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Feel free to add/respond to questions and comments in this section

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Beautiful Questions at School - KQED article

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Beautiful Questions at School - KQED article

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There are a lot of understandable reasons why questioning drops off in school. Foremost among them is time. "Time really conspires against questioning," Berger said. "In the classroom there often isn't time to let kids ask their questions." And really good, deep questions often take a lot of time to unravel -- more time than a harried teacher trying to cover all the curriculum often feels she can afford. And while time pressure is a very real part of teaching, not making time for questioning says a lot about how valuable it is to us. People make time for the things they value.

But knowledge can also be the enemy of questioning. "As we know more, or feel we know more, we may be less inclined to question," Berger said. Sometimes answers can close down other avenues of thinking or ways of seeing a problem, but that all depends on how teachers treat knowledge. When treated as a life-long endeavor, learning a little bit about something opens up space to learn more.

And of course there are social barriers to questioning. Many kids don't see asking questions as "cool." And the perception that question askers are suck-ups or dorks probably also comes from fear. Many people feel vulnerable admitting they don't know something. They are afraid to offer a window into their inner world by wondering out loud.

These barriers to questioning are real and challenging, but there are lots of ways parents and teachers can work to make questioning a normal part of school and life. One of the primary ways adults can support questioning, Berger said, is to model curiosity and to value questions. Instead of asking a child, "What did you learn at school today," a parent might ask, "What great question did you ask today?" Or, when a child asks one of those great, deep questions that gets at why humans are even here, parents could dive in and explore the question with their child.

"You don't have to have the answers. You just have to have the interest," Berger said. Instead of trying to close off questioning by providing a pat answer or a terse "I don't know," parents might say, "If you were going to start answering that question, where would you start?"

"We want their questions to be large and expanded instead of being diminished and eventually going away," Berger said. That philosophy should apply to school as well.
5 WAYS TO HELP STUDENTS BECOME BETTER QUESTIONERS
1. Make It Safe: "I think this might be the most important one," Berger said. Many kids won't raise their hand in front of the whole class to ask a question because they're shy or nervous. "Fear kills curiosity," Berger said. "The two things do not exist very well together." But a student that might be afraid to question in front of the whole group may be willing to ask questions in a smaller group or to write a question down. Teachers can help make small groups even safer by laying out protective rules like "no question can be edited or judged."

"The key thing is it makes questioning the point of the activity, and that is rarely the case," Berger said. "The point is always to get to the answer." Asking good questions takes practice. The Right Question Institute offers protocols to get students questioning, but teachers shouldn't expect kids to immediately be good at it.

2. Make it Cool: Berger suggests convincing kids that good questions lead to cool stuff and make the world a better place. Furthermore, people who ask good questions are cool people, even rebellious people sometimes. "The people who are really breaking new ground are the people asking questions," Berger said. "Questioners are the explorers, the mavericks."

And questions can make people uncomfortable, especially when they hit on something true. "If you are a questioner, you are going against the grain," Berger said. "That could appeal to young people."

3. Make It Fun: Turning questioning into a game can be a great way to make the process more lighthearted and fun. Frame the process as being a detective, solving riddles or puzzles. One possible game to get kids started is to take closed questions and turn them into open questions and visa versa. This helps kids really understand the difference and what makes a strong question.

Students could also approach the issue with "why" questions to dig into it, then start asking "what if" questions to open up their imaginations and finally "how might we" questions to begin coming up with solutions. "How might we" is a more invigorating and creative questioning tact that "how could we" or "how should we" prompts, which tend to have more judgment in them.

4. Make It Rewarding: Many students are used to empty praise from their teachers. When students venture a deep question, they commonly hear, "That's a great question, let's move on." But an educator's genuine interest in the question will be much more powerful than any praise.

Additionally, teachers can create structures in their classes to reward questioning. Perhaps there is a best question of the week, where students get to vote on one another's questions. Or maybe there's a bonus question on a test that is itself a question: "What question should have been on this test, but wasn't?"

5. Make It Stick: Questioning has to be a regular part of the school day for it to become a student habit. The famous comedian George Carlin used to talk about "vuja de," that none of this has ever happened before. He was joking, but he also credited his ability to look at familiar situations in fresh ways as a key to his success.

Educators could follow Carlin's lead and spend some time one day a week looking at a common object or idea and pushing students to ask questions about it as if they've never seen it before. "If you can instill this habit of mind in kids, this is the key to success for innovators," Berger said.

If educators can find the precious minutes to foster these habits, Berger believes it could go a long way to developing critical thinkers. "I know that often times it doesn't feel like there's room to do some of these things under the current schedules and demands, but I feel like what needs to be done is small acts of insurrection," he told educators and parents gathered at the conference.
Questioning Is About Power
Feeling confident to question the systems of power around us is one of the key jobs of an informed citizenry. Kids need to learn during their time at school that they have the right to know, to challenge assumptions and to dig deeper. Fostering this mentality in students can be challenging for teachers who are often complicit in systems of control over students. But often when teachers open the space for these questions, value them and explore them with students, a deep trust is built.

"I also think questioning matters because questions open up a dialogue instead of shutting it down," Berger said. He says it's the honest, thoughtful, respectful questions that start really good discussions. And ultimately could lead to the equity that so many educators and students are striving toward.

It's also important to note that questioning makes a student vulnerable, and every student has a different relationship and experience with standing up to authority. "It's very possible that there could be some groups of kids who would be more worried about how questioning is going to make them look," Berger said. "That kid has more at stake," and teachers need to recognize that.

These equity questions are the next topic Berger wants to explore. One study he read showed that upper-income families encouraged questioning in school, while lower-income families told their children to fit in and not rock the boat.

"Just because they're not asking a question doesn't mean they won't have them," Berger said. He's researching how people are making questioning safe for everyone. Ultimately, questioning and reflecting are the keys to self-growth, something educators want for all their students.

"It's OK to ask ambitious questions about yourself, your life, and that you won't have the answer right away," Berger said. Often people don't ask those kinds of questions because they're afraid they won't have the answer. But if questioning deeply has always been part of the learning process, perhaps the next generation of citizens won't be so afraid to sit with those hard questions.
*An earlier version of this story did not properly attribute this quote to Neil Postman. We regret this error.
Don't miss an episode of Stories Teachers Share.

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How to Bring 'More Beautiful' Questions Back to School | KQED

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Young children ask lots of questions, but around the time they enter school, those questions begin to fade. Author Warren Berger outlines five ways to help students become better questioners and nurture a child's curiosity.

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A More Beautiful Question by Warren Berger

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A More Beautiful Question by Warren Berger

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I'm a longtime journalist (The New York Times Magazine, Wired, GQ, Reader's Digest), book author, and speaker who has written about a variety of subjects over the years-creativity, innovation, and questioning being particular favorites.

I've interviewed and studied hundreds of the world's leading innovators, designers, and creative thinkers to analyze how they ask fundamental questions, solve problems, and create new possibilities.

Over the past 10 years, I've zeroed in on the power of questioning in our lives. It's a skill we all have innately but it falls into disuse for many of us as we move through school and the business world. And that's a shame. On my blog amorebeautifulquestion.com and in articles for Fast Company and the Harvard Business Review I've written about why questioning leads to innovation, how it can help you be more successful in your career, and how we can all get better at asking the kind of "beautiful questions" that spark change in our businesses and lives.

My "inquiry into the value of inquiry" led to the 2014 bestseller A MORE BEAUTIFUL QUESTION: The Power of Inquiry to Spark Breakthrough Ideas (Bloomsbury) in March 2014. Next followed THE BOOK OF BEAUTIFUL QUESTIONS (2018), featuring more than 400 provocative and useful questions, anecdotes, and examples that will help you DECIDE, CREATE, CONNECT, and LEAD. And then BEAUTIFUL QUESTIONS IN THE CLASSROOM (2020), fulfilling my mission to spread the message of good questioning to educators and the next generation of students.

Previous to the beautiful question books, l wrote the international bestseller Glimmer: How Design Can Transform Business and Your Life (Penguin; 2009; retitled "CAD Monkeys, Dinosaur Babies, and T-Shaped People" in the U.S. Penguin paperback).

Find out more about me and my books at https://AMoreBeautifulQuestion.com and https://WarrenBerger.com.

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A More Beautiful Question: The Power of Inquiry to Spark Breakthrough Ideas

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Amazon.com: A More Beautiful Question: The Power of Inquiry to Spark Breakthrough Ideas: 9781632861054: Berger, Warren

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An explanation of Inquiry Based Learning in under 5 minutes

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An explanation of Inquiry Based Learning in under 5 minutes

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What is an Inquiry Classroom - Kath Murdoch

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What is an Inquiry Classroom - Kath Murdoch

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What does it mean to be an Inquiry Teacher - Kath Murdoch

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What does it mean to be an Inquiry Teacher - Kath Murdoch

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What does it mean to be an inquiry teacher?

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1 Minute Inquiry PD with Trevor MacKenzie

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1 Minute Inquiry PD with Trevor MacKenzie

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Share your videos with friends, family, and the world

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George Lucas Educational Foundation

Instead of just presenting the facts, use questions, problems, and scenarios to help students learn through their own agency and investigation.

Sort by:

Math teachers can use short activities based on student goals related to equity in order to make classes feel more inclusive and accessible.

By leaving space in their lessons for authentic curiosity to take hold, teachers can enable deeper learning.

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Instead of just presenting the facts, use questions, problems, and scenarios to help students learn through their own agency and investigation.

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https://youtu.be/2ylmVT5lkck?si=FeC2E7cq5_BrGexB

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Curiosity: The Force Within a Hungry Mind 

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Curiosity: The Force Within a Hungry Mind 

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Edutopia is a free source of information, inspiration, and practical strategies for learning and teaching in preK-12 education. We are published by the George Lucas Educational Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization.

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Resources and Downloads to Facilitate Inquiry-Based Learning

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Find information, strategies, protocols, and tools to promote curiosity and engage students in asking questions, thinking critically, and solving problems.

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How To Get Into Inquiry-Based Learning: Part 1 – First Steps to Inquiry

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How To Get Into Inquiry-Based Learning: Part 2 – Working Towards Open Inquiry

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Inquiry-based learning is not a new trend; it's natural learning and is widely used in schools around the world. For instance, the globally renowned International Baccalaureate program is in use from K-12 throughout public and private schools worldwide.

The entire IB program is designed around inquiry-based learning. Further, many states in Australia have now made inquiry-based learning a strategic priority for all schools.

The reason inquiry-based learning is so broadly embraced is that it helps learners build social and emotional learning capacity, problem-solving prowess, and college and career-ready skills. It's a way of engagement that steers from a traditional learning environment where the teacher lectures, the learners take notes, answer questions, complete homework, and sit for an exam.

However, the big question is does it work? Moreover, are there any disadvantages to this kind of instruction that would make educators want to shy away from it?

Ultimately, yes there are. But that said, there are ways around such stumbling blocks that teachers can navigate with ease, and we'll discuss them as we go.

What You Need to Know About Inquiry-Based Learning

This kind of teaching strategy is designed to emphasize the learner's role in the learning process, giving them ownership to explore, ask questions and share ideas.

This is what inquiry-based learning is designed to do:

Create deeper interest: Learners get to ask their own questions, creating greater interest in the topic. When they ask their own questions, they pay more attention, as they are seeking open discussion and answers.

Teach problem-solving: Learners are told to find the answers to the questions they have. In many instances, this is effective because it prepares students for real-world scenarios utilizing skills they need in the future.

Enhance teamwork: Learners learn how to work with each other, solving problems as a unit.

Promote knowledge retention: Fact sharing has proven to enhance the ability to recall that information later. This demonstrates that inquiry-based learning has greater retention capabilities.

"Inquiry-based learning is not a new trend; it's natural learning and is widely used in schools around the world. "

How to Overcome Inquiry-Based Learning Challenges

While this can be a beneficial method of learning for learners and instructors, there are some concerns with inquiry-based learning. Although engagement levels tend to be higher in this setting, there are instances where this method presents challenges.

These are some disadvantages to this style of instruction, and the measures you can take to overcome them.

1. Testing performance

When teachers focus learning time on learner-led inquiries, it is important that no area of the curriculum is left behind. As we operate in a space where standardized testing is the norm, this could impact performance in this area. Without key learnings, students are unprepared for their exams. In a STEM learning environment, this could be detrimental.

The workaround: The role of the teacher in connecting curricular outcomes to the line of inquiry is the fundamental solution to this problem. By modeling effective questioning techniques, teachers are able to guide their learners to find the answers they need while engaging in the relevant curriculum areas.

2. Reluctance to participate

This teaching and learning style requires total learner engagement and participation. Learners will be asked to speak up and immerse themselves in the activity. While this could help enhance their public speaking skills and also promote teamwork, it could be daunting for those learners who have issues with speaking out. Additionally, it could be challenging for those who do not think quickly on their feet. Comprehension and learning disabilities must be considered, which could become problematic.

The workaround: The solution is found initially in the kinds of questions that teachers ask throughout any inquiry. Purposeful questions that are big enough and open enough for anyone to answer from their own perspective, experience, or level of ability provide an entry point for every learner into a conversation that is relevant to them. Enabling learners to share in small group sessions with their friends is another way to support reluctant speakers. Above all, inquiry-based learning is designed to be responsive to learner interest, ability, and pace.

3. Teacher Mindset and Preparedness

If teachers do not completely understand or embrace this concept, they are unprepared and unable to engage with their learners on a deeper level. This creates a disconnect, which in turn leaves the students unprepared and at risk. Teachers must have a clear understanding of the value of creating a learner-centered classroom, and develop the essential skills to facilitate inquiry-based learning.

The workaround: A key factor is understanding that great classroom inquiry is guided and supported by the teacher, through questioning and by providing formative feedback. Learners are never left to their own devices; rather, the teacher facilitates and guides each step of the inquiry process, ensuring that learners are on the right track as they develop the higher-order skills of critical and creative thinking.

4. Learner Readiness

Learners involved in this type of setting must have the capacity to inquire and make decisions on their own. As inquiry is a self-directed form of learning, they must be comfortable with taking responsibility for their own learning, without relying on someone telling them what to do on a continuous basis. While this does provide for learner agency and voice, learners may not work well in an unstructured environment if they are unprepared or unequipped for this shift.

The workaround: The critical solution to this potential problem is to teach the skills of the inquiry process to learners. All learners have the capacity to ask great questions, and to make judgements about the information they are researching. However, they must be taught these skills. When teachers base their classroom inquiry on a structured inquiry process and teach learners how to use this process, they provide a scaffold for self-directed learning that enables all students to feel supported along the way.

"The reason inquiry-based learning is so broadly embraced is that it helps learners build social and emotional learning capacity, problem-solving prowess, and college and career-ready skills."

5. Assessments

The nature of inquiry-based learning does not lend itself to traditional models of assessment. The teacher-centered paradigm of pre-preparing assessments that are designed to confirm retention of pre-determined knowledge will not work well in an inquiry setting. This model will standardise and effectively limit the levels of achievement to those that have already been decided by the teacher. When this happens, individual pathways and potential for personalised learning goals are lost.

The workaround: The solution is for the teacher to work from within the process, capturing evidence of learning and higher-order thinking as learners are developing these skills. From the very beginning of a unit of inquiry, teachers create an opportunity for diagnostic assessment by asking an essential question. Listening to learner voice through their responses will provide a wealth of information about prior knowledge and experience, perspective, ability, and interest while engaging all learners in a conversation that builds curiosity. Ongoing, real-time formative assessment is the answer here, and requires an interactive role from the classroom teacher, to provide formative feedback and support students to develop their learning goals.

6. Questioning

Asking questions to drive learning is at the heart of the inquiry model. When teachers are unsure of how to manage this process, they may default to asking closed, content-specific questions, and the rigour of authentic inquiry is lost. It is important for the teacher to have a proper grasp of how to ask effective questions to guide their learners towards curricular outcomes, while still enabling learners to think deeply and critically about their own learning. If the teacher is lacking in this area, it has a trickle-down effect on the students as they will not learn the basics of effective questioning, reasoning, and problem-solving.

The workaround: The solution is to ask questions that connect to the essential understandings and deep concepts of the curriculum, rather than to specific areas of surface-level content. These questions are open to a range of perspectives and inspire a range of responses. Learners will discover the content more readily when they understand and explore the purpose and relevance of learning it.

7. Portfolios

Learner portfolios become the collection point for evidence of learning in an inquiry-based classroom, as they work at their own pace and level. Portfolios showcase progress and accomplishments and reinforce the teacher's grading, but most importantly they provide an ongoing opportunity for feedback, enabling learners to improve and progress as they build upon previous learning. If teachers do not manage this process well, they may revert to relying on summative assessment tasks to determine progress. This is very time-consuming as these assessments are usually large pieces of work that must be individually graded.

The workaround: The solution for teachers is to focus on collecting evidence of learning against achievement standards throughout the learning process. When teachers are able to assign a level of achievement and provide formative feedback in the moment, they add this to the learner portfolio, which becomes a progressive report of achievement rather than a filing cabinet to be sorted out later.

8. Checklists & Ratings

Teachers may use checklists, a learning continuum, or rubrics to guide learners through their learning to keep them on task. While this may be useful for the learners, if the requirements are very vague, the instructor will not have the information needed to properly observe and assess students. Additionally, rating scales may be skewed, limiting learning and creativity. This leaves the door open for educator bias.

The workaround: The solution to this potential risk is to ensure that any learning continuum or success criteria are directly related to the outcomes of the curriculum and that the levels of achievement are based on Bloom's Taxonomy of higher-order thinking. This ensures that both the essential understandings of the curriculum and the critical and creative thinking skills of learners are being assessed.

A Worthwhile Challenge

Here's the truth- there are advantages and disadvantages to any kind of instructional method. As always, it is the human element that makes things interesting.

There's no perfect one-size-fits-all teaching approach that will connect with the interests and abilities of every single learner out there, and teachers know this intimately. So while there are certainly disadvantages to using an inquiry-based learning approach, the pros far outweigh the cons.

Author and keynote speaker, Lee works with governments, education systems, international agencies and corporations to help people and organisations connect to their higher purpose. Lee lives in Japan where he studies Zen and the Shakuhachi.

https://leecrockett.net

Inquiry-based learning is not a new trend; it's natural learning and is widely used in schools around the world. For instance, the globally renowned International Baccalaureate program is in use from K-12 throughout public and private schools worldwide.

The entire IB program is designed around inquiry-based learning. Further, many states in Australia have now made inquiry-based learning a strategic priority for all schools.

The reason inquiry-based learning is so broadly embraced is that it helps learners build social and emotional learning capacity, problem-solving prowess, and college and career-ready skills. It's a way of engagement that steers from a traditional learning environment where the teacher lectures, the learners take notes, answer questions, complete homework, and sit for an exam.

However, the big question is does it work? Moreover, are there any disadvantages to this kind of instruction that would make educators want to shy away from it?

Ultimately, yes there are. But that said, there are ways around such stumbling blocks that teachers can navigate with ease, and we'll discuss them as we go.

What You Need to Know About Inquiry-Based Learning

This kind of teaching strategy is designed to emphasize the learner's role in the learning process, giving them ownership to explore, ask questions and share ideas.

This is what inquiry-based learning is designed to do:

Create deeper interest: Learners get to ask their own questions, creating greater interest in the topic. When they ask their own questions, they pay more attention, as they are seeking open discussion and answers.

Teach problem-solving: Learners are told to find the answers to the questions they have. In many instances, this is effective because it prepares students for real-world scenarios utilizing skills they need in the future.

Enhance teamwork: Learners learn how to work with each other, solving problems as a unit.

Promote knowledge retention: Fact sharing has proven to enhance the ability to recall that information later. This demonstrates that inquiry-based learning has greater retention capabilities.

"Inquiry-based learning is not a new trend; it's natural learning and is widely used in schools around the world. "

How to Overcome Inquiry-Based Learning Challenges

While this can be a beneficial method of learning for learners and instructors, there are some concerns with inquiry-based learning. Although engagement levels tend to be higher in this setting, there are instances where this method presents challenges.

These are some disadvantages to this style of instruction, and the measures you can take to overcome them.

1. Testing performance

When teachers focus learning time on learner-led inquiries, it is important that no area of the curriculum is left behind. As we operate in a space where standardized testing is the norm, this could impact performance in this area. Without key learnings, students are unprepared for their exams. In a STEM learning environment, this could be detrimental.

The workaround: The role of the teacher in connecting curricular outcomes to the line of inquiry is the fundamental solution to this problem. By modeling effective questioning techniques, teachers are able to guide their learners to find the answers they need while engaging in the relevant curriculum areas.

2. Reluctance to participate

This teaching and learning style requires total learner engagement and participation. Learners will be asked to speak up and immerse themselves in the activity. While this could help enhance their public speaking skills and also promote teamwork, it could be daunting for those learners who have issues with speaking out. Additionally, it could be challenging for those who do not think quickly on their feet. Comprehension and learning disabilities must be considered, which could become problematic.

The workaround: The solution is found initially in the kinds of questions that teachers ask throughout any inquiry. Purposeful questions that are big enough and open enough for anyone to answer from their own perspective, experience, or level of ability provide an entry point for every learner into a conversation that is relevant to them. Enabling learners to share in small group sessions with their friends is another way to support reluctant speakers. Above all, inquiry-based learning is designed to be responsive to learner interest, ability, and pace.

3. Teacher Mindset and Preparedness

If teachers do not completely understand or embrace this concept, they are unprepared and unable to engage with their learners on a deeper level. This creates a disconnect, which in turn leaves the students unprepared and at risk. Teachers must have a clear understanding of the value of creating a learner-centered classroom, and develop the essential skills to facilitate inquiry-based learning.

The workaround: A key factor is understanding that great classroom inquiry is guided and supported by the teacher, through questioning and by providing formative feedback. Learners are never left to their own devices; rather, the teacher facilitates and guides each step of the inquiry process, ensuring that learners are on the right track as they develop the higher-order skills of critical and creative thinking.

4. Learner Readiness

Learners involved in this type of setting must have the capacity to inquire and make decisions on their own. As inquiry is a self-directed form of learning, they must be comfortable with taking responsibility for their own learning, without relying on someone telling them what to do on a continuous basis. While this does provide for learner agency and voice, learners may not work well in an unstructured environment if they are unprepared or unequipped for this shift.

The workaround: The critical solution to this potential problem is to teach the skills of the inquiry process to learners. All learners have the capacity to ask great questions, and to make judgements about the information they are researching. However, they must be taught these skills. When teachers base their classroom inquiry on a structured inquiry process and teach learners how to use this process, they provide a scaffold for self-directed learning that enables all students to feel supported along the way.

"The reason inquiry-based learning is so broadly embraced is that it helps learners build social and emotional learning capacity, problem-solving prowess, and college and career-ready skills."

5. Assessments

The nature of inquiry-based learning does not lend itself to traditional models of assessment. The teacher-centered paradigm of pre-preparing assessments that are designed to confirm retention of pre-determined knowledge will not work well in an inquiry setting. This model will standardise and effectively limit the levels of achievement to those that have already been decided by the teacher. When this happens, individual pathways and potential for personalised learning goals are lost.

The workaround: The solution is for the teacher to work from within the process, capturing evidence of learning and higher-order thinking as learners are developing these skills. From the very beginning of a unit of inquiry, teachers create an opportunity for diagnostic assessment by asking an essential question. Listening to learner voice through their responses will provide a wealth of information about prior knowledge and experience, perspective, ability, and interest while engaging all learners in a conversation that builds curiosity. Ongoing, real-time formative assessment is the answer here, and requires an interactive role from the classroom teacher, to provide formative feedback and support students to develop their learning goals.

6. Questioning

Asking questions to drive learning is at the heart of the inquiry model. When teachers are unsure of how to manage this process, they may default to asking closed, content-specific questions, and the rigour of authentic inquiry is lost. It is important for the teacher to have a proper grasp of how to ask effective questions to guide their learners towards curricular outcomes, while still enabling learners to think deeply and critically about their own learning. If the teacher is lacking in this area, it has a trickle-down effect on the students as they will not learn the basics of effective questioning, reasoning, and problem-solving.

The workaround: The solution is to ask questions that connect to the essential understandings and deep concepts of the curriculum, rather than to specific areas of surface-level content. These questions are open to a range of perspectives and inspire a range of responses. Learners will discover the content more readily when they understand and explore the purpose and relevance of learning it.

7. Portfolios

Learner portfolios become the collection point for evidence of learning in an inquiry-based classroom, as they work at their own pace and level. Portfolios showcase progress and accomplishments and reinforce the teacher's grading, but most importantly they provide an ongoing opportunity for feedback, enabling learners to improve and progress as they build upon previous learning. If teachers do not manage this process well, they may revert to relying on summative assessment tasks to determine progress. This is very time-consuming as these assessments are usually large pieces of work that must be individually graded.

The workaround: The solution for teachers is to focus on collecting evidence of learning against achievement standards throughout the learning process. When teachers are able to assign a level of achievement and provide formative feedback in the moment, they add this to the learner portfolio, which becomes a progressive report of achievement rather than a filing cabinet to be sorted out later.

8. Checklists & Ratings

Teachers may use checklists, a learning continuum, or rubrics to guide learners through their learning to keep them on task. While this may be useful for the learners, if the requirements are very vague, the instructor will not have the information needed to properly observe and assess students. Additionally, rating scales may be skewed, limiting learning and creativity. This leaves the door open for educator bias.

The workaround: The solution to this potential risk is to ensure that any learning continuum or success criteria are directly related to the outcomes of the curriculum and that the levels of achievement are based on Bloom's Taxonomy of higher-order thinking. This ensures that both the essential understandings of the curriculum and the critical and creative thinking skills of learners are being assessed.

A Worthwhile Challenge

Here's the truth- there are advantages and disadvantages to any kind of instructional method. As always, it is the human element that makes things interesting.

There's no perfect one-size-fits-all teaching approach that will connect with the interests and abilities of every single learner out there, and teachers know this intimately. So while there are certainly disadvantages to using an inquiry-based learning approach, the pros far outweigh the cons.

Author and keynote speaker, Lee works with governments, education systems, international agencies and corporations to help people and organisations connect to their higher purpose. Lee lives in Japan where he studies Zen and the Shakuhachi.

https://leecrockett.net

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8 Disadvantages of Inquiry-Based Learning (With Solutions) - Future Focused Learning

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Are there any disadvantages to inquiry-based learning that would make educators want to shy away from it? Yes, but there are also effective ways to overcome them, which we'll discuss in this article.

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How To Get Into Inquiry-Based Learning: Part 3 – 5 Skills to Become an Inquiry Teacher

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STUDENTS AT THE CENTER: Inquiry-Based Learning at Pittsfield Middle High School

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How To Get Into Inquiry-Based Learning: Part 4 – 4 Student Inquiry Skills to Nurture and Assess

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Trevor MacKenzie's website with teaching & PD resources

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Trevor MacKenzie's website with teaching & PD resources

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That single question put educator Trevor MacKenzie and a struggling student on an unintended and life-changing journey of inquiry, discovery and meaningful learning. It was a journey that completely reshaped the way MacKenzie leads his classroom.

With the belief that all students deserve a chance to dig into their wonders and curiosities, MacKenzie proposes a scaffolded approach to student-centred learning by identifying the Types of Student Inquiry: Structured, Controlled, Guided and Free Inquiry. Each type requires students take progressively more control over their own learning. This inquiry-based learning model equips students to become lifelong learners by nurturing wonder, curiosity and agency in the classroom.

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Trevor MacKenzie is an award winning English teacher, instructional coach (focusing on inquiry and technology), and graduate student from Victoria, BC, Canada who believes that it is a magical time to be an educator.

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The documents on this page may be downloaded and printed free of charge by teachers to assist in their personal, professional learning. Should you wish to use the documents for other purposes (for example, as part of a school based workshop or seminar) permission must be sought directly from Kath at kath@kathmurdoch.com.au.

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The documents on this page may be downloaded and printed free of charge by teachers to assist in their personal, professional learning. Should you wish to use the documents for other purposes (for example, as part of a school based workshop or seminar) permission must be sought directly from Kath at kath@kathmurdoch.com.au .

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Ramsey Musallam: 3 rules to spark learning | TED Talk

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It took a life-threatening condition to jolt chemistry teacher Ramsey Musallam out of ten years of “pseudo-teaching” to understand the true role of the educator: to cultivate curiosity. In a fun and personal talk, Musallam gives 3 rules to spark imagination and learning, and get students excited abo…

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inquirED Inquiry Hub: PD & teaching resources

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inquirED Inquiry Hub: PD & teaching resources