Curriculum integration workshop

Inquiry based learning

(involve me, I will understand)
Objectives
• What is inquiry based learning
• Identifying the type of inquiry based learning
• What are the steps involved in inquiry based learning
• Assessment of inquiry based learning
 What is inquiry based learning (IBL)
• "Inquiry" is defined as "a seeking for truth, information, or knowledge --
seeking information by questioning.“

• it is a learning and teaching method that prioritizes student questions, ideas

and analyses.

• Inquiry-based learning is an approach to instruction that begins with a

question. Students construct their own knowledge as they engage in a variety
of experiences that provide them an opportunity to investigate solutions.
Let's find out more about inquiry-based learning.
• student point-of-view,
• inquiry-based learning focuses on investigating an open question or problem. They
must use evidence-based reasoning and creative problem-solving to reach a
conclusion, which they must defend or present.

• teacher point-of-view
• inquiry-based teaching focuses on moving students beyond general curiosity into the
realms of critical thinking and understanding. You must encourage students to ask
questions and support them through the investigation process, understanding when
to begin and how to structure an inquiry activity.
• Using methods such as guided research, document analysis and question-and-
answer sessions, you can run inquiry activities in the form of:

• Case studies
• Group projects
• Research projects
• Field work, especially for science lessons
• Unique exercises tailored to your students
• Whichever kind of activity you use, it should allow students to develop unique
strategies for solving open questions.
 Types of Inquiry-Based Learning
Structured, guided, and open inquiry approaches
• Inquiry-based teaching/learning varies in the amount of autonomy given to
students and encompasses a broad spectrum of approaches, ranging from
teacher-directed structured and guided inquiry to student directed open inquiry
Structured inquiry
• In structured inquiry, the students investigate a teacher-presented question
through a prescribed procedure, and receive explicit step-by-step
guidelines at each stage, leading to a predetermined outcome, similar to
following a recipe.

• Students are involved through hands-on investigations in the process of

science and develop basic inquiry skills, such as making observations,
raising hypotheses, collecting and organising data, drawing conclusions,
making inferences and finding solutions.

• However, students do not acquire the ability to think autonomously

because in structured inquiry, questions, processes and results are 'known
in advance'.
Guided inquiry
• In guided inquiry, students investigate questions and procedures that
teachers present to them, but the students themselves, working
collaboratively, decide the processes to be followed and the solutions to be
targeted.

• The results are not foreknown to the teachers and students. In guided
inquiry, the teacher provides the student with inquiry questions and
procedures, and therefore this decreases the level of uncertainty during
the inquiry process.

• The students ultimately lead the inquiry process, are involved in decision
making from the data collection stage, and may come up with unforeseen
yet well conceived conclusions.
 Open inquiry
• In open inquiry, the most complex level of inquiry-based learning, teachers define the

knowledge framework in which the inquiry will be conducted, but allows the students to

select a wide variety of inquiry questions and approaches (student-designed or selected).

• Thus, students are engaged in continuous decision-making throughout each stage of the open

inquiry process, starting from the stage of finding the interesting phenomenon to be inquired.

• Open inquiry simulates and reflects the type of research and experimental work that is

performed by scientists, and demands high-order thinking capabilities (i.e., questioning,

designing an experimental array, critical and logical thinking, reflection).

Open inquiry

• Students who participate in an open inquiry project demonstrated

ownership and responsibility for determining the purpose of the
investigation and the question to be investigated as a scientist would
(Reid &Yang, 2002).
• The student’s functioning corresponds closely to the teacher’s efforts
to facilitate the student’s scientific literacy, initiative, responsibility,
and motivation. Open inquiry does not separate teaching from
learning, but creates a learning community of teachers and students
that is crucial to the success of the inquiry process (Zion & Slezak,
2005).
 Full Inquiry - Steps
1. Pose productive question
2. Design investigation toward answering question
3. Carry out investigation – gather data
4. Interpret and document findings
5. Publish or present findings in an open forum
Role of Teacher - IBL
• Reflects on the purpose and makes plans for inquiry learning
• Plans for each learner to be actively involved
• Encourages/Enables learner to take increasing responsibility for his learning
• Facilitates classroom learning
• Accepts that teaching is a learning experience
• Is constantly alert to learning obstacles
• Asks key types of questions – Why?, How do you know?, What is the evidence?
• Student assessment made an ongoing part of the facilitation of the learning
process
The extent of teacher and students involvement determines the extent of
inquiry
Role of Students- IBL

 Learners in the process of learning

 Accept an “Invitation to learn” and willingly
engage in exploration process
 Raise questions, propose explanations, and use
observations
 Plan and carry out learning activities
 Communicate using a variety of methods
 Critique their learning practice
 Types of Questions
 Inference Questions: Beyond immediate information
 Interpretation Questions: Understand the consequences of information or
ideas
 Transfer Questions: Provoke new depth of thinking, take knowledge to
new places
 Hypotheses Questions: What can be predicted and tested. Become aware
of expectations
 Model of the inquiry process
(Justice et al., 2007)
Engaging a topic & building
Taking
basic knowledge
responsibility
for learning
Developing a question
Evaluating success

Self-reflection & Anticipating possible

Communicating new Self-evaluation answers & determining
understandings relevant information

Weighing evidence & Identifying resources &

synthesising gathering information
understandings
Assessing
information
Assessment of IBL
• ongoing
• The process of inquiry is just as important as the final product.
• different skills in each of the stages of the inquiry process and it is these skills
that can be assessed when they are specifically connected to curriculum
expectations.
• various ways to collect assessment information about student learning, including a
variety of observations, conversations and products such as the following :

• Formal and informal observations

• Discussions, learning conversations, questioning, conferences
• Tasks done in groups
• Demonstrations, performances
• Projects, portfolios
• Peer and self-assessments
• Self-reflections