IBL Part 1: 4 steps to inquiry-based learning

At Woodbury Boston, using the students’ interests to inform our lesson planning is part of every single day. It makes sense: our students have varied interests, so why not tap into them? They get excited about learning, and kids of all ages love when they have a say in what happens in the classroom.

That’s where inquiry-based learning comes in. It’s a bit of a buzzword in education these days, but it’s just the way we’ve always done things at our school. Let’s take a closer look.

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What is inquiry-based learning?

Inquiry-based learning is about asking questions. And a great way to get students to ask questions is to cover a topic that they’re interested in. Instead of standing at the front of the classroom and delivering information to the students, inquiry-based learning identifies a problem or topic and invites the students to work together to find an answer.

There are several steps involved in this. In the beginning our classroom adults model enthusiasm and a sense of wonder by actively encouraging the students to ask questions, make suggestions, and share experiences. This openness to students is deeply embedded in the culture of our school and we work hard each day to nurture it.

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Four steps of inquiry based learning

Once learning groups have identified something that they’re really interested in researching, there are four important steps.

Questioning

This comes naturally when students are interested in a topic. As a whole class or in small groups, they come up with a list of questions that they’re keen to answer. This helps to promote interest, so instead of researching climate change, for example, they’ll end up laser-focused on something that matters to them, like how can kids help stop climate change?

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Researching

When it comes to research, it’s all about modelling by adults. The internet is not a place that kids should have unmitigated access to, and they need guidance to develop the skills to choose reliable sources.

That’s why most of our student research happens inside the classroom — our students are supported at this stage of the process so that they don’t get overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information that is available to them.  The school adults help by suggesting search terms, keywords and  age-appropriate online resources, so that our students will find the right information to answer their most pressing questions.

Presenting

Because our students are able to research topics that they’re interested in, they are often quite keen to share the results! This is an opportunity to use ICT — our students create videos and interactive presentations to tell their friends all that they’ve learnt. Posters, oral presentations, interviews and pieces of writing are other great ways to demonstrate understanding.

Reflection

Reflection is an important part of inquiry-based learning. We encourage students to think about the process of learning and observe what worked for them. This allows our students to understand their learning styles and advocate for themselves during the next project.

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For example, a student might identify that mindmaps help them to organise ideas, while another might prefer lists and some students love taking notes while watching a video clip.This process of thinking about how they learn is invaluable for our students — they become acutely aware that everyone learns differently and that it’s totally OK!

In practice

Wondering how this looks in practice? Check out our new post: Inquiry based learning in action.





 

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Woodbury Boston Primary School is a progressive independent school nestled in the bush between Denmark and Albany WA. We know that children learn best when they’re happy and having fun. With a strong focus on community, respect, independence and nature-based teaching, our students learn the Western Australian Curriculum and so much more. For more information or to book a personal tour, please ring 9845 1185.

Children, Philosophy & PracticeMartha Barnard-RaeWoodbury Boston Primary School