Collaborative Inquiry

Collaborative Inquiry / CI Course Design Materials / Resources for Inquiry

There are two parts to this essential element.  First, the question should be open-ended.  Second, the question should be multidimensional.

One aspect of being open-ended is that there should not be a pre-existing prescribed answer to the question.  Additionally, while students should be working towards a solution there is not a requirement that the question be solved.  By their very nature it may not be possible to solve a question within the time constraints of a traditional semester.  As such, the progress made on the multidimensional question could serve as the input for a future iteration of the course and/or become the basis of on-going research, art project, or practicum opportunity for one or more of the students in the course.

The other aspect of the question is that it should be multidimensional.  This means that the solution to the question would benefit from contributions from more than one academic discipline.  However, this does not mean that a Collaborative Inquiry course needs to be team-taught, and it is the expectation that most won’t.  Rather, it means that the instructor will encourage students to apply what they have learned from other disciplines.