George Lucas Educational Foundation

Inquiry-Based Learning

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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  • Using ChatGPT to Support Student-Led Inquiry

    Positioning AI as a mentor or simulator of real-world scenarios can promote student inquiry and aid project-based learning.
    Matthew Kloosterman
    7
    1.6k
  • Exploring Before Explaining Sparks Learning

    New elementary science teachers can build student engagement and enhance learning by using the explore-before-explain approach.
  • Using Inquiry-Based Learning to Encourage Student Agency

    Curiosity is a powerful tool that can be harnessed to guide middle school students to come up with solutions to real problems.
    304
  • Blending Direct Instruction and Inquiry-Based Learning

    When teachers combine the best parts of these two strategies, they create a learning-centered model.
    789
  • A young girl is smiling, standing at the front of the class and reading, and her teacher and peers are clapping for her.

    What the Heck Is Inquiry-Based Learning?

    Teachers use inquiry-based learning to combat the “dunno” -- a chronic problem in student engagement. Check out these four steps for creating inquiry-based curriculum.
    31.5k
  • Teaching Through Asking Rather Than Telling

    High school teachers can promote active learning by strategically replacing some direct instruction with questions that produce thoughtful conversations.
    4
    1.2k
  • Inquiry-Based Tasks in Social Studies

    Assignments that are bigger than a lesson and smaller than a unit are a good way to experiment with inquiry-based learning.
    10.5k
  • How to Use the 5E Model in Your Science Classroom

    An inquiry-focused method gives students a way to connect scientific ideas to their experiences and apply their learning.
    3.8k
  • Direct Instruction or Inquiry-Based Learning? 

    It’s not either/or: Rather than choosing direct instruction or inquiry-based learning, educators strategically use both methods.
    1.7k
  • How IB Strategies Can Enhance Project-Based Learning

    With shared emphases on inquiry, student voice, and choice, PBL and International Baccalaureate methods can combine to facilitate meaningful learning.
    773
  • How to Engage Students in Historical Thinking Using Everyday Objects

    Asking students to examine their own possessions from the perspective of a historian in the future helps them sharpens their analytical skills.
    3.8k
  • Having Students Document Scientific Phenomena Outside the Classroom

    Middle school science teachers can have students explore the natural world, strengthening their scientific habits of mind.
    481
  • Want Mastery? Let Students Find Their Own Way

    Prominent scholars say that to drive deeper learning, students need to become accustomed to confusion—and develop the persistence to find their own answers.
    4.6k
  • Putting Students in Charge of Their Learning Journey

    By leaving space in their lessons for authentic curiosity to take hold, teachers can enable deeper learning.
    4.8k

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George Lucas Educational Foundation

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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