Inquiry Learning

An old adage states:

"Tell me and I forget, show me and I remember, involve me and I understand."

This is the essence of inquiry-based learning.

Deep Understandings

• Effective inquiry is more than just asking questions. A complex process is involved when individuals attempt to convert information and data into useful knowledge and understanding. Learning is about how we know, not what we know.

• Inquiry-based learning is a constructivist approach, in which students have ownership of their learning. At the heart of inquiry is a good question. It is often open-ended (has no right or wrong answer) and is higher-order, rich, worthy and/or fertile.

• Well-designed inquiry learning produces knowledge formation that can be widely applied. It is a co-construction of understanding through meaningful relevant experiences. It implies a "need or want to know" premise. Inquiry is not so much seeking the right answer -- because often there is none -- but rather seeking appropriate resolutions to questions and issues.

• Inquiry implies emphasis on the development of inquiry skills and the nurturing of inquiring attitudes or habits of mind that will enable individuals to continue the quest for knowledge and understanding throughout life.

Useful application of inquiry learning involves several factors:-   

• A context for questions
• A framework for questions
• A focus for questions
• Different levels of questions
• Deeper understandings
• Key concepts

 "The technology is not the focus of the learning, but it provides an essential vehicle for getting to the destination ...

The inquiry - what the student wants to learn - provides the fuel for the vehicle. Without fuel the vehicle is useless."

Organisation:

• The two-year cyclical overview outlines the broad concepts to be covered along with the learning areas that would be focussed on within those concepts.
• Concepts are interchangeable within a year to provide the flexibility to adapt to local events and student interest.
• Key competencies are interwoven into the inquiry process.
• Whenever possible integration within the wider curriculum is sought.
• Four major inquiries are planned for a year and their timing is responsive to student interest and need. Minor inquiries may be undertaken that are bi-products of the major focus, or explore themes relevant to our students.

Implementation:

• The term overview outlines the major inquiry focus for that term, along with the dominant learning areas.
• Teachers’ plan an inquiry using the Carlton School Inquiry Plan model. Although the plan is a ‘living’ document and as such is developed as the inquiry progresses, it will have the deep understandings or concepts that the teacher wants to direct student learning towards.
• The inquiry plan will have a ‘rich’ question to be explored. Initially this may be teacher driven but once students move beyond the ‘finding out’ phase their voice will become predominant and the question changes accordingly.
• The plan will be added to/amended as student knowledge and understandings about the key concepts determine their learning path.
• Student voice is an essential component of the planning and on-going evaluation and reflection at every stage of the inquiry process.
• Inquiry is visible within the classroom environment with each stage of the process being displayed and labelled as it progresses.

Assessment:

• Assessment is both formative and summative.(c.f. Carlton School “Assessment & Evaluation”)
• Student knowledge and perceptions of the deep understandings or key concepts is gained at the beginning of an inquiry and revisited at the conclusion so that changes in learning are visible to the student, teacher and families.
• Opportunities are sought for student /peer assessment to be an integral part of an inquiry.
• Students are familiar with, and can use, the language of inquiry. They are able to verbalise what they are inquiring into, how they are learning and what action they will take as a result.
• Information literacy skills are used to investigate and explore ideas. The matrices provide learning intentions and success criteria against which students can assess their progress.
• Teachers make reflective comments and observations as they seek to refine their pedagogy and focus on student achievement.
• Evidence of learning is retained and used for reporting purposes e.g. student portfolios