The term inquiry is commonly used, and widely interpreted, in education. ‘Inquiry’, in an educational context, could be interpreted as an act of seeking or building knowledge. Inquiry-based learning suggests that people learn best when they are actively engaged in the learning process rather than being passive members in classrooms who merely listen to lectures.
An inquiry-based teaching approach keeps students at the center of learning process. Inquiry-based teaching thus deploys various teaching methods and strategies which prioritize students’ questions, ideas and analyses. Students are invited to work in groups or individually and expected to come up with their own conclusions. An inquiry-based approach requires the following: observing, asking questions, looking for patterns, making sense, developing inductive reasoning, mathematical understanding, creating and interpreting solutions, and discussing. These are in turn communicated with the whole classroom environment effectively.
The components of inquiry based classroom:
Inquiry-based teaching requires new roles for teachers which are divergent from the traditional teacher role. A teacher who employs an inquiry-based approach plays the role of a coach, mentor or a knowledgeable guide. To foster peer mediated instruction; students are mostly divided in groups with individual abilities and aptitudes. Groups are then exposed to cognitively demanding math tasks. The teacher visits and supports groups as they work toward constructing a solution and present their ideas. The teacher facilitates classroom discussions where students present their authentic work to the whole classroom. The teacher then contributes and provides feedback for important points to be remembered, recapitulates the lesson and orchestrates a clear conclusion.
“Mathematical inquiry focuses on building knowledge and deep conceptual understanding through carefully selected tasks chosen by the teacher” (NCTM, 2000). The teacher creates teachable moments that can foster conceptual understanding; thinking outside the box, thinking about the specific details of a particular case, seeing multiple points of view, using mathematical language, and utilizing inductive and deductive reasoning are the repertories of inquiring minds.
Builders of inquiry-based classrooms should create a classroom environment that is both student-centered and content-centered. First of all, the foundation for curiosity should be laid out because when a concept sparks curiosity, activity in hippocampus (the region of the brain responsible for memory creation) increases - resulting in better understanding and remembering. Tasks that are deployed should be interesting and desirable to maximize student engagement. They should also be challenging, not too easy or too difficult, in the sense ‘non-standard’ but achievable and appropriate to students’ level. Students may solve problems alone or in groups, share their solutions and comment on each other’s work. Time frames should be carefully considered and communicated to students while assigning tasks to fully achieve learning objectives.
Students are encouraged to brainstorm, question and make sense of what they are learning at any moment. Students are empowered to play active roles and collaborate on structured activities, communicate with each other positively, and take responsibility for their own learning. By these, they are expected to keep an active state of mind and reasoning during the learning process.
One important thing is that students need to learn that ‘thinking’ is a crucial element of solving math problems. Students need to know that this is a time consuming process. Teachers ought to train students learn to think and ‘hang in there’ until they reach a valid solution instead of ‘throwing up guesses’.
I always remind my students that mathematicians are not fast thinkers, however, they are deep thinkers. Focus is not about making speedy solutions but rather about tangible solutions.
Some educators criticize this approach and put forward the short term disadvantages and claim that it doesn’t help for exam specific preparation. However, it should be noted that learner proficiency with an inquiry-based approach leads to a sustained and deeper understanding that pays long-term dividends.
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