I first heard of inquiry-based learning in my 2nd year of completing my undergrad in elementary education. As an outgoing and high-energy teacher, I’ve always tried to get my students to engage in meaningful and impactful ways. I found Inquiry-based learning to be an amazing way of doing just that! Using curiosity to guide this method encourages students to ask questions, explore, make mistakes, think critically and discover new things on their own. Inquiry-based learning shifts the traditional teacher-centered classroom to a more student-centered environment.
I’ve been lucky enough to meet and have conversations with the “inquiry expert” Trevor Mackenzie a Victoria local. He is a leading advocate of inquiry in the classroom and highlights the importance of allowing students to take ownership of their learning journey. He has written 3 books on inquiry. So far I’ve only read “Dive into Inquiry,” where he emphasizes that when students explore topics they are passionate about, their engagement and retention of information increases.
Figure: 1
The beauty of Inquiry that I find fascinating is that it can fit into any classroom with the variety of types of student inquiry. Scoffloded correctly by the teacher students can build their way from structured inquiry to controlled inquiry to guided inquiry to free inquiry. Mackenzie outlines the different types of inquiry in Figure 1 and highlights the 10 characteristics driving inquiry in the classroom in Figure 2. My time learning from Trevor gave me the confidence to try inquiry-based learning in my first teaching positions.
Figure: 2
When I reflect on the most valuable units I’ve taught they incorporated inquiry-based learning. During my first practicum in a Gr.6/7 class, I taught an Ancient Civilizations unit that incorporated structured inquiry to controlled inquiry to guided inquiry which finished with the students creating a meal that could have been eaten during the peak of the empire they chose. The enjoyment and quality of work the students came up with were incredible; not to take away from the variety of lunches that day. Another particularly powerful aspect of inquiry-based learning is its inclusive nature. I’ve seen firsthand the role that inquiry can play in the differentiation process. It allows students of varying abilities and learning styles to engage at their own pace and level.