====== Inquiry-Based Learning ======


===== General =====

Inquiry-based learning (also //enquiry-based learning//, //inquiry learning// or //inquiry-guided learning//) is a [[learning_paradigms:constructivism&#Instructional design theories and learning models:|constructivist instructional strategy]] widely adopted in the **1970s**(([[http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a925982577~db=all~jumptype=rss|Spronken-Smith, Rachel, and Rebecca Walker. Can inquiry-based learning strengthen the links between teaching and disciplinary research?” Studies in Higher Education 35, no. 6: 723-740. September 2010.]])) and based on [[http://dewey.pragmatism.org/|John Dewey]]'s views on learning as **active**, **learner-centered** process which should be based on **real-world examples** instead of rote fact memorization. //Inquiry// represents questioning which fosters curiosity in students. Although different authors suggest different inquiry-based strategies, they are usually used to promote alone or collaborative,

  * "//active, and increasingly independent, investigation of questions, problems and issues, often for which there is no single answer.//"(([[http://www.amazon.com/Teaching-Learning-Through-Inquiry-Institutions/dp/1579220819#reader_1579220819|Lee, Virginia S. Teaching and Learning Through Inquiry: A Guidebook for Institutions and Instructors, p5. Stylus Publishing, 2004.]]))

===== What is inquiry-based learning? =====

The idea of inquiry-based learning is to foster characteristics of good learners and encourage them in the educational process. These characteristics include confidence in the ability to learn, enjoying problem-solving, trusting one's own judgement, not fearing being wrong, a flexible point of view, and respect for facts.(([[http://www.arvindguptatoys.com/arvindgupta/taasa.pdf|Postman, Neil, and Charles Weingartner. Teaching as a subversive activity. Dell, 1980.]])) These qualities can be fostered through an approach in which the teacher(([[http://www.arvindguptatoys.com/arvindgupta/taasa.pdf|Postman, Neil, and Charles Weingartner. Teaching as a subversive activity. Dell, 1980.]])):

  * rarely tells the students what they need to know since that would reduce their excitement in finding things out on their own,
  * interacts with students mostly through questioning and encourages students to interact among themselves,
  * does not accept short answers, but rather tries to deepen them by further questioning,
  * rarely summarizes what students' discussion and what they have learned since learning is a continuous process.

[[http://www.springerlink.com/content/657654245h8621w3/|{{  :images:inquiry.JPG|The inquiry-based process of learning. Image borrowed from: Justice, Christopher, James Rice, Wayne Warry, Sue Inglis, Stefania Miller, and Sheila Sammon. Inquiry in Higher Education: Reflections and Directions on Course Design and Teaching Methods. Innovative Higher Education 31, no. 4: 201-214. September 2006. Click on the picture to follow the link.}}]]

The **inquiry-based process of learning** can be described as a cycle based on these activities mainly through following main steps:

  * **Questioning** and curiosity provoked through questioning by the teacher together with taking the responsibility for their own learning by the students starts this process of learning.
  * Investigation, gathering of information and **studying materials**, observing and other related activities are then expected to be performed by the students.
  * This is followed by a **synthesis** of collected information, building hypotheses and possible explanations and planing on how to prove them.
  * Development and presentation of **explanations**. **New questions** may arise at this point.
  * Reflection on the original question, the research path, and the conclusions. Newly arisen questions form the beginning of a new cycle.  

These steps in general are quite similar to the steps of [[instructional_design:problem-based learning]]. Differences between these two approaches are minimal according to some(([[http://www.cogtech.usc.edu/publications/hmelo_ep07.pdf|Hmelo-Silver, C. E, R. G Duncan, and C. A Chinn. Scaffolding and achievement in problem-based and inquiry learning: A response to Kirschner, Sweller, and Clark (2006). Educational Psychologist 42, no. 2: 99–107. 2007.]])) and appear only in their origins (problem-based learning was developed in medical education and inquiry-based learning in science education), other suggest it is the role of the teacher:

  * "//In an inquiry-based approach the tutor is both a facilitator of learning (encouraging/expecting higher-order thinking) and a provider of information. In a PBL approach... the tutor does not provide information related to the problem — that is the responsibility of the learners.//".(([[http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1002&context=ijpbl&sei-redir=1#search=%22Problem-based+learning+in+medicine+and+beyond:+A+brief+overview%22|Savery, J. R. Overview of problem-based learning: Definitions and distinctions. The Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-based Learning 1, no. 1: 9–20. 2006.]])) 

Some authors suggest different inquiry-based learning modes depending on the level of scaffolding(([[http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a925982577~db=all~jumptype=rss|Spronken-Smith, Rachel, and Rebecca Walker. Can inquiry-based learning strengthen the links between teaching and disciplinary research? Studies in Higher Education 35, no. 6: 723-740. September 2010.]])):

  * structured inquiry - when teacher presents a problem and main frames for addressing it,
  * guided inquiry - when teacher provides questions to motivate students, but the research they do is self-directed, and
  * open inquiry - when students formulate questions and investigate them themselves.

Advantages of inquiry-based learning are **increase in students motivation**, active approach to learning, academic skills and intellectual habits(([[http://academics.georgiasouthern.edu/ijsotl/v3n1/articles/PDFs/Article_JusticeRiceWarry.pdf|Justice, C., J. Rice, and W. Warry. Academic skill development–inquiry seminars can make a difference: evidence from a quasi-experimental study. International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning 3, no. 1. 2009.]])). Students are also encouraged to develop of critical thinking, **reflect on their learning**, use different learning resources and gain **deeper understanding of the course concepts**.(([[http://www.schreyerinstitute.psu.edu/pdf/ibl.pdf|Lane, J. Inquiry-based Learning. Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence, Penn State. 15th September 2007.]]))

Various areas in which inquiry-based learning has been applied include ecology, endocrinology, political communication, engineering and sociology(([[http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~db=all~content=a932476124~frm=titlelink|Spronken-Smith, Rachel, Rebecca Walker, Julie Batchelor, Billy O’Steen, and Tom Angelo. Enablers and constraints to the use of inquiry-based learning in undergraduate education. Teaching in Higher Education 16, no. 1: 15-28. February 2011.]])).
===== What is the practical meaning of inquiry-based learning? =====

An example of inquiry-based learning is learning about language using a Star-Trek episode as a motivator((Example borrowed from: [[http://www.schreyerinstitute.psu.edu/pdf/ibl.pdf|Lane, J. Inquiry-based Learning. Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence, Penn State. 15th September 2007.]])). In the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Darmok" viewers are introduced to the concept of //Tamarian language// spoken by an alien civilization. Weather this invented language could be an actual human language was debated by many professional linguists. A possible instructional plan for learning about language characteristics based on this episode is the following:

  * Show students the "Darmok" episode
  * Pose the problem to them: could //Tamarian// be a human language?
  * Provide students with resource materials or encourage them to look them up themselves.
  * Assist them if necessary on how to research the question and conduct analysis of language properties.
  * Analysis of results and reflection.
===== Criticisms =====

See: [[learning_paradigms:constructivism&#Criticisms|criticisms of constructivist approach to learning]].
===== Keywords =====

  * **Inquiry-based learning**
===== Bibliography =====

[[http://www.queensu.ca/ctl/goodpractice/inquiry/index.html|Centre for Teaching and Learning: What Is Inquiry-Based Learning? Queen's University.]] Retrieved April 26, 2011.

[[http://www.arvindguptatoys.com/arvindgupta/taasa.pdf|Postman, Neil, and Charles Weingartner. Teaching as a subversive activity. Dell, 1980.]]

[[http://www.schreyerinstitute.psu.edu/pdf/ibl.pdf|Lane, J. Inquiry-based Learning. Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence, Penn State. 15th September 2007.]]

[[http://inquiry.illinois.edu/|Inquiry Page. University of Illinois.]] Retrieved April 26, 2011.

[[http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a925982577~db=all~jumptype=rss|Spronken-Smith, Rachel, and Rebecca Walker. Can inquiry-based learning strengthen the links between teaching and disciplinary research? Studies in Higher Education 35, no. 6: 723-740. September 2010.]]


===== Read more =====

[[http://books.google.hr/books?id=ybNL93nrtwwC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Inquiry+in+education&hl=hr&ei=XR64TaucJcaSOo3O3PgO&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=book-preview-link&resnum=1&ved=0CCsQuwUwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false|Johnston, James Scott. Inquiry and education: John Dewey and the quest for democracy. SUNY Press, 2006.]]

[[http://books.google.com/books?id=6byksA2b9_YC|Benson, Chris, and Christian, Scott. Writing to make a difference: classroom projects for community change. Teachers College Press, 2002.]]

[[http://books.google.hr/books?id=fsSPnW9jxbEC|Brew, A. The nature of research: Inquiry in academic contexts. New York : Routledge/Farmer. 2001.]]

[[http://trove.nla.gov.au/goto?i=x&w=153076977&d=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.herdsa.org.au%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2007%2F06%2F1_herdsa_news_april_2005.pdf|Allen, P. and Greeves, H. Inquiry-based learning: A case study in Asian Studies. HERDSA News, 21-23. April 2005.]]