{"id":20291,"date":"2023-08-22T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-08-22T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/?p=20291"},"modified":"2024-07-16T10:40:06","modified_gmt":"2024-07-16T17:40:06","slug":"how-inquiry-based-learning-can-ignite-the-learner-in-all-of-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/2023\/how-inquiry-based-learning-can-ignite-the-learner-in-all-of-us\/","title":{"rendered":"How inquiry-based learning can ignite the learner in all of us"},"content":{"rendered":"
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My son had a teacher in third grade who changed everything for him. Up to that point, recess was his favorite subject. Then he was introduced to inquiry-based learning that extended beyond the classroom. And, suddenly, really important things (other than recess) were happening at school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We live in Portland, Oregon, and you may already know about our city\u2019s struggle with a growing homeless population. What you probably don\u2019t know is that my son\u2019s = class set out to answer this essential question: What can we do to help the homeless people in our community? And they did so with some impressive results. They researched homelessness and wrote about it, made bread and delivered it to a local homeless shelter, and then interviewed some of the people they met there. They used this data to design and build a mobile shelter, which they donated to one of the interviewees. (To learn more about this experience in the students\u2019 own words, read \u201cKids point the way: Beaverton third graders offer a new perspective, practical answers on homelessness.\u201d<\/a> It\u2019s the second article on the website I link to.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The key takeaway from this example is that inquiry-based learning can ignite the learner in all of us. And when teachers, caregivers, and communities get involved\u2014as they did with this third-grade classroom\u2014that\u2019s when the real learning happens. So, how did it all start? By crafting the right essential question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is an \u201cessential\u201d question?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

An essential question sounds important, and it is. An essential question does three important things:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. An essential question addresses a topic relevant to real people in the real world<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Kids are great at knowing when a problem is real or contrived, and academic tasks in some curricula are often the latter. Authenticity can\u2019t be faked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Talk to your students about issues that matter to them, in their community or beyond. That can help you explore questions more likely to pique their curiosity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. An essential question has many possible answers<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The goal of an essential question is for students to explore universal concepts that help them arrive at new understandings of the world they live in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here is what my son\u2019s third-grade classmates had to say about homelessness in the article published in our local paper<\/a>: \u201cThere are lots of reasons people end up homeless.\u201d \u201cTo afford a house here, you have to make $31 an hour.\u201d \u201cWhen you have a minimum-wage job and the price of things goes up, there is a chance you will end up homeless.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am struck by the students\u2019 understanding of complex concepts like interdependence, economy, and stability. There was no \u201cright answer\u201d to this essential question, only endless possibilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. An essential question is worthy of study and discussion<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A good essential question is one that encourages ongoing inquiry. Since there is no definitive right answer, students can\u2019t just ask ChatGPT<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The way students might answer the question today is likely different from how they would answer it in the future. This could be because of a changed perspective, new technology, or many other reasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, a good essential question allows students to research a topic through different lenses and apply what they learn to different disciplines. The students in my son\u2019s third-grade class engaged in real-world math (housing costs, wage earnings), writing (a research paper, a product ad), and STEM (design, engineering). This interdisciplinary study gave them multiple entry points into the topic and multiple ways to demonstrate their learning. They worked in small groups of about five, and each group discussed, imagined, and created a prototype of the mobile shelter. Then the class voted on the best design and built it (with some help), just as adults would in the real world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why are essential questions better than other types of questions?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

An essential question hooked my son on learning because it addressed work that mattered, and he knew it and wanted to be a part of it. Engaging students in work that matters<\/a> is difficult but important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Authentic Instruction and Assessment<\/em><\/a>, this kind of learning is called authentic intellectual work, and it has three primary components.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. Construction of knowledge. <\/strong>Students have an opportunity to organize, interpret, evaluate, or synthesize prior knowledge to solve new problems that are both rigorous and personally meaningful. The work must be an original application of knowledge and skills, not a routine use of facts and procedures.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Disciplined inquiry. <\/strong>Students are able to strive for in-depth understanding of a topic and they develop and express their ideas through extended written, oral, and\/or digital communication. The work must involve students in a careful, detailed study of a particular problem.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Value beyond school. <\/strong>Students find intellectual challenges that come from the real world to be more meaningful than those contrived for the sole purpose of teaching or assessment. Authentic intellectual work must mimic work done by adults in the real world with students taking on the role of apprentice to a profession or discipline.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    In Authentic Instruction and Assessment,<\/em> the most compelling finding from the authors\u2019 13 years of research is that authentic intellectual work benefits all students. In fact, it benefits higher-performing students only slightly more than other students. The authors also found that authentic intellectual work can reduce the link between students\u2019 academic achievement and socioeconomic status. It did not eliminate this gap completely, but it did decrease it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The authors also discovered that students with disabilities benefit substantially from authentic intellectual work, in part because this work creates learning environments that are better suited for students with learning differences. Authentic intellectual work often lets students play to their strengths and use different modes to show what they know and can do. This has certainly been true for my son, who has ADHD. While he struggled with writing the research paper on homelessness, doing the hands-on work of designing and building the prototype for a mobile shelter gave him a place to shine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    How do I write a good essential question?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Here are five tips for using effective essential questions with your students:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1. Make it conceptual<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Essential questions are not content-specific questions. They are broad concepts that can apply to many content areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Identify one or more concepts for your students to explore, such as behavior, environment, or choice. The book Differentiation in Middle and High School: Strategies to Engage All Learners<\/em> <\/a>provides a good list (on page 36). Many of these concepts are appropriate for elementary school, too, such as the concept of community explored in my son\u2019s third-grade project, and more advanced concepts can be adapted for younger students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Using a concept to frame an essential question promotes connected learning rather than isolated skills or facts. For example, students might explore history as a cycle, meaning it is both tethered to the past and connected to the future. The concept of a cycle helps students think more critically about history and make connections beyond those provided in a textbook. Such relational understanding has many benefits. According to neurologist and educator Judy Willis<\/a>, \u201cWhenever new material is presented in such a way that students see relationships, they generate greater brain cell activity and achieve more successful long-term memory storage and retrieval.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    2. Make it debatable<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Students should be able to approach and answer an essential question from many different angles. Avoid one-sided issues, like recycling, and polarizing issues, like politics. Instead, focus on multi-sided issues that prompt healthy debate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The sweet spot is a topic that allows students to share their opinions and experiences and also do research to deepen their understanding and uncover new perspectives. Students might explore the impacts of water pollution on their local water sources, for instance, and then use this knowledge to consider the intersection between science and policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    3. Make it student friendly<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Consider what topics are interesting, relevant, and worthy of study for your students. Then write the essential question in student-friendly language.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    For younger students, the questions might look something like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n