Inquiry-Based Learning: Promoting Critical Thinking and Creativity

Inquiry-based learning (IBL) Inquiry-based learning is a pedagogical method that investigates a question or a problem. This is essay about inquiry based learning where the topic is discussed. National Science Education Standards (NRC) defined inquiry by the following five essential features: engaging in scientific questions, priority to evidence, explanations from evidence, evaluation of explanations, and communicate and justify explanations. 

Pros and Cons of IBL

There are different pros of IBL. It embraces curiosity; engages students in lessons; develops the mind; creates collaboration; and develops critical thinking. Likewise, it reinforces curriculum content; warms up the brain for learning; promotes a deeper understanding of content; helps make learning rewarding; builds initiative and self-direction; works in almost any classroom; and offers differentiated instruction to suit the varied learning styles and needs of the students. On the contrary, IBL is time consuming because the students do the task assigned to them without or with less supervision from their teacher and sometimes they are playful not starting immediately the task assigned to them.

Effectiveness of IBL

Studies have shown the effectiveness of IBL on students’ academic performance. For example, Jernnigan conducted a study to examine the relationship between the strategies used by seventh-grade science teachers in Illinois and student scores on the Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT) to aid in determining best practices/strategies for teaching science in middle school. Quantitative data were collected from pre- and posttests among 531 students and survey was conducted among their 4 teachers. Findings of the study revealed that the two greatest reported factors limiting teachers' use of inquiry were not enough time and concern about discipline and large class size.

Moreover, Suarez examined the relationship between the amounts of time spent using inquiry-based science instruction and student achievement as measured by the Mississippi State Science Assessment, identified teacher perceptions of inquiry and the amount of professional development received by participants on using inquiry-based instructional techniques, and identified factors that hinder the use of inquiry. Using a 24-question written survey, the researcher collected quantitative data from 204 science teachers in grades K-8 in four southern Mississippi school districts. Participants rated their average amount of time spent using inquiry based science instruction in their classrooms. These results were then compared to each school’s average test score on the 2009-2010 Mississippi State Science Assessment using a Spearman rho correlation. A significant positive relationship was found between amounts of time spent using inquiry-based science instruction and student achievement. The participants also indicated their perceptions of inquiry, amount of professional development, and deterrents to inquiry usage on a five-point Likert scale survey. Overall, participants held a favorable opinion of inquiry-based instruction and felt that it was important for their students’ success. The most common identified factor that hinders the use of inquiry as a pedagogical method was lack of materials and resources, and time constraints.

Segura conducted a study to understand the beliefs of the teachers regarding inquiry-based science instruction, their ability to conduct inquiry-based lessons, and barriers that prevent their abilities to teach science. Participants were rural school science teachers who were part of a Texas Teacher Quality Grant and who completed a 45-hour graduate course and 60 hours of professional development over 8 months. As part of the grant activities, the teachers participated as learners in authentic, inquiry-based science activities which focused on physics principles; explored inquiry as a pedagogical method to teaching science; and developed inquiry-based lesson plans to teach in their classrooms. The narrative inquiry research method was utilized. Findings revealed that packaged curricular resources, including science textbooks, were barriers to teaching science as inquiry. Inquiry-based lesson plans, developed by both teachers, revealed the removal of directive procedures and pre-developed data tables, evidencing the importance of student-driven learning. Furthermore, they believed that inquiry-based instruction enhanced students' critical thinking and problem solving abilities.

IBL Pedagogical Strategies

When students undertake IBL, the teacher uses a variety of pedagogical strategies to promote their active involvement. Such pedagogical strategies include discovery approach, experimentation/investigation, problem-based learning and project-based learning.

Discovery Approach

Discovery approach is an inquiry-based pedagogical strategy that takes place in problem solving situations where the student draws on his or her own past experience and existing knowledge to discover facts and relationships and new truths to be learned with experiment as a starter activity. Students explore and manipulate objects, wrestling with questions and controversies, or performing experiments. In this way students may likely to remember concepts and knowledge discovered on their own and that that there is retention of knowledge.

Experimentation/Investigation

Experiments provide a simple and engaging activity. This pedagogical strategy requires a more exhaustive preparation of the classes, regarding the selection of materials, the learning of a conduct relatively to laboratory work by the students, and creation of support materials used in class. After a certain adaptation to this pedagogical strategy, its application becomes natural. The steps involve in experimentation are observation, identifying a problem, formulating a hypothesis, conducting an experiment, formulating a conclusion/generalization, and lastly, communicating the results.

Problem-based Learning (PBL)

Problem-based learning (PBL) is pedagogical strategy empowering the students in conducting research, integrating theory and practice, and applying ideas learned and skills in order to develop a solution to a defined problem. PBL is effective when both students and teachers understand the factors that influence learning. Bate, Hommes, Duvivier and Taylor identified these factors as student motivation, and learning environment that supports the students develop the habit of life-long learning. Likewise, the skills and attitudes help them to become competent reflective practitioners.

Project-based Learning

In K-12 education, project-based learning is a pedagogical strategy that addresses the content through projects. According to CTAC & WCSD, project-based learning is framed with open-ended that drive students to investigate, do research, and/or construct their own solutions where in they may use technology tools in communicating, collaborating, researching, analyzing, creating, and publishing their own work for people to see.

Conclusion 

Inquiry-based learning is seeking information or idea by investigating scenarios and problems, or seeking information through social experiences then applying the information or idea they learned into real life. It engages students in an authentic scientific discovery process. Likewise, inquiry-based learning is student-centered and not teacher-centered. The 5Es learning cycle such as Engagement, Exploration, Explanation, Elaboration, and Evaluation are integrated.