Inquiry-based learning Inquiry-based learning (also enquiry-based learning in British English)[1] starts by posing questions, problems or scenarios—rather than simply presenting established facts or portraying a smooth path to knowledge. The process is often assisted by a facilitator. Inquirers will identify and research issues and questions to develop their knowledge or solutions. History[edit] Inquiry-based learning is primarily a pedagogical method, developed during the discovery learning movement of the 1960s as a response to traditional forms of instruction - where people were required to memorize information from instructional materials.[3] The philosophy of inquiry based learning finds its antecedents in constructivist learning theories, such as the work of Piaget, Dewey, Vygotsky, and Freire among others,[4][5][6] and can be considered a constructivist philosophy. Characteristics of Inquiry-Based Learning[edit] Specific learning processes that people engage in during inquiry-learning include:[13] 1. 2.
What is PBL? To help teachers do PBL well, we created a comprehensive, research-based model for PBL — a "gold standard" to help teachers, schools, and organizations to measure, calibrate, and improve their practice. In Gold Standard PBL, projects are focused on student learning goals and include Essential Project Design Elements: How to: Inquiry | YouthLearn Will you ever just walk into class and ask, "Okay, what do you want to study today?" Of course not. Inquiry-based learning is founded on students taking the lead in their own learning, but it still requires considerable planning on your part. The Importance of Planning It's impossible to project all the possible ways in which you can build inquiry into programs, projects and activities, but preparing for most projects involves three basic steps: Pre-planning: Before going to the kids, determine any preliminary factors or characteristics that must be true in order to achieve your larger goals or plans. Ask questions such as "Where could you find resources to answer your questions?" Step-by-Step Through the Techniques The essence of inquiry-based learning is that children participate in the planning, development and evaluation of projects and activities. Step 1: Posing Real Questions What do I want to know about this topic? Step 2: Finding Relevant Resources Step 3: Interpreting Information
TWT: Inquiry-based Learning Strategy What is Inquiry-based learning? The old adage, “Tell me and I forget, show me and I remember, involve me and I understand” describes the core of inquiry-based learning. Inquiry is the process of seeking truth, information, or knowledge by questioning. Questioning! That is the key. The process of inquiring begins with gathering information and data through applying the human senses: seeing, hearing, touching, tasting, and smelling. Inquiry-based learning processes vary. How does inquiry-based learning encourage student learning? Memorizing facts and information is not the most important skill in today’s world. What does inquiry-based learning look like in the classroom? The following example elaborates on the five steps listed above: questioning, planning and predicting, investigating, recording and reporting, and reflecting. Additional Information on the Five Steps for Inquiry-based Learning Questioning, Planning and Predicting, Investigating, Recording and Reporting, and Reflecting.
Inquiry-based Learning: Explanation What is inquiry-based learning? An old adage states: "Tell me and I forget, show me and I remember, involve me and I understand." The last part of this statement is the essence of inquiry-based learning, says our workshop author Joe Exline 1. Inquiry implies involvement that leads to understanding. Furthermore, involvement in learning implies possessing skills and attitudes that permit you to seek resolutions to questions and issues while you construct new knowledge. "Inquiry" is defined as "a seeking for truth, information, or knowledge -- seeking information by questioning." A Context for Inquiry Unfortunately, our traditional educational system has worked in a way that discourages the natural process of inquiry. Some of the discouragement of our natural inquiry process may come from a lack of understanding about the deeper nature of inquiry-based learning. Importance of Inquiry Memorizing facts and information is not the most important skill in today's world. The Application of Inquiry
What’s the Best Way to Practice Project Based Learning? By Peter Skillen Project Based Learning can mean different things to different people, and can be practiced in a variety of ways. For educators who want to dive in, the good news is that a rich trove of resources are available. In order to create your own definition and practice, here are some parameters to consider. This diagram, enhanced by the critical eye of Brenda Sherry, can help you figure out what’s important to you and your students. We like to think with the frame of continua rather than dichotomies simply because things are rarely on or off, black or white, ones or zeroes. You could likely add other dimensions to consider as you build your own understandings and beliefs. Who is in control? Who is asking the question to be investigated in the project? If the projects are collaborative in nature, you may wish to consider the amount of interdependence that students have with one another. Is the content a rich, deep problem space or is it a more narrowly focused content area?
Fostering Inquiry-based Learning in Labs Using Google Spreadsheets Instructors in lab courses often find it difficult to simulate and discuss all phases of scientific inquiry during a single class period. For instance, individual lab groups may not be able to replicate experimental trials sufficiently in the time allotted, requiring instructors to compile data sets across lab groups before students can properly analyze and interpret results.Google Spreadsheets can circumvent this logistical barrier by allowing instructors to crowdsource the data aggregation and “cleaning” during class. For example, Chad Hershock and Rachel Niemer, CRLT, teach a short-course for postdocs on college teaching in science and engineering. During a unit on converting traditional, “cookbook” lab exercises into inquiry-based activities, postdocs work in pairs to complete a sample lab protocol. All the pairs then enter their data into a single Google Spreadsheet, so that the class compiles a robust class data set in real time, without any cutting and pasting across files.
Enquiry/problem-based learning Whilst EBL has clear parallels with problem-based learning (or PBL), in that the solution of a ‘problem’ serves to shape the whole learning experience of the students, it is usually viewed as covering a broader spectrum of approaches. Further, as noted by the HEA Guide to Curriculum Design, ‘EBL is perhaps more open to divergent ways of thinking about problems, more open to exploring and understanding different ways of perceiving the world and less concerned with providing firm solutions to problems that do not have simple or unique solutions’. (Kahn and O’Rourke 2004). This is supported by Price (2003) who notes that both approaches share a number of philosophical premises: ‘Simply put, these are that you have a great deal to gain from active study that involves you in inductive and deductive thinking and which requires that you work closely with others, within small study groups, to make sense of the practice environment and the challenges that exist there.’ enquiry based learning;
AEC394/WC075: What Is Inquiry-Based Instruction? Anna J. Warner and Brian E. Myers2 Introduction Educators should constantly evaluate and adjust their teaching approaches to meet the educational needs of their students and society. What is Inquiry-Based Teaching? Inquiry-based teaching is a teaching method that combines the curiosity of students and the scientific method to enhance the development of critical thinking skills while learning science. Students engage in five activities when they engage in inquiry learning and use the scientific method, as noted in the National Science Education Standards published by the National Academy of Sciences. Figure 1. Tasks of Inquiry Credit: Carin, Bass, & Contant, 2005, p. 21 [Click thumbnail to enlarge.] According to the National Academy of Sciences (1995), when students learn through inquiry, they: question;investigate;use evidence to describe, explain, and predict;connect evidence to knowledge; and share findings. Each of these factors can be found in the following example. Example 1 Example U.S.