Investigating Inquiry Learning
In the course of my professional learning I have discovered that inquiry learning offers an exciting opportunity to foster the critical and creative thinking and collaborative abilities recognised by the Australian Curriculum as essential 21st century skills. Although Lupton (2014, p. 8) notes that the Australian Curriculum already embeds inquiry skills, many schools, my own included, lack a cohesive approach to these. Furthermore, many teachers lack the time, resources or skills to rectify this within the scope of existing curriculum, assessment and classroom management pressures. Indeed, Jones (2013, p. 178) acknowledges the challenge of leading teachers to ‘embrace inquiry’ in the face of standardised curriculums and national testing and attempts. I hope to use the professional knowledge I gain through this inquiry process to make inquiry a little more accessible to teachers.
Inquiry Topic
I have therefore undertaken an investigation into the nature and process of inquiry. Inquiry learning is an admittedly broad term, generally conceptualised as a nonlinear student-centred process that encourages learners to participate actively in knowledge construction through exploration, questioning, collaborative problem solving, justification and the communication of findings. In such models, teachers focus on supporting students by carefully facilitating the inquiry (Sandoval, 2005). Depending on the inquiry model used, learners have varying levels of independence in generating the content, strategies, structure and format of the inquiry.
​
This balance between support and independence is the focus of my inquiry. I hope to achieve a fuller understanding of how to facilitate inquiry without dominating it, and to collate some practical resources which give teachers the confidence to support students through an authentic inquiry learning experience.
​
The following questions shaped my inquiry:
What forms of scaffolding can be used to support students through each inquiry
stage?
What skills to students need to be able to engage with inquiry learning?
How can teachers support students to meaningfully engage with inquiry learning?​​
How does the structure of an inquiry support students through the process?
What level of guidance can
be offered without undermining the value of inquiry
learning?
References
Jones, J. B. (2013) Fostering Creativity through Inquiry. In Creative Imperative : School Librarians and Teachers Cultivating Curiosity Together, edited by Jami Biles Jones, et al., ABC-CLIO, LLC, 2013. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/qut/detail.action?docID=1489947.
​
Lupton, M. (2015). Teacher librarians' understandings of inquiry learning. Access (Online), 29(4), 18-29. Retrieved from https://gateway.library.qut.edu.au/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/1764658513?accountid=13380
​
Sandoval, W. A. (2005). Understanding students’ practical epistemologies and their influence on learning through inquiry. Science Education, 89(4), 634–656.