The following resources will support teachers in the delivery of an IBL project. It is broken down into the steps of an inquiry project - Formulating Questions, Research, Action Plan, Making Conclusions, Sharing, Next Steps and Reflection to support teacher planning and student learning. Each step of the chart includes a brief explanation of the purpose of the step, as well as teacher and student resources. At times, there are multiple, similar resources for each step - this is to provide teacher choice. Teachers are encouraged to make a copy of each resources they’d like to use, save it to their own Google Drive and adapt it as needed. You can also use the planner below!

Inquiry Based Learning Activity Planner

PLASMA Framework

Teaching Options

There are many options for the implementation of an inquiry based learning project. These include one day a week throughout a semester or as a focused unit. It is also possible to have inquiry days or shorter time units for students to delve into the inquiry process. Below you will find an explanation of these options as you consider what will work best for your students.

Full Year or Full Semester

• Teachers planning a full year or semester implementation of an IBL project should consider starting with a full unit that teaches students about Inquiry Based Learning.
• Ideally, students should have at least 1 period/week to work on their IBL project to ensure momentum continues and consistency occurs.
• Each step of the project process can also be broken into ‘mini lessons’ to transition from step to step.

Benefits

• Students have time to really explore their chosen question/topic without the looming fear of short deadlines.
• If students are struggling with finding a question/topic or decide to revise their question/topic, they have lots of time to continue working with their new project focus.
• If there are students who are often absent in your class, this option won’t affect their project outcome, as they will have time to catch up on missed days.
• Allows for more detailed and authentic teacher conferencing and student peer sharing as time allows for this.

Drawbacks

• Some students may find that there is ‘too much’ time allotted if they complete their project goals before the end of term. If this does occur, the teacher can suggest project extensions or the completion of a new project based on a different question/goal.
• Students can lose project momentum over long holiday periods such as Christmas and March Break.
• Students can have trouble ‘switching gears’ between regular course work and their IBL project work; this can cause some students to be overwhelmed.

Focused Unit (Unit, Culminating Activity, Week Long)

• Due to the shorter timelines of this option, instead of a full unit that teaches students about inquiry based learning, teachers would only have 1-2 lessons.
• Once the unit begins, students will work on their projects daily/every period for a specified amount of time; students will be required to bring project materials daily or store them at school if required.
• Mini lessons will occur at a predetermined rate, based on the on the amount of time given for the unit; on days in between mini-lessons students will have independent work time.

Benefits

• Students become engaged and don’t lose momentum with their project once they start.
• Some students benefit from this structure as they struggle with ‘switching gears’ between regular course work and a IBL project on certain days of the week.
• If some students aren’t fully engaged in the IBL project, the unit is much shorter than the full course/semester.

Drawbacks

• If there are students who are often absent or absent due to illness, vacation etc. during the unit, it is very challenging for them to become engaged in the project.
• The time constraints of the focused unit sometimes prohibit authentic project evolution, as students are given tight timelines for various steps of the project.
• Depending on the number of students in the class, finding teacher time to conference effectively and allow for valuable peer sharing time is limited.
• This is an interest-focused project and students will actually want to spend more time in class completing this work. They may feel they want more time.
• Students have less time to consider a topic that engages them. The teacher might want to introduce the activity before hand to give students more time for the thought process.