What exactly does inquiry-based learning mean?
Inquiry-based learning aims to develop and foster inquiring minds and attitudes that are vital for pupils being able to face and manage uncertain futures. Fundamentally, learning is based on pupils adopting an active, questioning approach.
Pupils inquire and pose questions, explore and evaluate. The problems they address seem real to them. Learning is driven by open questions and multiple-solution strategies. Teachers are proactive: they support and encourage pupils who are struggling and extend those that are succeeding through the use of carefully chosen strategic questions. They value pupil contributions - including mistakes, and scaffold learning using pupils’ reasoning and experience. In the classroom there is a shared sense of purpose and ownership. The following figure shows the different perspectives of a classroom culture in which inquiry-based learning takes place. However, not everything needs to be or can be changed towards IBL. IBL is an essential ingredient of good education.
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