Inquiry learning is investigation centered on learners’ questions and careful analysis of their findings. It is structured and scaffolds are provided.Though using a variety of teaching methods is best to both affirm and stretch students’ varied abilities and preferences, including substantial inquiry learning will do your students and society a service.
The ability to ask relevant questions, connect with suitable resources for answers, and use careful/critical thinking to come to conclusions support effective participation in democracy, community, family, and consumer life. Yet, even many college students graduate with little knowledge of how to use evidence to build a logical argument, let alone how to use findings for challenge-solving. In response to this need, practitioners at all levels and education researchers agree an important goal is students engaging in inquiry.
National Council for the Social Studies
Vision:
“The goal is a world in which all students are educated and inspired for
lifelong inquiry and informed civic action.”
Organizations such as American Association of School Librarians, National Council for the Social Studies, schools, colleges, and universities highlight the goal of learners engaging in inquiry. Inquiry is core to Next Generation Science Standards and National Science Standards’ goals.
American Association of School Librarians
Students should focus on an inquiry-based process to think critically, gain knowledge, draw conclusions, make informed decisions, apply knowledge to new situations, create new knowledge, share knowledge, and participate ethically and productively as embers of our democratic society
For Deeper Learning’s PBL workshop participants plan learning that motivates their students to engage in inquiry because they work to solve a real-life challenge they care about and, whether verbally or other format, their findings will be shared with a public audience.
When students engage in inquiry within PBL students connect to prior knowledge.They pose questions they need to answer in order to solve the challenge. They begin to find answers though investigation and using critical thinking. New questions emerge. Critical thinking and investigation continue. Findings are discovered. New knowledge is created and shared in a variety of ways. High quality project-based learning features forward inquiry and deeper learning.
Quality PBL supports equity. By igniting intrinsic motivation and self-efficacy, and tapping into a variety of learning abilities and learning mode preferences PBL helps ensure that students from all backgrounds, abilities, strengths, and needs experience deeper learning.
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