Approval Standard V – Knowledge and Skills:
T3: Influenced by multiple instructional strategies (addressing ability levels and cultural backgrounds).
Introduction to Inquiry-Based Learning
Have you ever been so close to solving a problem that you could taste it? Do you remember what the moment you solved it felt like? That is an “aha!” moment. These types of moments occur when you make a discovery or connection you hadn’t seen before. “These experiences are powerful for us because we are the discoverers. The aha! moment is ours alone,” (Dell’Olio & Donk, 2007, p.320). Humans are discoverers by nature. “From birth, children employ trial-and-error techniques to learn about the world around them,” (National Research Council, 2000, p. 5). For this reason, I am an advocate of the inquiry-based learning model. This model provides students with direct and purposeful experiences that lead to discoveries, connections, and experimentation. Not only do students get to engage in a tangible, hands-on experience, they also use critical thinking skills to ponder questions, solve problems, and communicate their findings to others. Learning to generate relevant questions causes students to become better consumers of information. Like any learning model, inquiry-based learning potentially has both positive and negative effects on student learning and teaching practice, but overall I find it an important strategy for engaging students in enjoying and experiencing their own learning, especially in the subject of science.
The Specific Steps of Inquiry-Based Learning
Inquiry-based learning is made up of seven general steps, although these can be adapted to fit the needs of particular students. The first step requires developing a question. The teacher serves as a guide and facilitator as he or she models working with a set of questions. As students work with the given questions, they are eventually led by their own curiosity to ask related questions of their own. This leads to the second step: generating a hypothesis. Once again, the teacher models the creation of a hypothesis for the students, perhaps using a think-aloud procedure and then allows the students to formulate their own hypotheses. Next, the teacher models the development of an experimental design for testing the hypothesis. This can be done for either a qualitative or quantitative study. The students come up with an experimental design of their own, suitable to their hypotheses. After developing the design and testing the hypothesis, it is important to collect and record data. The teacher offers several different methods for the collection of data and allows students to come up with a way that is best suited to their own research. Once the data is collected, it must be analyzed. Students analyze their data looking for patterns and connections. From these patterns and connections the students are able to form conclusions that either prove, disprove, or show a generalization about their hypothesis. Finally, it is time to share and communicate the results of their studies. As the teacher offers several different methods for communicating data, students take the lead and find appropriate ways to share their own data and conclusions (Dell’Olio and Donk, 2007, p. 343). Throughout the process of inquiry-based learning the teacher serves as a guide and facilitator, and the students get to be explorers and thinkers. There are many benefits to using this model in the classroom.
Positive Effects of Inquiry-Based Learning
Problem-solving skills are necessary for survival and to thrive in the world today. “Students who actively make observations, collect, analyze, and synthesize information, and draw conclusions are developing useful problem-solving skills. These skills can be applied to future ‘need to know’ situations that students will encounter both at school and at work,” (Szalavitz, et. al., 2004). Students will use this method subconsciously in the future to problem-solve and think creatively in any number of situations (Szalavitz, et. al., 2004). In his book, Developing Inquiry-Based Science Materials: A Guide for Educators, author H.D. Thiers cites from a US Department of Education report stating “…the need for higher-order thinking skills…is expected of even entry level members of the American workforce” (p. 2 – as cited in Franklin, 1999). These thinking skills are going to be useful to students for a long time to come. Northeastern Illinois University states that inquiry-based learning, “…promotes the transfer of concepts to new problem questions,” (Northeastern Illinois University, n.d.). Teachers are not only giving students an answer, they are teaching them a process of problem-solving that can be transferred to other areas of their lives. Students may learn a way to solve a problem in a social studies lesson, transfer that behavior to a science experiment, and someday transfer it to their career. The inquiry-based model teaches students to be knowledge seekers rather than just note-takers. “This contrast between molding problem-solvers versus direction-followers is exactly what Inquiry based curriculum addresses,” (Franklin, 1999). Another great benefit of inquiry-based learning is the emphasis it places on the connections between topics in the world. By experimenting with different aspects of life and recognizing the relationships, students can begin to see a bigger picture of how the world works (Szalavitz, et. al., 2004). Finally, the inquiry-based model, “…develops student ownership of their inquiry and enhances student interest in the subject matter,” (Northeastern Illinois University, n.d.). When students are given the opportunity to ask questions and come up with experiments, they take it! Humans are curious beings and discoverers by nature. We desire to learn, to know, and to question the world around us. When students are given the reigns to direct their own lessons (with scaffolded instruction by the teacher) they feel free to explore and take an interest in what they are learning. No student wants to be lectured about plants when they could be growing their own and observing them instead! By allowing our students a tangible, hands-on experience we are giving them ownership of their own learning. This is not an easy task however, while inquiry-based learning does offer a number of benefits to students and teachers, there are also a few aspects to be wary of regarding this method.
Negative Effects of Inquiry-Based Learning
Inquiry-based learning is very time consuming. It takes a lot more effort for a teacher to scaffold a lesson than to simply give students the required information. Students need certain knowledge to do well on standardized tests and the easy and efficient way for teachers to give quantities of information is through direct instruction. With government expectations that students will achieve specific scores, it may be impossible to expend valuable teaching time waiting for students to learn by discovery. With the current expectations on teachers to raise achievement scores because of the “No Child Left Behind Act,” there is little spare time in the classroom. As Dell’Olio and Donk (2007) state, “In the age of federal and state legislation that increasingly evaluates student progress on the basis of standardized test scores, the time required to use inquiry in our classrooms may soon become a luxury,” (p. 347). Similarly, because of standardized testing, the knowledge that students are expected to gain from school instruction has become specifically delineated. There is a “core curriculum” of knowledge that students are required to know and are tested on. “At each age and grade level, there are prescribed lists of concepts, words, and spheres of knowledge that children should know or acquire,” (Szalavitz, et. al., 2004). Inquiry-based learning focuses more on the method of learning and less on the specific content to be learned. Finally, many of those who critique inquiry-based learning do so because it requires less direct interference from the teacher in the child’s learning. Rather than directly spoon-feeding information to students, teachers facilitate lessons and learning. This is a concept of “minimal guidance.” (Kirshner, Sweller, & Clark, 2005). Critics of minimal guidance claim, “…minimally-guided instruction is less effective and less efficient than instructional approaches that place a strong emphasis on guidance of the student learning process. The advantage of guidance begins to recede only when learners have sufficiently high prior knowledge to provide ‘internal’ guidance,” (Kirshner, et. al., 2006). Inquiry-based teaching is more effective when the students already have strong knowledge of the subject matter at hand. While this is true, I do not think it should stop teachers from using the inquiry method with those students who do not have prior knowledge or have not yet gained “internal guidance.” Although it may be more time consuming for the teacher, I am still of the mind that the “learn-by-doing” approach is more effective than a traditional style like direct instruction.
Inquiry-Based Learning as Constructivist Teaching
Inquiry-based learning is a constructivist model of teaching; it focuses on students “constructing” their own learning. Teachers provide students with the tools to learn, and then let the students make discoveries through using these tools. Lessons are guided by the teacher’s questions, but furthered by the inquiry and curiosity of the students. Inquiry-based learning, and constructivist learning in general, tends to be a hands-on approach to learning. “IBL is a student-centered and student-lead process. The purpose is to engage the student in active learning, ideally based on their own questions,” (“Inquiry-Based Learning,” 2009). Active learning is a key ingredient to an engaging classroom, and there are many subjects that could use some engagement or excitement, one of these is science.
Inquiry-Based Learning in Science
Inquiry-based learning is most often used in the context of science lessons. As can be imagined, science questions are those that prompt more research, experiments, and hypothesizing. Unfortunately, in our school systems today the areas of science and math are ones in which many students are floundering or are simply uninterested. “…only about a quarter of graduating high school seniors who took the 2003 ACT college entrance exams were prepared for college biology….math and science skills were the most pressing problems.” (HandsOn Science Partnership, 2006). Science is one of the subjects in which students are struggling to pass standardized tests and teachers are struggling to teach effectively. As stated by Bredderman, Shymansky, Kyle, Alport, Hedges and Woodworth, “…studies demonstrated that students’ achievement in the sciences, as well as their positive attitude toward the sciences, increased with the programs developed in the 1960s. These benefits of the inquiry approach in science applied to students in both elementary and secondary classrooms,” (as cited in Dell’Olio & Donk, 2007, 348). Not only does inquiry-based learning increase test scores and understanding, it helps bring about a positive attitude in students’ approaches to science. Shrenker noted, “Students also exhibit a deeper understanding of science concepts, superior abilities in higher-order thinking skills, and a higher level of creativity through experiences in inquiry,” (as cited in Dell’Olio & Donk, 2007, p.348). How can we re-engage students in science? By tapping in to their prior knowledge and prompting them towards asking questions to form new knowledge, we can discover their hidden curiosities that have been buried under layers of busy work and rote memorization. Inquiry-based curriculum clearly helps to develop critical thinking skills, positive attitudes, and curiosity. These in turn lead to raised academic achievement. Teachers desire to see their students understand concepts, use higher-order thinking skills, and employ creativity to solve problems. The inquiry-based learning method offers an interactive solution to encouraging students who are struggling in the science arena.
My Personal Experience with Inquiry-Based Learning
I do not yet have my own classroom, but I am a volunteer for a science specialist in both a first and second grade class. Throughout my hours spent in the class I have witnessed a lot of inquiry-based learning. One of the most encouraging incidents I witnessed all started with a first grade boy named Jackson. One day, the class was doing some hypothesizing and collecting data about various liquids (part of a unit on solids, liquids, and gasses). As their time of exploration wound to close and the class gathered on the rug to share their observations. Jackson blurted out a comment to the teacher, exclaiming, “We need more time Mr. H! We should have science more than just one hour a week!” Even though Mr. H is a pretty strict teacher this was one comment that he couldn’t reprimand for or just let slide. He asked why and Jackson reasoned that one hour once a week was simply not enough to do all the science learning that there was to be done. Mr. H. asked Jackson if he wanted to go tell that to the principal. Jackson hesitated just for a moment, and then jumped to his feet and agreed excitedly. I sat in the back of the classroom surprised and amused, I’ve never seen a student ask for more time for any kind of learning! Jackson started to leave the classroom and I heard one of the other students say sincerely, “Thank you for doing that Jackson.” Many of the others echoed these sentiments. That is a picture of what good teaching looks like. When students are so eager to learn and to have enough time to truly explore that they are willing to speak to the principal about it – what more could a teacher ask for!
Why I Will Incorporate Inquiry-Based Learning Into My Classroom
Although I am not yet a teacher, I have studied and observed various models of teaching. The inquiry-based model is one method that will be instrumental in my classroom. I am a firm believer in hands-on, exploratory learning. I believe it is the role of a teacher to be a guide in the classroom. Students should be leading their own learning wherever their curiosity takes them. I know that this will not necessarily follow a precise curriculum, but if I’m willing to scaffold the lessons, students will be able to make discoveries about a certain subject. In this way, there is still influence over the content, but students get to experience and enjoy learning. Students also leave continuing in the process of discovery outside the classroom. Although use of this method requires significantly more effort on behalf of the teacher, it is an effort I’m ready and willing to take on in my classroom for the sake of students learning to learn. I want students to use their curiosity to make discoveries that will influence them for a lifetime – that is what fostering students’ well-being looks like to me. Learning should be fun! Learning should capture the attention of students and pique their interests. Academic achievement is helping students succeed, by learning through discovery, each step makes them a better learner and thinker for the future. That is how they will become lifelong learners and have successful careers.
Conclusion – Inquiry-Based Learning Teaches Valuable Life Skills
Teaching should fit the needs of students. Learning by lecture and note-taking is simply insufficient except for the most dedicated of students. Students are surrounded by things that capture their attention every day – television, video games, skateboards, etc. Learning has gotten a bad rap as being boring! Learning is an exciting journey to embark upon, if teachers are willing to make it one. Inquiry-based learning is a step towards not simply giving students information to pass exams, instead teaching them a way of life, a way of problem-solving that they will use for the rest of their lives. By scaffolding a lesson and then allowing student inquiry to guide it, teachers are offering students a way of thinking that will last a lifetime, rather than a set of information that will get them through their next state test. By giving them the tools they need to be effective learners teachers are giving students the best education – preparing them to be lifelong learners. Inquiry-based learning is an effective tool for engaging students in lessons, igniting their curiosities, and preparing students for life in the real world and I intend to use this method on a regular basis in my own classroom.
References:
Dell’Olio, J.M., & Donk, T., (2007). Models of Teaching: Connecting Student Learning With Standards. Thousands Oaks: Sage Publications.
Facts about science education in the US. (2006). Retrieved March 4, 2010 from HandsOn Science Partnership website: http://www.handsonsciencepartnership.com/handson/handson_facts.php.
Franklin, Wilfred A. (1999). Inquiry based approaches to science education: theory and practice. Retrieved from website: http://www.brynmawr.edu/biology/franklin/InquiryBasedScience.html
Inquiry-based learning. (2009, July 9). EduTech Wiki, A resource kit for educational technology teaching, practice and research. Retrieved March 6, 2010 from http://edutechwiki.unige.ch/mediawiki/index.php?title=Inquiry-based_learning&oldid=21825
Inquiry-based learning. Retrieved March 4, 2010 from Northeastern Illinois University website: http://www.neiu.edu/~middle/Modules/science%20mods/amazon%20components/Amaz onComponents2.html#benefits
Kirshner, P. A., Sweller J., Clark, R. E. (2005). Why minimal guidance during instruction does not work: an analysis of the failure of constructivist, discovery, problem-based, experiential, and inquiry-based teaching. Retrieved March 6, 2010 from website: http://projects.ict.usc.edu/dlxxi/materials/clark/Constructivism_EP_05_Kirschner_Swelle r_Clark_Ss.pdf
National Research Council. (2000). Inquiry and the national science education standards: a guide for teaching and learning. Washington D.C.: National Academy Press.
Szalavitz, M., Rahman, A., Fink, M., Wilson, S.Y., Chu, G., Aviles, M., Tatsuoka, A., Matsuoka, and B.M., (2004). Workshop: inquiry-based learning. Education Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved March 4, 2010 from Concept to Classroom: Thirteen ed online, website: http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/inquiry/
Thiers, H.D. (2000). Developing inquiry-based science materials: a guide for educators. New York: Teachers College Press, Columbia University. Retrieved from Inquiry Based Approaches to Science Education: Theory and Practice website: http://www.brynmawr.edu/biology/franklin/InquiryBasedScience.html
Chelsea Hasenpflug's bPortfolio 
thanks. useful post.