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Jeni Wilson and Kath Murdoch

What is Inquiry Learning?

Reference: Adapted from Focus on Inquiry (2003) Jeni Wilson and Lesley Wing
Jan and Invitation and Inspirations (working title only) Moss et al. Curriculum
Corporation, Victoria.

Learning, using the inquiry approach, can have many starting points and be
implemented in many ways (see Murdoch, 1992, Murdoch & Wilson, 2004). It
involves students forming their own questions about a topic and having time to
explore the answers. The students are both problem posers and problem solvers
within inquiry learning. Inquiry Learning encourages learners to examine the
complexity of the world and form concepts and generalizations instead of being told
simple answers to complex problems.

The inquiry approach to learning is based on the belief that students are powerful
learners who must be actively engaged in the process of investigating, processing,
organising, synthesising, refining and extending their knowledge within a topic. In
other words this process is highly influenced by the theory of constructivism (see
Bruner, 1986, Fosnot, 1996). In a nutshell, the inquiry process involves:

• planned, direct and vicarious experiences that provide opportunities for


students to pose questions and gather information.
• activities that help students organise new information and use skills in a way
that assist them to form concepts and generalizations about their world
• opportunities for students to demonstrate what they have learnt
• applying the knowledge, skills and values to other contexts.

Inquiry learning and integrated curriculum have recently been advocated by many
middle years proponents as an effective ways to engage middle years learners. We
believe there are many benefits of the inquiry approach to learning for learners of all
ages. The inquiry process has the potential to develop skills and dispositions for
lifelong learning, for example, independence, thinking skills, confidence, decision
making, cooperative learning and other life skills. We can integrate different subject
areas, information technology and global issues.

If implemented with the student as a central player in the decision making


process, the pace, content and skill development can better match the needs of
the learner. Because the approach makes learning relevant and purposeful,
ownership and responsibility for the learning process is intrinsic. This can have an
impact on both enjoyment and on-task behavior.

Challenges for Teachers Implementing Inquiry

Despite the many benefits of inquiry learning, this approach can be challenging. The
inquiry approach requires the teacher to forfeit traditional transmission style teaching
approaches. You must be able to facilitate student centred learning, develop student
responsibility for learning and value student self-questioning. It requires a high level of
organisation, flexibility and negotiation skills to challenge the range of learners in any
classroom. For maximum effectiveness, on-going assessment is crucial. A challenge

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Jeni Wilson and Kath Murdoch

teachers often raise is that of resourcing the curriculum. However, when ‘people’ are
acknowledged as a valuable resource and with increased access to electronic
resources, this issue becomes less of a problem.

Common Characteristics of Inquiry

While there are different starting points for inquiries, for example, topical, global or
community issue, interest or play based, inquiries generally have the following
characteristics. They:
• are student centred and directed
• emphasise process and skill development
• require students to ask questions
• are conceptual based rather than factual
• usually involve some negotiation with students
• encourage learner interaction
• build upon prior knowledge
• utilise and consider students interests
• include direct experiences
• integrate reflection and metacognition
• involve the application of ideas
• explore affective aspects of learning
• raise different perspectives and tackle values

Sometimes the inquiry process is thought to be unstructured and unplanned. However


the process is structured and useful for planning for effective learning. The inquiry
approach is often used as the foundation for integrated curriculum planning but it can
be used for individual subjects.

Inquiry: The process in a nutshell


• Problem or question
• Hypothesis
• Data collection and analysis
• Drawing conclusions
• Making generalisations and reflecting
• Authentic action

Adapted from http://ss.uno.edu//SS/TeachDevel/TeachMethods/InquiryMethod.html

Planning for Inquiry

There are many models for planning. The one below presents six basic (Wilson and
Wing Jan, 2003). When planning for inquiry, the purposes of each stage provide
guidelines for selecting appropriate activities. In practice, this is not a simple linear
process. The distinction between some stages will be blurred and some stages may
need repeating and many more experiences than originally planned. For example, more
than one finding out activity may be necessary and this would need to be followed by
more sorting out experiences.

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The planning is driven by the understandings sought and your knowledge of student
understandings. We strongly believe that the content must be takes students beyond
what they already know as well as developing worthwhile lifelong skills.

Table 1 Inquiry Stages and Purposes

Stage of Unit Purpose Example


Activities/experiences
Tuning In To engage students in the topic Posing questions
Also known as: To gauge student interest and attitudes Listing known experiences
1. Prior To find out what students believe (understandings and Picture chats
Knowledge misconceptions) Developing hypothesise and
2. Preparing to To provide opportunities for students to share what they making predictions
find out already know and believe Planning research
To introduce/clarify language Visualisation
To identify gaps in their knowledge and misconceptions Simulation games
To assist with teacher planning of the unit Using multi-media
Finding Out To take students beyond what they already know Excursions
Also known as: To challenge students’ ideas, beliefs and values Guest speakers
• Direct To enable the student to use skills (e.g. thinking, Experiments
experiences communication, cooperation, research skills) and Films
• Shared knowledge to collect new information Books
Experience Surveys
Websites
Performance

Sorting Out To sort out, organise, represent and present information Creating and organising data, for
Also known as: from the finding out stage of the unit. eg, making graphs,
• Processing To provide opportunities for the students to use their Grouping, labelling
the Shared preferred ways of learning to demonstrate their learning Values clarification
Experience/s (knowledge, skills, values) Computer simulations
Construction
Role play
Artistic representations
Video production
Going To extend/broaden the unit if appropriate Revisiting earlier questions
To allow students to investigate areas of personal interest Contract work
further To use their preferred learning style Individual or group interest mini-
Also known as: To present another perspective on or dimension to the research projects
• Extending topic Learning centre tasks
the Unit Exhibitions
• Related Community projects
activities/ex
periences
Reflection To provide opportunities for the students to think about Self, peer and group assessment
Also known as: their learning –how they learnt what they learnt and why Comparing tuning in ideas with
• Thinking To identify changes in skills, knowledge and values current ideas
about the To draw conclusions and make connections between ideas Writing generalisations
Unit Journals (visual and written)
• Making
connections
• Drawing
conclusions
Action To identify what the students have learnt and the Publicising findings, eg, through
implications for personal actions newsletters
To enable students to make choices and apply their ideas Contacting relevant organisations
Also known as: To relate their learning to real life situations Making a personal action plan
• Taking Public performance
Action

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Jeni Wilson and Kath Murdoch

In developing the parameters for inquiries, you need to consider the place of: the
knowledge component (concepts and understandings), skills, values and thinking.

1. Concepts and Understandings


One prime goal of effective inquiry planning and implementation is that the students
will develop significant understanding about the topic through meaningful teaching and
learning experiences. Even if students play a major role in planning the inquiry,
forming the understandings upon which a unit is based is the foundational part of the
unit-planning process. It is the teacher’s role need to identify the ‘big ideas’ or
important broad knowledge about the topic that they wish the students to develop
during the unit. (see Blythe, 1998). These are often expressed in statements called
Understandings.

When learners develop understandings (or generalizations) about a topic, facts about
the specific events, objects, people, phenomena need to be identified. Learners use
higher level thinking and draw on these to form concepts. When students
conceptualise (build concepts) they identify, organise and categorise groups of objects
or events to make sense of the way the world works. Conceptualising assists people
to generalise by grouping particular things together that have common characteristics.
When we ask students to make generalisations about what they have learnt they
usually relate to two or more concepts. See Marsh (2001) for further explanation of
the relationship between facts, concepts, understandings and theory.

Some key concepts that may form the basis for planning challenging and significant
units of work include:

Table 2 Example Key Concepts

Change & continuity Technological advances


Needs & wants Systems/Structures
Cooperation & Competition Change & reaction
Power & control Ecosystems
Interdependence Adaptation
Relationships Ecological Sustainability
Equity & access Evolution
Decision making Energy & Motion
Identity & Culture Safety
Social organisation Wellbeing
Diversity Communication
Conservation Resources
Life and living

In the table below we have shown examples of understandings for the Key Learning
Areas (or subjects) of Science, Studies of Society and Environment (SOSE) and
Health.

Table 3 Examples of Broad Understandings and Key Concepts

Understandings

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Jeni Wilson and Kath Murdoch

Health- The local environment and community services affect our safety and
wellbeing
SOSE- Access to power and resources is not always equitable
Science- The structure of organisms is related to their function

2. Skills
There are many different types of skills that students need to employ when
participating in the inquiry process. Regardless of the type of inquiry or year level, to
be effective inquirers students need to develop the skills that will help them:
• identify what it is they want to know and do
• question and critically examine
• observe, predict and problem solve
• locate the appropriate sources of information
• gather, sort and organise the information
• synthesise and present the information in appropriate ways
• reflect on what they have learnt and the inquiry process
• think about ways of using their newly acquired information in other situations

They may also need skills related to specific subject areas. For example, in science
students need to develop skills that enable them to design scientific procedures as
well as specific skills to gather, measure, handle and interpret data. While some
skills will be the same across all units across the school, the complexity of the task
and the information being handled will determine the degree of difficulty of and
therefore the level appropriateness.

3. Values and Attitudes


Recently there has been increasing emphasis on the place of values in education.
Dealing with values is a complex and challenging part of the curriculum. While there is
an enormous diversity of values, there are some that are inherent within a democratic
society and these are taught and rewarded within classrooms.

One way that values have been classified is into these two groups:
1 Procedural values (modes of conduct or preferred practices/behaviors)
For example: obedient, polite, responsible
2. Substantive values (beliefs people hold about the way life should be lived)
For example: freedom, fairness, truth, cooperation, justice, equality,
(Adapted from Ministry of Education, 1987)

The values students hold and how and why values differ within and between groups
of people can be explored during many of the inquiry units. Just as students’ values
may be explored during curriculum activities, you also need be aware that the values
you hold can influence their selection of content, resources and delivery of curriculum.
Students can be given the opportunity to explore theirs and others values through real-
life examples appropriate to their developmental needs and abilities. This can be
uncomfortable for teachers and students. Philosophy for children as been used to tease
out values.

Students need opportunities to explore, explain and defend their own values as well
examine, through guided learning experiences, how the values that people hold affect

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their behaviour. The term attitude is often used interchangeably with values.
However, although they are related they are different. An attitude may be indicated by
a behaviour, for example a positive attitude may be expressed as open-mindedness,
perseverance or independence.

Commonly Asked Questions

How much time should a unit take?


The duration of units is dependent upon the breadth and depth of content of the unit
that you want to cover, the complexity of the knowledge and skills to be developed
and the age, needs and interests of the students and time available. Some units can be
effectively implemented during a 5 week time span (especially in the early years)
while others may need much longer. Extended rich inquiries as the most effective.

Shouldn’t I find out what students know before planning the unit?
Ideally the unit will be planned in its entirety after the results of the student’s prior
knowledge have been considered, but practically this is not always possible. The unit
needs to be flexible and adaptable enough to adjust to the needs of the students and
yet prescriptive enough so that you can cover the curriculum requirements associated
with the topic. Some direct experiences may need to be booked ahead of time
regardless of student prior knowledge. However, teachers usually make a reasonable
estimate about the appropriateness and level of their students.

What is my role in the action stage of the unit?


Ideally students would chose and act on the findings from their own investigations but
they may need your direction to help them do this. Students do not always know
what options are available to them. It is the teacher’s responsibility to provide
guidance and support to broaden student ideas and to assist informed decisions about
the suitability of each action. Authentic action is encouraged.

Why can’t they just have fun?


Students learn better if they are interested in what they are learning, are provided with
relevant and appropriate learning experiences and are challenged within a supportive
learning environment. Planning a logically sequenced unit of work based on inquiry
doesn’t preclude the students having fun. The priority of any inquiry is on learning
significant knowledge and skills through challenging, relevant and inclusive experiences
rather than just creating fun activities that do not necessarily develop ideas and skills.

How can I implement inquiry units in my secondary classroom?


Secondary teachers frequently raise three questions about the implementation of
inquiry. These refer to time constraints, covering required content and working with
other teachers. In fact they are all related. These concerns also apply to primary
settings but the approach may need to be slightly different.

In some schools, teachers of particular levels (mini schools), teach students for several
periods a week - this is ideal for teachers collaborative planning and the development
of deep ideas and student higher order thinking. If not, teaming with other teachers
(sometimes from different subject areas) can help maintain a sense of continuity
across the school day and unit. Many stages of an inquiry unit, for example, sorting

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out data collected, ideally requires extended periods of time. Where double periods can
be organised this should be sought.

Where timetabling does not allow significant periods of time and where teachers work
in isolation, inquiry can still work but it will take longer and may be more frustrating
for students and teachers alike. Some work can be included as part of the homework
regime.

Inquiry should not be seen as working in opposition to covering significant,


challenging content. This process should work in conjunction with the required
curriculum content and be seen as useful (see benefits above).

Are projects the same as inquiry?

If projects do not require students to explicate their prior knowledge, gather new
(preferably direct) information, organise ideas, draw conclusions and reflect on their
gained ideas, the projects are probably not inquiry based. Ideally students would also
feel motivated to take some sort of personal action. Teacher- designed projects may be
but are not necessarily part of an inquiry unit. However, if they are to be used they
should provide sufficient scope for students to negotiate (at least some of) the content
and process as well as to cater for the range of abilities and interests within any class.

The least effective form of projects are those that simply ask students to regurgitate
facts or to make choices related to their learning styles only. This can be enjoyable but
students can waste a lot of time without ever exploring new and challenging content.

Unit Planning Tip List


The following list could be used as an audit of your planning process.

Preparation for planning


• Select a topic that will facilitate the exploration of significant content, will
broaden the students’ understanding of the world, cater for their interests and
provide a balance of content across the year/s.

• Collect and critically appraise a range of resources (printed, visual,


electronic and multi-modal)

• Build up your knowledge in the field

• Collect units to use as models and for sharing at staff planning sessions.

• Plan in a team

Planning
• Form understandings that reflect the significant knowledge

• Link teaching and learning experiences to understandings

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• Consider the range of perspectives that students might investigate (if


relevant)

• Record the sequence of teaching and learning experiences

• Use strategy lists so that there is a range to cater for learning styles and
abilities.

• Inform the students of the intended topic to gauge interest and involve them in
the planning of the unit (if appropriate).

• Build on what the students know and want to know –finetune planning if
need be

• Keep records for reporting and future reference.

• Plan for Assessment that will enable all students to demonstrate what they
know and can do.

Key Inquiry References


Blythe, T. and Associates, 1998, The Teaching for Understanding, Jossey-Bass, San
Francisco, CA.
Bruner, J. 1986, Actual Minds, Possible Worlds, Harvard University Press,
Cambridge.
Fosnot. C (Ed). 1996, Constructivism: Theory, Perspectives and Practice, Teachers
College Press, New York.
Marsh, C. 2001, Teaching Studies of Society and Environment Third Edition, Pearson
Education Frenchs Forest, Australia.
Murdoch, K. 1992, Integrating Naturally. Mount Waverly, Victoria.
Murdoch, K. and Wilson, J. 2004., Learning Links. Curriculum Corporation,
Melbourne.
Na. 1987, Social Education Framework, Victorian Ministry of Education, Melbourne.
Wing Jan, L. & Wilson, J. 1998, Integrated Assessment, Oxford University Press,
Melbourne.

Selected Readings
Beane, J. 1996, On the Shoulders of Giants! The case for curriculum integration.
Middle School Journal, Sept p 6-11.
Iwonder 1996, Inquiry Based Learning and Teaching:Mathematics and Science
through Museum Collections
http://www.bsu.edu/teachers/burris/iwonder
Hamston, J. and Murdoch, K. 1996, Integrating Socially. Eleanor Curtain, Armadale.
Kruse,D. 2001, Coherence, Permeability, Value, Depth: Curriculum Perspectives in
The Middle Years of Schooling. Teacher Learning Network Journal. Vol. 8
Winter

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Jeni Wilson and Kath Murdoch

Murdoch, K & Wilson, J. 2002, Exploring the Bare Essentials of Integrated


Curriculum in The Middle Years in Australian Journal of Middle Schooling,
August
Murdoch, K. 1992, Integrating Naturally. Mount Waverly, Victoria.
Murdoch, K. 1998, Classroom Connections: Strategies for Integrated Learning,
Eleanor Curtain, Melbourne.
Murdoch, K. & Hornsby, D. 1997, Planning Curriculum Connections, Eleanor
Curtain, Melbourne.
Murdoch, K. and Wilson, J. 2004, Learning Links. Curriculum Corporation,
Melbourne.
Peterman, F.P. 1998, Asking Good Classroom Questions. Ball State University
http://www.bsu.edu/burris/iwonder/strategies/goodquestions.htm
Pike,G.& Selby, D. 1988, Global Teacher Global Learner, Hodder and Staughton
London.
Queensland Department of Education. New Basics. 2001,
http://education.qld.gov.au/corporate/newbasics/
Woolley, M. and Pigdon, K. 1993, The Big Picture. Eleanor Curtain, Armadale.

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