It is human nature to need and desire information
about the world we live in, especially children. From birth, people strive to
construct meaning from everything they encounter through touch, smell, taste,
sight and sound. It is also natural that we experience many feelings on this journey
as well, from uncertainty through to satisfaction. This exploration is usually
accompanied by a series of questions, sometimes never-ending. Research shows
that students tend to construct meaning from topics they are interested in and
therefore are more motivated to research them more deeply.
There is a growing concern in the education sector
that although students are being taught content knowledge and skills, they are “not
able to demonstrate the depth of understanding that they need for the
real-world” (Harada & Yoshina, 2004). Murdoch & Wilson (2004) observe that
students need to be adaptable, flexible and resilient; have the capacity to
learn and relearn; and the ability to communicate ideas in multimodal ways. Every
educator has a theory of learning that forms the basis of the instruction and
the learning environment he or she provides for students. There are two general
approaches to learning – transmission or constructivist. Research reported by
Harada & Yoshina (2004) concur that schools which produce stimulating
learning communities offer learning experiences that blend knowledge, skills
and thinking processes. Schools need to change their pedagogy, and focus, to
engage students in their learning. Kulthau (2010) puts forward that “the 21st
century calls for new skills, knowledge and ways of learning to prepare
students with abilities and competencies to address the challenges of an
uncertain, changing world”. Inquiry learning
is based on the concept of information as “working capital” for constructing
understanding and knowledge for each learner (Kulthau). An inquiry approach to
learning is built on the premise that learning is most effective when it
emerges from student initiated questions or questions posed by teachers to
arouse student curiosity and motivation (Ditchburn & Hattensen, 2012). The
inquiry approach to learning allows students to explore a topic in depth. It is
essentially a student-centred learning approach, in which the learner is
actively involved in the learning process (Wilson & Wing Jan, 2009).
Diffily and Sassman (2002) identified the following characteristics as
essential for a project:
- student directed
- connected to the real world
- research based
- informed by multiple resources
- embedded with knowledge and skills
- conducted over time
- concluded with an end product.
Within an inquiry based project, the unit is framed by
an essential or ”big” question, however the students are given opportunities to
create more specific questions about the topic and encouraged to generate more
questions that result in a deeper understanding also. Although the learning
experience involves some direct teaching, the teacher mainly acts as a
facilitator, providing guidance for the students.
MacDonnell(2007) suggests that inquiry learning
exhibits both social and intellectual dispositions. These can be seen in the
table below.
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SOCIAL DISPOSITIONS:
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Listening to other
speak
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Waiting your turn
to speak
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Working as a team
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Helping other who
are having difficulty
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Recognising each
person’s unique contribution
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Appreciating the
work of others
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Showing concern
when others are upset or having difficulty
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Asking permissions
from others
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Sharing
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INTELLECTUAL DISPOSTIONS
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Curiosity
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Desire to find
answers
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Perseverance when
faced with a challenging problem
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Creativity
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Initiative
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Desire to make
predictions and check predictions
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Desire to
synthesise information
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Desire to be
accurate
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Inquiry based learning allows students to develop and
use the skills and dispositions required for problem solving. It encourages
students to ask questions; seek out information; interpret information that
they see, hear or read; record their findings with the help of the teacher or
teacher librarian; plan, debate, discuss and make decisions; represent their
new understandings through drawings, charts, models, video or text; work on
informational displays and constructions; share their knowledge with others;
cooperate to achieve a common goal; recognise that everyone brings his or her
own particular skills to a project; and display all of the important
intellectual and social dispositions required to solve real world problems.
Inquiry is a dynamic process and can look different at
different times. It may be labeled differently in different contexts and
described differently in different disciplines. With implementation of the
Australian Curriculum, inquiry learning is a major focus, particularly in the
areas of science, history and geography. This has led to many schools
discussing the best approach to implementing inquiry learning.
- Is it important for every class in a school to follow the same inquiry process, for example Big 6, 5Es, Inquiry Cycle?
- .How do we ensure we meet the curriculum requirements with inquiry learning?
- How do we move from guided to open inquiry with curriculum and time constraints?
Inquiry learning is not a new process, as it is something we
have engaged in everyday since being born, knowingly or not. The “WOW” factor
of inquiry learning sometimes seems to diminish as we get older, but we still
tend to investigate more enthusiastically the topics and questions that
interest us. Even the most teacher-directed lessons can provoke discussion and
interest outside the classroom; however this is rarely seen by that teacher.
Guided inquiry has been the main form of inquiry learning I have experienced
and employed as a teacher. Early in my career the students, as a whole class,
had the choice of the topic/theme to study. The students contributed, by
brainstorming ideas for a topic and then suggesting possible activities for the
topic. They were then guided, mainly though teacher direction, with their
learning. The enthusiasm and pride, by the majority, was evident because they
felt ownership of the topic. We found that we were still able to cover all the
curriculum requirements, sometimes a little teacher guidance was necessary.
Inquiry learning is not about throwing the students in at the deep end and
saying, “Start swimming”. It is about giving them skills so that they can move from
the teacher directed, combined teacher-student directed (guided learning)
through to student- directed or open learning.
REFERENCES
- Diffily, D. & Sassman, C. (2002). Project-Based Learning with Young Children. Portsmouth. Heinemann.
- Ditchburn, G & Hattensen, S 2012, Connecting with History: strategies for an inquiry classroom, Educational Services Australia Limited, Carlton.
- Gordon, K. Inquiry Approaches in Primary Studies of Society and Environment Key Learning Area. Queensland School Curriculum Council.
- Harada, Violet H., and Joan M. Yoshina. Inquiry Learning Through Librarian-Teacher Partnerships. Linworth, 2004.
- Kulthau, C. (2010). Guided Inquiry: School Libraries in the 21st Century. School Libraries Worldwide. January 2010, Volume 16, Number 1, 1-12
- Murdoch, K & Wilson, J 2004, Learning Links: Strategic teaching for the learner-centred classroom, Curriculum Corporation, Carlton.
- Wilson, J & Wing Jan, L 2009, Focus on Inquiry: a practical approach to curriculum planning, 2nd ed., Curriculum Corporation, Carlton.
