Inquiry Based Learning

Links for researchers, administrators, teachers, and students interested in open-ended forms of learning. It includes examples from classrooms, curriculum units, and theory across age levels and curriculum topics. Although a wide variety of instructional approaches and theories are represented, a central theme is that learning is the process of constructing meaning. This implies the need for active learning, which engages all the senses. Inquiry-based instruction is typically conceived as fostering the abilities to communicate with those from different perspectives, to articulate problems out of complex and messy situations, and to collaborate with others. In an inquiry classroom, the teacher becomes a partner in inquiry, not merely a disseminator of information. The teacher also takes an active role in inquiring about the processes of teaching and learning.