Learning to learn
Inquiry-based learning is a constructivist approach, in which students have ownership of their
learning. It starts with exploration and questioning and leads to investigation into a worthy question,
issue, problem or idea. It involves asking questions, gathering and analysing information, generating
solutions, making decisions, justifying conclusions and taking action.
Key Elements
Inquiry implies involvement that leads to understanding
Learning is the focus when undertaking an Inquiry
Thinking skills are developed
High student engagement
Inquiry Learning Beyond the Classroom can be:
A process of solving a problem and coming up with a solution
Development from a task, a problem or an application
Applied to all learning areas.
An opportunity for students to be presented with a range of perspectives for viewing the world.
Teachers will scaffold students to success
Inquiry in the Education Context
Teaching as Inquiry Inquiry Learning
Where teachers inquire into their own practice and use evidence to make A process where students co-construct their learning in an authentic context
decisions about ways to change that practice for the benefit of the students following a cyclical model.
Brings about effective teaching and learning Is an integrated process for examining issues, ideas and themes
Is a continuous, reflective, interative and cyclical process May be used in a particular context for a clearly identified outcome
Is about evidence-based pedagogy Could be part of the Teaching as Inquiry process
Many explanations and definitions exist. Some useful resources are:
The model in The New Zealand Curriculum (p35) includes three phases of
inquiry: The New Zealand Curriculum (social sciences),
http://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/The-New-Zealand-Curriculum/Learning-
1. Focusing inquiry: What is the most important and therefore worth spending areas/Social-sciences
time on?
Galileo Educational Network, http://www.galileo.org/inquiry-what.html
2. Teaching inquiry: What might work best? What could we try?
The Conceptual Age and the Revolution School v2.0, Mark Treadwell,
3. Learning inquiry:
http://ictnz.com/index.htm (Trevor Bond- SAUCE)
What happened? Why did it happen?
What might happen next?
2013: CTMS aims to develop our own Inquiry Learning/ Teacher Inquiry model based on one or
more of the existing models but adapt to suit the needs of our school and community.