What:
Inquiry in its most basic form is curiosity. “Allowing real curiosity—the kind that fuels philosophers, artists, scientists, historians, explorers, and innovators—is the most fundamental change we can make in our teaching practice” (source). Implementing inquiry in the classroom is not as difficult as you might think, however, implementing too much inquiry is a recipe for disaster. There is a happy medium, a balance of appropriate use of inquiry in the classroom that proves most effective without causing disaster. I have personally implemented inquiry in the classroom and have found the most useful balance in utilizing four types of inquiry including structured, controlled, guided, and free (see image above).
Structured Inquiry:
Structured inquiry is a great place to start and is most likely already being included in your classroom. Structured is when the teacher engages the entire class together through large group questions. The teacher is the leader of the discussion and students are the participants. In the swimming example (picture above), structured is when the teacher controls the environment and students are all completing the exact same exercise.
Controlled Inquiry:
Controlled inquiry is the next step and is very similar to structured. The teacher continues to control the environment by choosing specific content for students to utilize while implementing inquiry. For example, a teacher might choose a question for students to consider based on the unit of study at the moment and will provide resources like articles, videos, audio clips, etc for students to use. As in the swimming example, the teacher controls the environment by providing materials while the students complete the same exercise.
Guided Inquiry:
Structured and controlled inquiry are great places to start because the teacher controls the environment and students can learn the process of inquiry. Guided inquiry allows the teacher to loosen control of the environment by allowing students to play a pivotal role. Guided still requires the teacher choosing the topic and the content as in controlled inquiry but in guided inquiry, the student chooses the product. This allows the student to have some autonomy in the project. In the swimming example, the teacher is now removed from the pool but students are continuing to complete the same exercise.
Free Inquiry:
Free inquiry is the goal of implementing inquiry in the classroom. Free inquiry gives students autonomy over the whole process while the teacher is a guide. Students control the environment and choose the topic, resources, and product. In the swimming example, the teacher is removed from the pool and students are all doing their own exercise. Free inquiry is powerful because it builds soft skills, confidence, and collaboration while providing opportunities for problem-solving and reflection. You do not want to jump into using free inquiry at the beginning. Much like swimming, students need to gradually build their skills and complete all four categories of inquiry.
Next Steps
Interested in learning more? Check out the websites below for great information.
- Dive Into Inquiry by Trevor Mackenzie
- Create Deeper Experiences Through Questions
- Bringing Inquiry-Based Learning Into Your Class
- 10 Reasons to Use Inquiry-Based Learning in Your Class
References:
All sourced information is hyperlinked as applicable above.
TLDR (too long didn’t read):
Inquiry in its most basic form is curiosity. “Allowing real curiosity—the kind that fuels philosophers, artists, scientists, historians, explorers, and innovators—is the most fundamental change we can make in our teaching practice” (source). Implementing inquiry in the classroom is not as difficult as you might think, however, implementing too much inquiry is a recipe for disaster. There is a happy medium, a balance of appropriate use of inquiry in the classroom that proves most effective without causing disaster. I have personally implemented inquiry in the classroom and have found the most useful balance in utilizing four types of inquiry including structured, controlled, guided, and free (see image above).
@hollandkaylah