In a nutshell, inquiry-based instruction is a student-centered approach to teaching and learning that involves a lot of asking and answering questions. That’s where the “inquiry” part of the name comes from, students and teachers ask questions then investigate the answers to those questions. However, this learning approach is a little more complex than just asking and answering student questions about a topic.
Inquiry-based instruction involves a cycle of exploration that is similar to the scientific method or the design process, although it can be applied to any subject or topic. It’s important to note there are four models to inquiry-based instruction, each of which gives a bit more control to the student to generate questions, select methods, and design a presentation of conclusions. Depending on the students, the cycle could be run with more teacher guidance or less.
The start of the cycle is the Orientation phase (also called the Introduction). This is where students are given some background information to explain the subject of the inquiry. The next stage is the Questioning or Conceptualization phase, which is where questions are generated or hypotheses are made. Following this phase, students are tasked with conducting research, experimenting, and analyzing data in the Investigation phase. It’s important during this phase that students are able to contribute to the process of collecting data or the design of the experiment, although the amount of student control depends on the students (and the teacher). The fourth phase is the Conclusion, where students draw conclusions, interpret results, and polish up a lot of the work done in the Investigation phase. Finally, students have reached the end of the cycle, the Discussion phase. This is where students present findings and discuss their results with the class. Often this stage leads to questions that can bring the cycle back to the beginning, needing to research and experiment further, and the whole thing starts again.
So what does this look like in a classroom? Well, it can be adapted and modified to fit in with almost any content. For example, a history class could generate questions about a time period they were studying, conduct research on their questions which generates information, then discuss and present the information they learned. The benefit here is that some students may come up with unique and interesting questions that the teachers may not have thought up and add to a deeper understanding of both the topic being studied and the process of conducting historical research.
In fact, research has shown that there are a number of benefits to inquiry-based instruction, including higher student engagement and better test scores. Students who are able to participate in the “how” of learning are more likely to buy in and understand more deeply the “why” of learning. By learning through inquiry, students are also more likely to retain the knowledge they acquire, as well as retaining the skills that will help them with further investigation in the future.
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