How to Develop Inquiry Based Learning Activities

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How to Develop Inquiry Based Learning Activities
Mick Healey HE Consultant and Researcher,
UK mhealey_at_glos.ac.uk www.mickhealey.co.uk
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Brief biography

• HE Consultant and Researcher Emeritus Professor
  University of Gloucestershire (UoG), UK Visiting
  Professor University College London, UK The
  Humboldt Distinguished Scholar in Research-Based
  Learning McMaster University, Canada Adjunct
  Professor Macquarie University, Australia
  International Teaching Fellow, University College
  Cork, Ireland Visiting Fellow University of
  Queensland, Australia
• National Teaching Fellow and Principal Fellow HE
  Academy
• SEDA_at_20 Legacy Award for Disciplinary Development
• Economic geographer and previously Director
  Centre for Active Learning UoG
• Ex-VP for Europe International Society for
  Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
• Advisor to Canadian Federal Government
  Roundtable on Research, Teaching and Learning in
  post-Secondary Education (2006)
• Advisor to Australian Learning and Teaching
  Council / Office of Learning and Teaching
  Projects on the Teaching-research nexus
  (2006-08), Undergraduate research (2009-10)
  Teaching research (2011-13 ) and Capstone
  curriculum across disciplines (2013-15)
• Advisor to League of European Research
  Universities (2009)
• Advisor to EU Bologna and HE Reform Experts on
  research-based education (2012)
• Research interests linking research and
  teaching scholarship of teaching active
  learning developing an inclusive curriculum
  students as change agents and as partners

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Designing inquiry based learning activities

• One minute each way
• In pairs you each have ONE minute to tell your
  partner about one experience you have or would
  like to have of designing an inquiry based
  learning activity
• The job of your partner is to listen
  enthusiastically but NOT interrupt.

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Model of the inquiry process (Justice et al.,
2007)
Engaging a topic building basic knowledge
Taking responsibility for learning
Developing a question
Evaluating success
Anticipating possible answers determining
relevant information
Self-reflection Self-evaluation
Communicating new understandings
Identifying resources gathering information
Weighing evidence synthesising understandings
Assessing information
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• Forms of IBL

• IBL activities may be designed to last over
  different lengths of time
• A short exercise in a class,
• A whole class
• A whole semester course
• A whole program

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• Examples of inquiry based learning

• In pairs one should read cases study 1 and the
  other case study 2 (pp2-4 and pp5-8).
• Discuss the similarities and differences.

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• Does IBL enhance student learning?

• Increasing evidence that shows
• enhanced academic achievement, student
  perceptions, process skills, analytic abilities,
  critical thinking and creativity (Prince
  Felder, 2006)
• deeper understanding, higher degree of
  reflection, more motivated and achievement of
  higher order learning (Berg et al., 2003)
• higher grades, more Honours, better retention
  (Justice et al. 2007b)

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Stage of inquiry learning

• Upon successful completion of this course a
  student should be able to
• develop a researchable question and give a
  rationale for its significance
• choose appropriate research methods to obtain
  information relevant to answering the question
• critically evaluate the validity and relevance of
  sources
• communicate a coherent response to the research
  question and interpret the findings in a wider
  context
• critically reflect on the learning process.

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Break out activity

• Establish 5 small groups
• Each group takes one stage of inquiry learning
• Identify c3 activities that you could do with
  your stage to develop the students skills in
  this stage
• Record your activities on the chart paper be
  prepared to share in plenary
• 20 minutes

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Mainstreaming undergraduate research and inquiry
discipline and department strategies
Once you have learnt how to ask questions
relevant and appropriate and substantial
questions you have learnt how to learn and no
one can keep you from learning whatever you want
or need to know. Postman and Weingartner (1971,
23)
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!nquiry planner, and active learning suggestions

• In groups of 5 look at
• 2. Inquiry Planner (pp9-10)
• 3. Inquiry Based Learning in a Professional
  Learning Context (pp. 11-13)
• 4. Activities to get students active in their
  learning (pp13-17) (2 people)
• 5. The inverse or flipped classroom (p.18)
• Discuss ideas which are transferable
• Time 15 minutes

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The inverse or flipped classroom
Source http//ctl.utexas.edu/teaching/flipping_a_
class/what_is_flipped
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The inverse or flipped classroom
The experiential flipped classroom model (Source
Gernstein 2012)
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• Modes of IBL

• Importance of scaffolding provided by lecturer
  and development of independence in learner
• Structured where lecturers provide an issue or
  problem and an outline for addressing it
• Guided where lecturers provide questions to
  stimulate inquiry but students are self-directed
  in terms of exploring these questions
• Open where students formulate the questions
  themselves as well as going through the full
  inquiry cycle
• (after Staver and Bay, 1987)

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(Spronken-Smith et al. 2009)
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(Spronken-Smith et al. 2009)
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Anticipated Challenge Areas

• Each table should come up with a question
  concerning a challenge they face in developing
  inquiry based learning into their classes which
  they would like help with.
• Keep the question short and simple
• Allocate 5 minutes

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Break out activity

• Pass your question to the next table
• Identify one key strategy for answering the
  question that you have received.
• Allocate 5 minutes