Inquiry-Based Learning

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Inquiry-based learning is a student centred or active learning approach that takes, as its starting point,

the natural process of inquiry, building on this to develop information processing and problem-solving

skills.

 

Click here to see and animated YouTube clip that explains "Inquiry Based Learning".

 

The focus is on 'how we know' rather than 'what we know', with students actively involved in the

construction of their own knowledge through active involvement. There is a shift away from a content

driven approach towards one that provides children with the skills and resources to discover knowledge

for themselves. Children are posed a question and given the skills and resources to explore, investigate

and search for answers. They plan and carry out their research, come to some conclusions and decide

how they could make change happen. They convert information and data into useful knowledge.

Ultimately, the importance of inquiry learning is that students become life long learners and learn how to continue learning.

 

The aims of an Inquiry Learning Approach are to:

• Nurture and develop the students’ natural inquiring mind, helping them to become life long learners who continue to learn how to learn.

• Develop the students’ ability to pose questions and plan, research, investigate and search for answers and solutions.

• Develop the skills needed to convert information and answers into useful knowledge that can be applied to new situations and prompt further learning.

• Provide students with different ways of viewing the world, communicating about it and successfully coping with the questions and issues of daily living.

• Develop an understanding that all knowledge changes over time as people challenge, shape and contribute to it.

• Demonstrate that there are often multiple perspectives for looking at, analysing and understanding things.

• Provide learning opportunities that are more relevant as concepts are learned in context and relate to existing knowledge and experiences.

• Develop thinking processes and strategies as sequentially developed in the Thinking Processes Domain of the Victorian Essential Learning Standards and in line with Lyndhurst Primary School’s Thinking scope and sequence.

• Provide rich learning opportunities that are relevant to the children and cross over all domains eg. English, Mathematics, Civics and Citizenship, Science, Health, Humanities, ICT, Creativity Design Technology and Art.

• Encourage students to become independent, resourceful and responsible learners.