A toddler neighbor recently witnessed a kiddie television show that cast broccoli in the role of a villain. What could the producers have been thinking? Taking the unfortunate portrayal to heart, Maggie no longer eats her favorite vegetable. Counterintuitive as this may seem to us, the science of nutrition does not override Maggie’s fantasy. No sir! Witness the toddler’s broccoli on the floor getting sniffed diffidently by the ever vigilant dog.

So what is the inquiry connection here? Even if cognitive growth is vigorously sustained by inquiry, evidence persists that instructional junk food is still on the learning menu. Packets, fact tracking, and worksheets abound like instructional cheeseballs in classrooms and libraries. Routine practice like this is a comfort zone just like comfort food. For many educators, inquiry is still a learning zone with the intrinsic challenges of new approaches. So pushback happens.

In over ten years of direct experience with teachers and librarians who are growing into inquiry, I have observed progress with inquiry-based teaching and learning. But the holdouts still ask the same questions and verbalize assumptions about inquiry that are unfounded. Broccoli is good for you. Broccoli is not a bad guy. Eat broccoli. Inquiry works on many levels to engage and foster successful learners. Inquiry is not a bad guy. Implement inquiry.

The sanction of the arc of inquiry by the National Council for Social Studies, the National Science Teachers Association, AASL, and a sea of educational experts needs to be a heads up to doubters. The decision to embed inquiry in the C3 Framework and NGSS Standards is solidly research based.

If this takes oversimplification to a new level, the essential truth remains. If inquiry elephants are in the room then, let’s explore some samples.

INQUIRY MYTH #1

Students just plunge into inquiries in a content area without direct instruction, guided practice, or background building by the teacher.

INQUIRY FACT #1

Intrinsic to the inquiry model is the skillful initiation of inquiry process, as the brain begins to construct meaning and long-term formative knowledge. Eliciting curiosity, empathy, and engaging the learner in a compelling content area suitable for inquiry comes first. Conscientious attention to prior knowledge and attitudes is essential pedagogically. Certainly teachers teach, using varied methods, to build significant background knowledge before meaningful choices of inquiry paths are made by learners. Research shows that the most successful student inquiries are the ones with the strongest development of background knowledge. That is the first step toward deep understanding, which is accomplished through the use, manipulation, and application of background knowledge. At the stage where students shape their inquiry questions and investigate, the groundwork has been established by front-end diligence on the part of the teacher. Vocabulary of the discipline can also be part of early, direct instruction.

INQUIRY MYTH #2

Inquiry does not prepare kids for college where success depends on handling lectures.

INQUIRY FACT #2

Trends in higher education include a reshaping of instructor-focused, lecture-based instruction with passive learners in favor of one that is student-centered and active. This shift involves project-based learning and assessment, synthesis of multiple information sources to draw conclusions, thesis development, and generation of evidence to support claims. Adopting active learning methods vs. lecture is a stated goal of many colleges, with technology and new learning environments as a passport to change. Instructional shifts elicit collaboration, communication, critical thinking, and real world competencies in a performance-driven paradigm.

INQUIRY MYTH #3

Inquiry takes too much time.

INQUIRY FACT #3

The research that supports inquiry addresses instructional strategies and learning environments, not duration of projects. The quality of inquiry is not a reflection of class time spent building background, developing questions for research, or days spent in a school library using and evaluating information resources. The beating heart of inquiry is authentic and meaningful investigations that are student-centered and guided by teachers or librarians who facilitate—not direct. Mini-inquiries could take an hour or less. Literature-based inquiries, or questions that emerge outside of the boundaries of texts, can generate inquiry process and skill development in narrow but meaningful time frames. Differentiation can launch inquiries for students with strong skills while peers and teachers support developing learners. Questions, real world connections, investigation, synthesis, reflection, and sharing of final products are the key ingredients. Short or long, inquiry is inquiry.

INQUIRY MYTH #4

Inquiry is chaotic.

INQUIRY FACT #4

Carol Kuhlthau’s information search process, an inquiry model, acknowledges that learners experience chaos while interrogating conflicting perspectives, myriads of disconnected facts, and the yet-to-be-organized raw material of an investigation. Personal efficacy, confidence, and responsibility are the outcomes of organizing and managing this chaos, reasoning, drawing conclusions about the strongest arguments, important main ideas, and synthesizing. The inquiry process originated in the discipline of scientific method. Questions lead to investigations which lead to conclusions which lead to reflection and communication. Engaged learners are on task, focused, and concerned about the quality of their work. The steps in the process are well iterated by Odell Education in their web-based resources for “Researching to Deepen Understanding,” (http://odelleducation.com/literacy-curriculum-developing-core-proficiencies/research) adopted by many states. Ross Todd and Rutgers University have produced a tried and true model for Guided Inquiry. Barbara Stripling’s inquiry model has explicit and detailed guidance in the Empire Information Fluency Continuum. Use the map. Find the gold.

Further Reading:

Hatfield, Lisa J. "Reinventing Higher Education: The Promise of Innovation." Research & Practice in Assessment 7.2 (2012).

Quillen, Ian. “Discover Emerging Trends in Online Higher Education.” U.S. News and World Report May 4, 2015. http://www.usnews.com/education/online-education/articles/2015/05/04/discover-emerging-trends-in-online-higher-education