Essentials Magazine Essentials Fall 2018 | Page 27

Inquiry-Based Learning
collaborative learning experience between
all members of the learning environment.
Teachers model and coach more than
direct while students wield more choice
and voice in their learning. Reflection is
a key component of this process as the
members of the learning community are
in a constant cycle of reflection about
their own learning, what has
happened, why it
happened and
what they might
do differently
next time. As-
sessments in this
learning approach
are more relevant
and authentic, ask-
ing not only what the
student knows, but
what can the student
do with what they
know.
It’s also important
to recognize that IBL
is also about the entire
process of learning.
Often, when people
talk about project-based
learning, we can see teaching that is
still overly didactic until the moment
students work on the assessment.
When we talk about IBL, we can talk
about all parts of the learning process
— from the way we start with powerful
questions to how we create artifacts of
our own learning. their learning in a way that rele-
vant and authentic, connecting to
a student’s interests and curiosity.
The difference in achievement
is related to intrinsic vs. extrinsic
motivations for performance. IBL
asks students to approach learning
from a place of internal
motivation and then
model and coach them
through a pathway to
produce evidence of
that learning. IBL
classrooms may use
a robust system of
formative assessments to
gauge understanding and
progress, but the end
moment for demon-
strating that the stu-
dent has learned the
concepts is the ability
to produce some-
thing new, unique
and relevant with
their cumulative
learning experience.
IBL learning also can help
student develop many skills beyond what
is measured through traditional metrics.
IBL helps students develop critical think-
ing skills, they learn to seek out and eval-
uate information from multiple sources,
they often can learn more powerful
collaborative skills, and students who
learn in an IBL school learn to present
their ideas in powerful ways.
How does this method translate
into student achievement?
Student achievement in this method
is a richer product than a letter or a num-
ber. Inquiry allows students to evidence What are the most important
qualities of a modern classroom
or school?
• Values Inquiry
• Celebrates Student Voice and Choice
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• Offers authentic learning
experiences
• Understands the need for flexibility
• Standardizes little
• Reflects upon the work often
• Emphasizes the process as much
as the outcome
When it comes to space, what
enhances and inhibits learning?
In the end, we learn in multiple
modalities, and learning spaces need to
reflect that. The ability for classes to be
able to transform their space to facilitate
small group to large group to individual
work and back again is so important.
It’s important to note that some of
the most amazing learning spaces are
found in some of the most challenged
buildings. We often see amazing new
facilities that look shiny, but don’t
facilitate learning as well as class-
rooms with donated bean bag chairs
and tables. That isn’t to condone the
inequity we see in learning spaces
across this country, but it is to point
out how we need to be deeply inten-
tional when we design spaces — no
matter what our budget.
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