Inquiry is a researched based teaching method that starts by asking fascinating questions: Can potatoes be grown on Mars? Why do galaxies form spirals? How long does it take to get to Alpha Centauri?
Our students ask questions that excite them, and then given an environment where they can pursue their own answers to these questions. Students are motivated by their own curiosity - this is the ingredient that has been behind all major scientific pursuits and technological breakthroughs. By participating in inquiry based learning, students are thinking like scientists and savoring Eureka! moments - the rewards of having thoroughly dug into a problem and arrived at a solution on their own.
Although it takes a long time to find solutions to problems without using Google, the reward for working problems on their own more than makes up for the students' hard work. After pursuing a variety of problems for 4 hours, groups composing around 6 students each were speaking with confidence on subjects like sunspots, sending probes to Mars, and calculating the distance to Venus and the Sun. Just like ancient astronomers wondered about their place in the Universe, our students can ask interesting questions and take credit for their own discoveries.
Instructor facilitation is done by a hands-off method of providing only enough data to have students move forward with their problems. Just like researchers work a long time to discover what measurements are needed for the next step, students realize quickly that in order to find the answers to complex questions, they need to ask simpler questions first. Data and other bread crumbs are only laid out when the students are ready for them. On the way to solving their problems, most students will stray towards solving problems that are oftentimes very different from their original. This is okay - some of the greatest scientific discoveries were made by pursuing a problem but finding more interesting problems to solve on the way.
Inquiry clearly engages and excites students. This has been proven both by research and experience. It encourages them to feel their own abilities to solve problems in their studies and their lives. Students leave our school feeling empowered that given enough time and energy, any problem can be eventually solved. This personal discovery is worth its weight in gold - the next time a student encounters a hard problem, rather than despairing, they will hopefully remember the time they calculated the distance to the Sun on their own.
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