Overview Link to this section
Students delight in questioning and discovery - building connections to prior learning and experiences while they develop as independent learners. Questions not only drive learning but also are outcomes of learning as well.
Create many rich and varied opportunities for students to make observations, ask questions, seek answers, and design solutions to personal, community, and global issues. Support students in making their thinking visible so they can build on their own learning and that of others in their community. The thinking and questioning of students are the focal points in an inquiry-driven classroom.
What Is Inquiry-Based Learning?
Insight on Inquiry
Kindergarten teacher Carol Stephenson brings us inside her classroom to share how she fosters inquiry-based learning at the very beginning of the school year. Carol teaches at the Dr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study, the lab school at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (University of Toronto).
Supporting Inquiry Link to this section
Use these practices, and practices like these, to support student thinking and academic ownership
See, Think, Wonder
This routine encourages students to make careful observations and thoughtful interpretations. It helps stimulate curiosity and sets the stage for inquiry.
What makes you say that?
This routine helps students describe what they see or know and asks them to build explanations. It promotes evidential reasoning (evidence-based reasoning) and because it invites students to share their interpretations, it encourages students to understand alternatives and multiple perspectives.
Think, Puzzle, Explore
This routine activates prior knowledge, generates ideas and curiosity, and prepares students for deeper inquiry. It works especially well when introducing a new topic, concept, or theme in the classroom.
Student Artifacts Link to this section
KWL & I used to think... Now I think...
Students recorded what they knew, wanted to know, and learned about the solar system on Padlet to share and track their thinking and learning over time. Students also recorded on Jamboard what they used to think and now think about the solar system to reflect on and share how their thinking changed over time.
Seesaw, Math and Exploration!
Students explored the classroom to find shapes in the real world, recorded their evidence, and shared their findings with their classmates.
Adjectives in the World!
Students found adjectives all around them and documented their findings with photos on Seesaw.
Playground Design PBL Unit
Students designed their own playgrounds on paper and then took a video on Seesaw to show and explain their thinking.
Standards-Based Skills: Students will be able to...
- Read from and/or talk with others who are different from them to get answers to questions about a problem. (GP)
- Identify local, regional and global problems along with ways in which people are working to address them, and identify ways to take action to address these problems. (C3) (NGSS) (GP)
- Create different kinds of things that show how they view the world (GP)
- Ask questions based on observations, and identify how they can be answered by an investigation. (NGSS)
- Explain why a compelling question is important, ideas, facts and concepts associated with it and supporting questions, and determine the kinds of sources that will be helpful in answering these questions. (C3)
- With guidance and support, participate in shared research, writing and/or investigation projects by recalling information from experiences and/or gathering information from provided sources to answer a question. (CCSS) (NGSS)
- Plan and conduct an investigation collaboratively to produce data, and determine if it answers a question, solves a problem or meets a goal. Compare multiple solutions/answers. (NGSS)
These skills are taken from the kindergarten standards found within the - Common Core State Standards, Next Generation Science Standards, College Career and Civic Life Framework for Social Studies, ELD Framework, and SFUSD Graduate Profile.
Reflection Questions Link to this section
- How can inquiry develop academic ownership and honor students' experiences?
- What does inquiry currently look like in your practice? What is working well for students? How do you know?
- What are the implications for your own practice? What will you do first?
This page was last updated on April 25, 2023