Inquiry-Based Learning

Instead of just presenting the facts, use questions, problems, and scenarios to help students learn through their own agency and investigation.

Inquiry-Based Learning
Inquiry-Based Tasks in Social Studies
Assignments that are bigger than a lesson and smaller than a unit are a good way to experiment with inquiry-based learning.
Lesson Plans
A Wildlife Investigation for City Kids
Inquiry-based lessons on animal adaptations guide Chicago third graders to think about the wildlife all around them.
Inquiry-Based Learning
Embracing Inquiry-Based Instruction
A veteran teacher shares the frustrations and challenges of this student-centered teaching model—and why she finds it so powerful.
Teacher Development
3 Reads to Inspire Your Teaching Practice
Find ideas on student engagement, deeper inquiry, and project-based learning, whether you read on your own or in a book study group.
Inquiry-Based Learning
Local Issues Make Science Learning Meaningful
Students use scientific inquiry to investigate real-world issues facing their community.
Inquiry-Based Learning
Inquiry and the Research Process
Tips for ensuring that your students’ research fosters genuine inquiry.
Education Equity
Honoring the Innocence of Black Girls
A teacher reconsiders one of his students in light of recent findings on how adults perceive black girls.
Inquiry-Based Learning
Playful Inquiry for Elementary Students
Six suggestions for bringing a key idea from a Reggio Emilia–inspired school to your K–5 classroom.
Communication Skills
Learning to Hook an Audience
The author’s fifth-grade students practiced a variety of skills in order to make 25-minute verbal and visual presentations on their inquiry-based projects.
Student Engagement
Student-Centered Learning: Building Agency and Engagement
Peek inside a high school where teachers act as facilitators and students are directors of their own learning.