Inquiry-Based Learning

Grounded in constructivism, inquiry-based learning is a broader term for hands-on, active learning that is driven by inquiry. Learners process concepts through scenarios, questions, or issues that enable them to self-direct their own learning. There are four commonly-referenced levels of inquiry used in inquiry-based education (Wikipedia, 2018):  

1. Confirmation Inquiry – An educator provides a problem and the procedure for learners to address it, where results are already known. 
   
2. Structured Inquiry – An educator provides a problem and the procedure for learners to address it, where the results are not already known. 
   
3. Guided Inquiry – An educator provides a problem, allowing learners to select a procedure to address it, where the results are not already known. 
   
4. Open/True Inquiry – Learners select the problem and the procedure to address it, where the results are not already known. 
   

Related to inquiry-based learning, there are a few techniques distinguished by specific characteristics: 

• Case-based learning (CBL). CBL utilizes cases or scenarios common in the respective field. Learners work in groups to use and apply knowledge and solve or diagnose problems.   
  
• Project-based and Problem-based learning (PBL). These two PBL models share the same acronym but differ in methodology. Although both can be used interchangeably, they are intended for very different results. In project-based learning, learners work in groups or individually on a process that results in a product, presentation, or performance (Moursand, 2006). In contrast, problem-based learning is most successful in a group or collaborative setting to solve a complex, open-ended, real-world issue or problem (David, 2014; Husain, 2011). 
  
• Discovery-based learning (DBL).  DBL is a specific type of active learning strategy that allows learners to have hands-on opportunities that focus on the process of learning through inquiry and the exploration of concepts. Failure and feedback are both important and necessary for learning to occur. Discovery-based learning is characterized by three main attributes:  
  

1. Using exploration and problem-solving to create, integrate, and generalize knowledge.
   
2. Using learner-driven, interest-based activities where learners determine sequence and frequency.
   
3. Involving activities to encourage integration of new knowledge into learner’s existing knowledge (Bicknell-Holmes & Hoffman, 2000, as cited in Castronova, 2002, p. 3).  

Additional resources

EDUCAUSE. (2017). Interactive case scenarios: The 7Cs framework. Retrieved from
https://library.educause.edu/resources/2017/10/interactive-case-scenarios-the-7cs-framework

University of Delaware. (n.d.). PBL clearinghouse. Retrieved from https://www1.udel.edu/pblc/ 

Miami Dade College. (2018). Project/problem-based learning (PBL) educator’s resource: Project-based learning resources. Retrieved from https://libraryguides.mdc.edu/pbl

Sam Houston State University. (n.d.). Project-based learning in higher education. Retrieved from 
https://www.shsu.edu/centers/project-based-learning/higher-education.html 

The Geological Society of America. (2018). Inquiry and discovery-based projects within introductory courses. Retrieved from https://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/undergraduate_research/intro.html