes on to ask
further questions and research additional information in more of an
upward
spiral fashion. The first time
we do things is not our best effort. That's why we practice and edit
and rehearse and get deeper into things as we research, discuss, and
connect new information.
Although Inquiry-based learning has often been associated in teaching the sciences, it is an integral way of processing information into knowledge in all subject areas and presents an exciting way for students to learn content and to learn how to learn. When a mystery writing is developing a story or researching information for a new historic novel, they are using the inquiry process. When a journalist investigates a news event and a debater prepares to defend a point of view, they too use inquiry skills. To see an Inquiry project in language arts for elementary aged children, check out WayBack Flight from PBS. There is a The Vermont Alliance for the Social Studies project in Vermont advocates integration of the different social studies (history, geography, citizenship, conflict, diversity, identify and economics) using "The Social Studies Inquiry Method. Math from the Toy Store is an example of how a middle school teacher embedded the learning of ratios through an inquiry based experience that provided students with the hands on experience of building toys. If you want to know if "your genes drive you to drink" look at the Science Learning Network's website for another example of an inquiry-based approach to problem solving. Benefits of inquiry-based learning Some say John Dewey was the
father of Inquiry-based learning because he
advocated a constructive process where students engage in
interdisciplinary
thinking and research to solve complex problems. The traditional
approach to teaching tends to be very
vertical: the class studies science for a designated time, then
language arts, then math, and so forth. In contrast, the
inquiry-based approach is at its best when working on interdisciplinary
projects that reinforce multiple skills or knowledge areas in different
facets of the same project. In life we don't solve
problems by thinking in only one discipline. In returning to your
automobile purchase you might use math in calculating how much gasoline
your new car will consume per mile as well as
consider social issues or environmental ones in selecting your
car. You'll consider how much you trust the advice of friends,
consumer reports, and your salesperson and just maybe how the car looks
and
drives. Although the
traditional approach to teaching is sharply weighted toward the
cognitive domain of
growth, inquiry-based learning projects positively reinforce skills in
all three domains—physical, emotional, and cognitive.
Inquiry-based learning is particularly well-suited for
collaborative learning environments and team projects. An inquiry-based
approach can work with any age group. Even though older students will
be able to pursue much more sophisticated questioning and research
projects, build a spirit of inquiry into activities wherever you can. I saw a video once filmed and produced by Kindergarten
children called "What is the Job of
the Principal?" The inquiry-based approach acknowledges that children,
especially children from minority and disadvantaged communities, have
what researcher Luis Moll calls "funds of knowledge" that are often
ignored by traditional curricula. An inquiry-based approach validates
the experience and knowledge that all students bring to the learning
process. |
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Let's start
our exploration to get a clearer picture of
what inquiry-based learning learning looks like by viewing Concept
to Classroom produced by the Public Education Broadcast System.
Review the Explanation Tab items:
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Go to the discussion area from your
left menu to discuss these questions and your thoughts with your
discussion group. (See Rubric for
discussion participation)
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Read
the descriptions of any five definitions provided by the
various
experts who attended the 1996
Institute for Inquiry Forum. RANK them from 1 (low) to 5 (high)
indicating your level of agreement with their definition. You'll
note that
a wide range of
content areas were represented. Now look at your original
definition of Inquiry-based learning. Has it changed? In what
ways? Discuss this under the Discussion Topic: What is Inquiry-based
learning? |
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To Be Posted
in Reflection Area or e-mailed to me. These are personal and
shared only with the instructor.
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Supporting
Research
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They interviewed and filmed
children from each of the five grades in the school, some teachers and
finally the principal himself. I'm sure they had some help with editing
but the question emerged from a discussion about what people do and the
children storyboarded the sequence of events, chose the questions to
ask, filmed, decided which interviews to keep, and the final production
was a hit!