Pillars of inquiry

A pillar is a structural element that transmits the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In this model, the pillars of inquiry are the structural supports that provide context, content and processes, using the foundations, to support the goals (lintels) of inquiry learning.

Like the foundations, students must have some basic skills in these areas to engage with inquiry. Students cannot apply critical and creative thinking without some discipline content for example. Your role is to thoughtfully plan learning activities to target and develop specific types of learning at key points throughout the inquiry.

The pillars of inquiry are identified as:

information literacy
working collaboratively and independently
discipline content and practices.

Information literacy

What is it?

Information literacy is the ability to recognise when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information. (ALA)

In the Australian Curriculum, this skill set is covered in part by:

Critical and creative thinking
ICT capability
discipline practices.

In each area students are asked to define, locate, select, evaluate, organise, present and assess information. In our highly technological society this is often done using ICT.

Information literacy crosses different areas of the Australian Curriculum including ICT capability, critical and creative thinking, and learning areas | © Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) 2009

What's the relationship with inquiry learning?

Information literacy is an essential capability for undertaking inquiry. Students must find, access and use information to answer their inquiry question. They must also think critically about the information they use and how they use it.

How is it addressed in the three diamonds model of inquiry?

In the three diamonds model of inquiry, information literacy can be developed through:

evaluative questions that guide students to critique sources of information (investigate phase)
working with others to consider bias and omitted perspectives in information (create phase)
generating new ideas or perspectives and ways of communicating them (communicate phase).

How do I get started?

Read about information literacy perspectives and consider appropriate inquiry learning activities to develop your students' information literacy.

Working collaboratively and independently

What is it?

Students develop personal and social capability as they learn to understand themselves and others, and manage their relationships and learning more effectively. It involves students:

recognising and regulating emotions
developing empathy for others and understanding relationships
establishing and building positive relationships
making responsible decisions
working effectively in diverse teams
handling challenging situations constructively
developing leadership skills.

Personal and social capability in the Australian Curriculum |© Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) 2009

What's the relationship with inquiry learning?

The key ideas in personal and social capability are:

self-management and self-awareness (working independently)
social management and social awareness (working collaboratively).

Inquiry learning is a student-centred approach to learning with authentic opportunities for collaboration.

How is it addressed in the three diamonds model of inquiry?

In the three diamonds model of inquiry, personal and social capability can be developed through:

students collaboratively determining an inquiry question or problem to solve (investigate phase)
work within a team to make decisions, distribute work and manage timelines (create phase)
students hear diverse perspectives and consider how the impact their learning (communicate phase).

How do I get started?

The personal and social learning continuum can assist you to select and plan appropriate inquiry learning activities to develop your students' capability.

Discipline content and practices

What is it?

Discipline content refers to the knowledge and understanding that students gain by studying a particular subject or discipline. For example, understanding how a plant produces oxygen is content from the discipline of biology.

Discipline practices are the ways we engage in knowledge construction within each discipline, and the understanding of these practices. For example, a biologist performs a scientific investigation to test the effect of carbon dioxide on plant oxygen production. In the Australian Curriculum this is defined as "science as a human endeavour" and "science inquiry skills", in NSW, "working scientifically".

Learning areas in the Australian Curriculum |© Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) 2009

What's the relationship with inquiry learning?

All inquiry has subject content: something for students to think about, something interesting to investigate (Kuhlthau, 2012). Not only are discipline content and practices a requirement of the curriculum, but they provide context for inquiry and the different ways by which knowledge is constructed and valued in society.

Students require some explicit teaching of discipline content and practices to then apply to an inquiry. Inquiry learning provides a way to deepen and broaden knowledge and understanding; to interpret, synthesise and create.

How is it addressed in the three diamonds model of inquiry?

In the three diamonds model of inquiry, discipline content and practices can be developed through:

using discipline practices to select and evaluate relevant information through situated perspectives (investigate phase)
connect ideas and understandings across disciplines. For example, conducting a scientific investigation to determine the best material for an engineering build (create phase)
presenting findings to a group in which each member takes on the role of an expert from a different discipline to give an alternative perspective (communicate phase).

How do I get started?

It's likely that discipline content and practices will heavily influence the essential questions that drive the inquiry. Work with colleagues to plan the inquiry unit outcomes.

Next steps

Continue reading about the lintels of inquiry.
Consider how you might lead your students through inquiry as you see what inquiry learning can look like.

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