Step-by-step Guide for Inquiry-based Learning

 

On a serious note, the education system has undergone very minor changes over the decades. Fortunately, the approach to education is changing in some places yet there would be no much difference until every school or college starts with it – “The Inquiry-based Learning”. Critical thinking skills are essential for the person to handle their own life. However, it cannot be done in a day. But there’s a plan!

Inquiry-based Learning should be introduced in schools to make kids powerful beings in future. Teachers telling something and students agreeing to it without further inquiry won’t help much in this generation. This limits the possibility of thinking big - thinking out-of-the-box. So, teachers should have to go with inquiry-based learning to help students achieve what they want in life.

What is Inquiry?

The inquiry is asking questions and finding answers.

What is Inquiry-based Learning?

Encouraging students to do self-inquiry and self-learn all by themselves by guiding them can be called as Inquiry-based learning. In this approach, the student should work more than a teacher. The goal of the teacher is to make the students think, understand, and learn themselves. If a kid can do this, they will be successful at managing their life without the help of others (self-dependant in all aspects).

Step-by-Step Guide for Inquiry-based Learning

Choose a Topic: The teacher has to choose ever-green topics or current topics to teach students inquiry-based learning. Topics could be something like plastic usage, recycling, social media addiction, etc. You can also ask students to choose the topic themselves. They should be allowed to choose the topic in which they are interested.

Observing every student and identifying their weaknesses and encouraging them to think and find the solution is another way. For instance, if you identify a student is unable to focus while listening to the classes or studying, you should choose the topic ‘focus’ for him.

Pose Questions: Posing different and as many as possible questions will help students to understand their capabilities. Going with the same example, the following questions could be asked.

Why are you unable to focus?

Are you not interested in education or this learning method?

Are you not interested in maths?

Are you unable to understand what I was teaching?

Like-wise, the teacher can ask students different questions that trigger thinking about their problem. Also, this helps understanding themselves better.

Conduct Research and Analysis: The role of the teacher is to ask questions while the research and analysis should be done by the student. However, the teacher should always be there for guidance. Initially, students should be encouraged to do their research and gather information from various sources like books, internet, persons, their thoughts etc.

And then, with the gathered information, students should start analysing. Believing the information without analysing is the terrible thing that people are doing for ages. The teacher should ask people to analyse the information carefully to find out the facts.

Drawing Conclusions: This step is tough and crucial too! But, a teacher should allow students to conclude by themselves. It is quite common that people have different opinions and understanding levels. Fixed notions don’t help students and so teachers shouldn’t decide what’s right or wrong. If at all, the teacher feels the conclusion of the student is wrong, they have to pose more questions to make students understand it by themselves.

Benefits of Inquiry-based Learning

Inquiry-based learning doesn’t just help students in their education but it supports them to make decisions with clarity for a lifetime. Here are some benefits of Inquiry-based learning.

Critical Thinking: The ability to think will increase. When teachers ask them questions and find answers on their own by research, analysis, and other methods, students have no other way than using their brain to the highest possible level, thus helping them in enhancing critical thinking skills.

Problem-solving Skills: People, most of the times, need the help of other persons when they have a problem in professional and personal life as well. If the students are taught inquiry-based learning, they will develop problem-solving skills that help them grow in life.

Decision Makers: Gone are those days when people depend on others for minute things. Decision-making has become the essential quality to become a leader in professional and personal life as well. If schools provide inquiry-based learning, students will be able to make their decisions on their own, when they grow up.