POGIL: Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning

What is POGIL?

POGIL is an acronym for Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning.

Because POGIL is a student-centered instructional approach, in a typical POGIL classroom or laboratory, students work in small teams with the instructor acting as a facilitator. The student teams use specially designed activities that generally follow a learning cycle paradigm.

These activities are designed to have three key characteristics:

1. They are designed for use with self-managed teams that employ the instructor as a facilitator of learning rather than a source of information.

2. They guide students through an exploration to construct understanding.

3. They use discipline content to facilitate the development of important process skills, including higher-level thinking and the ability to learn and to apply knowledge in new contexts. 

Key Elements of the POGIL Pedagogy

• POGIL classroom consists of students working in small, self-managed teams on specially designed guided inquiry materials. 

• These materials supply students with data or information to interpret, followed by guiding questions designed to lead them toward formulation of their own valid conclusions—essentially a recapitulation of the scientific method.

• POGIL is an especially powerful tool for science and lab-based classrooms.

Learn more at the POGIL website where you can dig more deeply into this method and register for a virtual or in-person training.