Inquiry Learning Cycle

Part 1: Inquiry Focus

Part 2: Research

Part 3: Summary and Analysis

Part 4: Proposal

Kath Murdoch's Inquiry Cycle

Kath Murdoch's Inquiry Cycle (above) is a really useful cycle to follow.

However, it's important not to think that this is a process we move through one stage at a time. In reality it's probably going to be a whole lot messier than that!

Part 1: Tuning in (Inquiry context)

Tuning in is starting to think about big questions in areas that interest, affect, or motivate you. These are most likely areas that you already have some knowledge in that you can draw upon. This is very different from starting with an idea. Instead it's starting with lots of questions or "wonderings" about issues, opportunities, or even passions. By the end of your inquiry the idea and how to achieve it should become really obvious!

Part 2a: Finding out (Research)

Finding out is about you experiencing the work of a researcher. You will use various approaches to gather information that help grows your thinking about the area of inquiry. Data gathering may be through engaging with experts (reading or in person), surveys, interviews, film, experiments, observations, emails, field work, and more.

Part 3a: Sorting out (Summarising)

Sorting out is all about making meaning of what you have found out. Your research will have given you lots of new knowledge from different sources. It's time to make sense of it, summarise it, and present your refined thinking.

Part 3b (Y13): Going further (Refining)

This is an extra requirement for Level 3.

Going further is filling in the gaps. Sorting out the information you have will most likely have identified gaps, missing information, or new questions that you didn't originally think about. Think of this as an iterative process of finding out and sorting out where you are gradually finding out all you feel you need to know.

Part 3c: Making conclusions (Analysis)

Making conclusions is all about analysing. This means carefully examining information in order to understand, interpret and explain it. From this you will reach your own conclusions about how the elements of your questions fit together to create something that may not be evident at first glance. It will also provide you with a 'solution' that you can plan for.

Part 4: Taking action (Proposal)

Taking action is where you take what you have learned about a problem or issue and, using your research, propose a digital solution. You will write a formal proposal that outlines what you plan to develop and how you will get there.

This finished proposal becomes the starting point for the rest of the year - actually developing your digital outcome!

Workbook

Thw workbook is divided into similar sections. You can quickly jump to the correct section in this website guide using the links above.

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