How My Thinking About Inquiry-Based Learning Has Grown

How My Thinking About

Inquiry-Based Learning Has Grown

Over the past few weeks, I’ve worked through Units 4 and 5. During those units I have learned about sorting facts and concepts, analyzing investigable vs. non-investigable questions, exploring state standards, and integrating Web 2.0 tools. 

Facts Vs. Concepts

At first, I thought identifying facts and concepts would be simple and straightforward. Sorting the cards challenged me more than I expected. I found myself second guessing whether something like “Living things are diverse” was a fact or a concept, and realizing that depending on how it’s defended, it could be either.

This was the overall lesson for me: 

Facts are important, but concepts connect those facts and give them meaning. Without concepts, inquiry becomes random. Without facts, inquiry becomes shallow. 

Investigable vs. Non-Investigable Questions

I used to think that if a question was interesting or relevant, students could investigate it. Now I understand the importance of distinguishing between questions that can be answered through hands-on investigation and those that require explanation, research, or abstract reasoning.

I learned about changing questions from non-investigable questions to investigable questions. For example, I changed “Why are triangles strong?” into “How does the number of triangles in a bridge design affect the weight it can hold?” 

This showed me that inquiry isn’t just about experimenting; it’s about designing questions that lead students toward meaningful exploration.

This also made me realize that students need repeated exposure to both types of questions, along with teacher prompts that help them reframe and refine their thinking. Inquiry is taught, not an automatic process.

If you want to test your knowledge of Investigable and Non-Investigable Questions

Test your Knowledge of Investigable and Non-Investigable Questions- Click here

Connecting Inquiry to Standards

Check out my standards on this Padlet

I explored the SAS Curricular Framework and looked at mathematics to deepen my understanding of inquiry. Looking at the big idea “Data can be modeled and used to make inference,” I had to identify both the factual knowledge students need and the conceptual ideas they should develop.

The biggest takeaway for me was:

Inquiry is not a separate activity from standards. Instead, inquiry is the way to understand the standards. 

Web 2.0 Tools

Unit 5 pushed me to think about how technology supports inquiry. Tools like Padlet, Edpuzzle, and Quizlet aren’t just “extras”; they can genuinely strengthen the inquiry process.

Here are a few that I would like to share with you. 

• Edpuzzle helped students build background knowledge. Edpuzzle is videos with a quiz built in. 

• Quizlet and Quizlet Live are a way for students to memorize and understand facts. Then they can work in collaborative groups to demonstrate that they understand the questions. 

• Padlet gave students a collaborative space for students to post reflections, have evidence like tables and demonstrate progress during a design challenge.
  
  

Using these tools reminded me that the goal isn’t to use technology for its own sake.

The goal is to use technology to help students in the inquiry practices.

What Has Changed in My Thinking

Before Units 4 and 5, I saw inquiry as something that happened mainly during activities. Now I see that inquiry starts long before students touch materials. It starts when they:

• 
  make sense of facts and concepts
  

• ask and refine questions
  
  

• build background knowledge
  
  

• plan and document their thinking
  
  

• reflect on results
  
  

Inquiry is a continuous cycle of thinking, not a single experiment.

My Burning Questions Going Forward

• How do teachers balance inquiry with the time pressure of curriculum pacing?
  
  

• How can I support students who struggle with open-ended tasks without providing too much scaffolding and in the process take away their ownership over their learning.
  

These questions motivate me to learn more about the inquiry process. 

My understanding of inquiry-based learning has expanded far beyond just learners completing assignments.

References

Donovan, M. S., & Bransford, J. D. (Eds.). (2005). How students learn: History, mathematics, and science in the classroom. National Academies Press.

Ontario Ministry of Education. (2011). Getting started with student inquiry (Capacity Building Series). https://www.onted.ca/monographs/capacity-building-series/getting-started-with-student-inquiry

Wolpert-Gawron, H. (2016, April 25). What the heck is inquiry-based learning? Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/blog/what-heck-inquiry-based-learning-heather-wolpert-gawron

Theuma, S. (2015, July 10). Thing 6: Inquiry-based learning. https://sandratheuma.wordpress.com/2015/07/10/thing-6-inquiry-based-learning/

KQED MindShift. (2019). How to ease students into independent inquiry projects. https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/50620/how-to-ease-students-into-independent-inquiry-projects