Inquiry -Based Learning

Inquiry-Based learning’s popularity is increasing in the American educational system. While originally created for Science classrooms, it also flourishes when implemented in humanities classes. It was found that nearly 76% of surveyed Social studies teachers utilize Inquiry-Based learning daily or weekly within their classroom (Thacker & Friedman, 2017). Inquiry-Based learning has historical roots in the educational system and has proven social, academic, and interdisciplinary benefits when implemented in classes.

In the simplest forms, Inquiry-Based learning is defined by students in which the learning happens in the proposing of questions, situations, and scenarios and it is the students’ responsibility to research the inquiries. John Dewey originally envisioned using Inquiry-Based learning in the science classrooms in the early 20^th century and it has since blossomed to become prominent in multiple disciplinary curriculum throughout the United States (Barrow, 2006). Inquiry-Based learning breaks down into different strategies, one type of Inquiry-Based learning being Problem-Based learning. It is a similar educational methodology where students learn subject content and skills through trying to solve a problem. It was originally created by Howard Barrows in the context of solving medical problems. Barrows noticed that despite performing well in the classroom, medical students struggled with patient care (Barrows & Tamblyn, 1980). To help assist his students, he envisioned Problem-Based learning where students were guided in their instruction to diagnose and care for patients themselves. In the context of education, students could be proposed an issue and use the content and skills of their discipline to solve it. Inquiry-Based and Problem-Based learning have similar methodology though when compared, the main difference is to be in the types of questions proposed (Prince & Felder, 2006). Problem-Based learning questions are more specific and focused while Inquiry-Based learning can have broader applications. Similarly, to Problem Based learning, Simulation-Based learning also originated in the medical field. Simulation based-learning, like Problem-Based learning, had its popularity grew in the medical field. Simulation-Based learning creates an environment where the real-world problems are replicated, and students are guided to solve the problem (Lateef, 2010). While their strategies might differ, the overall goal of these learning methods are to engage students to grow and apply their critical-thinking skills and content to engage in authentic learning. In humanities disciplines, it believes that this is the most effective way to prepare our students for their roles as informed and engaged citizens.

Humanities education purpose is to prepare students of their rights and responsibilities as citizens though the methodology has changed drastically. John Dewey described traditional education as ‘...attitude of pupils must, upon the whole, be one of docility, receptivity, and obedience’ (Dewey, 1938). In educational settings, it includes rote memorization of dates, historical figures, and definitions. Social Studies is a large portion of humanities courses and the critiques to the approach of traditional education included “...placed too much emphasis on memorization.”, “... developed little depth of understanding”, and “...did not develop independent methods of inquiry.” (Cogan, 1976). This was the result of Social Studies education over relying on traditional education until the implementation of inquiry-based and problem-based education in the 1980s. In problem-based and Inquiry-Based learning in the Social Studies content areas, students are not expected to be empty vessels awaiting the teacher to bestow knowledge upon them. The students are actively creating questions and using their skills to solve the problems. For example, C3 is the current Social Studies framework created by the National Council for the Social Studies. It is an Inquiry-Based arc that revolves around student engagement and evaluation. The C3 Curriculum supplies suggested units that combine humanities content. Some of the suggested inquiry and problem-based units include the compelling question “Is betrayal always bad?” when evaluating the American Revolution or “Who’s to blame for the Cold War?” for high-school American history (Inquiries Archive). If these topics were presented in traditional education, the students would simply be told, “The Soviets were responsible for increasing tensions during the Cold War”. This great evolution from traditional education to Inquiry-Based learning allows for teachers and students to experience the benefits of Inquiry-Based learning.

Inquiry-Based learning is important for teaching humanities courses due to the notable educational benefits that are necessary for successful humanities learning such as engagement, problem solving skills and disciplinary skills. Inquiry-Based learning has demonstrated to increase the amount of students’ participation and engagement within the classroom (Gillies & Baffour, 2017). Student engagement is a crucial aspect for humanities courses and Inquiry-Based learning assists engagement in language-arts classrooms. One fifth grade classroom implemented an Inquiry-Based Language Arts project about the environment and during that project, students were actively researching different sources, going on fieldtrips, watching webinars, and interviewing aspects to help research their project (Roberston, 2008). Additionally, Inquiry-Based learning also increases students’ ability in critical-thinking and problem-solving skills which are essential for Language Arts and Social Studies classrooms. One study analyzed an 8^th grade Language Arts class inquiry-based unit on problems in society and how it fostered problem-solving skills and critical-thinking skills (Doss, 2018). The students remarked on how they encountered several obstacles throughout their Inquiry-Projects and how they were able to overcome the problems encountered during their projects. Inquiry-Based learning and student questioning is especially important in Social Studies education. Using Inquiry-Based learning encourages students to adopt the disciplinary skills that professionals use. Historians are frequently driven by inquiry when researching the different aspects of history. Using Inquiry-Based learning allows students to get a deeper understanding of the text documents because they use the skills that historians use as professional (Gewertz, 2012). The increased engagement, problem-solving skills, and disciplinary skills allow for students to engage in authentic learning in humanities courses.

Interdisciplinary education is a style of education where they are using more than one academic discipline (Klaassen, 2018). In humanities Inquiry-Based and Problem-Based education, it is necessary for students to thoroughly research their projects. Critical Inquiry in humanities can include interdisciplinary aspects from nearly every subject. In a study on how to link Geography and Science classes for Inquiry-Based learning in Interdisciplinary education, they used the question “Why does everything hum and buzz around us?” To fully engage the students in the question and in the research, the students needed to study physics to understand sound related processes, mathematics to identify relationships between data, biology to function of different organs in the body, and geography to describe the physical landscape around us, human-environment interaction, the geography field skills (Karvánková & Popjaková, 2018). Using the same process could easily apply to any humanities Inquiry-Based and Problem-Based projects in humanities courses. For example, when examining the American Revolution with the compelling question “How does gender, race, and economic status affect political positions?” This is a critical-inquiry approach to a standard topic in any U.S. History classroom. It demands that students understand the perspectives and societal standards when understanding political affiliation. It assists students in understanding motivations of the Americans during the revolution and the same concepts and skills can be applied to modern day politics. To fully investigate this question, the students will need Mathematics to calculate tariffs that were imposed on the colonists to understand how it might make them support the Revolution. The primary-source documents and expository texts describing the experiences of Blacks in America would require Language Arts skills to understand why they might have supported the British due to their empty promises of emancipation. Geography would also be necessary to understand the cultural regions of America during the time of the colonies and how it changed which side they would choose. Encouraging students to fully embrace interdisciplinary studies will help students implement their own inquiry-based projects.

Once a teacher takes in the academic skills and interdisciplinary content in implementing Inquiry-Based learning, they must consider other student factors Firstly, student achievement levels and students with disabilities must be factored in when planning Inquiry-Based learning. Students of all levels of achievements benefit from Inquiry-Based learning, however, students with higher-achievement scores do see higher increase than students with lower-achievement scores (Borovay, Shore, Caccese, Yang & Hua, 2018). In the public education system in America, 13.2% of the student population is defined of having a disability, with 4.6 percentage of the population having the Specific Learning Disability label (U.S. Department of Education, 2019). These students have specific needs to ensure that they will be successful with their inquiries. Teachers have often been unprepared to help assist students with their needs in Inquiry-Based learning, ranging from having the proper tools to guide the students and providing accommodations throughout the inquiry process (McGrath, & Hughes, 2018). To address this factor by using guided-inquiry, however, many of the teachers did feel that it was not scaffolded enough to support their students with learning disabilities (White & et al, 2015). Additionally, addressing students’ personal interests is something to consider when implementing Inquiry-Based learning. In one study, students who were a part of Inquiry-Based projects of their favorite school subjects reported more favorable experiences compared with other subjects (Borovay, Shore, Caccese, Yang & Hua, 2018). To address that, allowing students to pursue their own individualized topics would help address students experience and let them be intrinsically motivated to pursue their project. As a teacher, we must allow the students to find their niche within a subject. For example, in an WWII topic, students can pursue the projects ranging from questioning the American refusal to ethics behind medical advancements from medical experiments in WWII. The teacher must be able to find the delicate balance between helping students create their inquiries and guide their research while still allowing the students to have ownership of their projects. To guide the students and allow for ownerships, the teachers must scaffold the students question building and inquiry process (Hsin‐Kai & Chou‐En, 2006). A teacher cannot assume that the students will be inherently able to create higher-order questions to pursue the students interests. Studies have found that teachers must explicitly teach how to make questions and use multiple strategies to support their students. (Harris, Phillips, & Penuel, 2012). With these factors considered, teachers and students will be successful with pursing their personal interests and inquiries in humanities courses.

Due to the academic and social benefits, school districts are implementing Inquiry-Based learning in classrooms of all academic contents. Inquiry-Based learning demands that students use critical-thinking, problem-solving skills, and applying interdisciplinary content and skills to thoroughly research their inquiries. These social and academic benefits gained in Inquiry-Based humanities classes will prepare them for their roles and responsibilities of their civic life and careers.

Reference

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Gillies, R. M., & Baffour, B. (2017). The effects of teacher-introduced multimodal representations and discourse on students’ task engagement and scientific language during cooperative, inquiry-based science. Instructional Science: An International Journal of the Learning Sciences, 45(4), 493–513. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.ecsu.idm.oclc.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ1 148122&site=ehost-live

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Inquiries Archive. Retrieved from http://www.c3teachers.org/inquiries/

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McGrath, A. L., & Hughes, M. T. (2018). Students with learning disabilities in inquiry-based science classrooms: A cross-case analysis. Learning Disability Quarterly, 41(3), 131– 143. https://doi-org.ecsu.idm.oclc.org/10.1177/0731948717736007

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Thacker, E. & Friedman, A. (2017). Three social studies teachers’ design and use of inquiry modules. Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, 17(3), 360-387. Waynesville, NC USA: Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education. Retrieved April 8, 2019 from https://www.learntechlib.org/primary/p/174361/.

White, A. S., Kunz, G. M., Whitham, R., Houston, J., & Nugent, G. (2015). Guided science inquiry instruction with students with special education needs. (R2 Ed Working Paper No. 2015-1). Retrieved from the National Center for Research on Rural Education: r2ed.unl.edu