Designing inquiry learning into courses

Mick HealeyHE Consultant and Researcher, UK

mhealey@glos.ac.uk; www.mickhealey.co.uk

Inquiry in the sciences

Structure

• Introduction - MH

• Examples of IBL in courses - MH

• Stages of IBL - MH

• Activities to get students active in their learning - MH

• Modes of IBL - MH

• Planning how to engage your students in research and inquiry – MJ

• The potential of TEL in supporting IGL - MJ

Developing a question

Anticipating possible answers & determining

relevant information

Identifying resources & gathering information

Assessing information

Weighing evidence & synthesising

understandings

Communicating newunderstandings

Evaluating success

Self-reflection &Self-evaluation

Model of the inquiry process (Justice et al., 2007)

Engaging a topic & building basic knowledge

Taking responsibility for learning

Forms of IBL

IBL activities may be designed to last over different lengths of time:

• A short exercise in a class, • A whole class• A whole semester course• A whole program

In pairs each look at a different whole semester IBL course (pp2-4 and pp5-8).

Discuss the similarities and differences

IBL involves:• Learning stimulated by inquiry i.e.

driven by questions or research problems

• Learning based on a process of constructing new knowledge and understanding

• A student/learner/learning-centred approach with the teacher as a facilitator

• A move to self-directed learning• The development of skills in self-

reflection

Optional attributes of IBL:• Collaborative/group learning• Community involvement• Field-based activity• Resource-based learning• Multi or inter-disciplinary focus

Students engaged in IBL should develop:

• Critical thinking skills• The ability for independent inquiry• Responsibility for their own learning

• Intellectual growth and maturity(Lee et al., 2004)

IBL is a pedagogy which best enables students to

experience the processes of knowledge creation

Stage of inquiry learning

Upon successful completion of this course a student should be able to:

1.develop a researchable question and give a rationale for its significance;

2.choose appropriate research methods to obtain information relevant to answering the question;

3.critically evaluate the validity and relevance of sources;

4.communicate a coherent response to the research question and interpret the findings in a wider context;

5.critically reflect on the learning process.

Break out activity

Establish 5 small groups• Each group takes one stage of inquiry learning

• Identify c3 activities that you could do with your stage to develop the students’ skills in this stage

• Record your activities on the chart paper – be prepared to share in plenary

Allocate 15 minutes

“Once you have learnt how to ask questions – relevant and appropriate and substantial questions – you have learnt how to learn and no one can keep you from learning whatever you want or need to know.”

Postman and Weingartner (1971, 23)

Mainstreaming undergraduate research and inquiry: discipline and department strategies

Active learning suggestions

In groups of 3 look at:1. Activities to get students active in their learning

(pp9-14) (2 people)

2. Research skill development framework (p15) and Academic literacy framework (p16)

– Discuss ideas which are transferable

Time: 15 minutes

Modes of IBL

• Importance of scaffolding provided by lecturer and development of independence in learner

• Structured – where lecturers provide an issue or problem and an outline for addressing it

• Guided – where lecturers provide questions to stimulate inquiry but students are self-directed in terms of exploring these questions

• Open – where students formulate the questions themselves as well as going through the full inquiry cycle

(after Staver and Bay, 1987)

Does IBL enhance student learning?

Increasing evidence that shows:• enhanced academic achievement, student perceptions,

process skills, analytic abilities, critical thinking and creativity (Prince & Felder, 2006)

• deeper understanding, higher degree of reflection, more motivated and achievement of higher order learning (Berg et al., 2003)

• higher grades, more Honours, better retention (Justice et al. 2007b)

(Spronken-Smith et al. 2009)

(Spronken-Smith et al. 2009)

Scaffolding inquiry throughout a degree

1st year

1st year

2nd year

3rd year

2nd year

3rd year

Planning your learning design

Use of learning design planners valuable for:

Achieving common understanding in development team communicate tacit information

Sharing design more widely Communicating design to students As an aid to evaluation

[Brown, C (2006) Developing familiarity with learning design tools through subject analysis, Journal of Learning Design 1(2) 10-20 [http://www.jld.qut.edu.au/]

].

Inquiry planners

In pairs look at (one each):

Sheffield inquiry planner (pp17-18) Gloucestershire inquiry planner (pp19-27)

Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each.

[10 mins]

Digital technologies take many forms, and create opportunities for change, and support for new ways of working. However, few universities have gone far beyond the provision of technology for information, communication, and organisational transactions, to use its wider capabilities to improve the quality of the learning experience itself.Laurillard (2008: 525)

‘Using technology to enhance the quality of

teaching is just accommodating technology

to the old ways of doing things. We are adding

quadraphonic sound and GPS system to a horse and cart, but its still a horse and

cart’ (Bates and Sangra, 2013: 12)

Bates, AW & Sangra, A (2013) Managing technology in higher education: strategies for transforming teaching and learning, San Francisco: Jossey-BassLaurillard, d. (2008) Technology enhanced learning as a tool for pedagogical innovation, Journal of Philosophy of Education, vol 42, pt3-4

Using TEL for IGL

‘ ..new technologies … create an even more critical role for the teacher, who is not simply mediating the knowledge already articulated, but is more deeply involved in scaffolding the way students think and how they develop the new kinds of skills they will need for the digital literacies’Laurillard (2012: 4)

Using TEL for IGL

'Technology will not replace teachers, but teachers who adopt new technologies will probably replace those who don't.‘Steve Wheeler http://steve-wheeler.blogspot.ca/2014/02/the-survival-of-higher-education-5.html

Using TEL for IGL

• Task– TEL used to undertake the task– Process vs. Product

• Resources– providing access to resources required to

complete the task

• Guidance– providing support to the learners

Using TEL for IGL

• Review the case studies from session one– Which case studies used learning technologies– How is the technology used?

• Task• Resources• Guidance

• [10 mins]