George Lucas Educational Foundation
Edutopia

Inquiry-Based Learning

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

  • The Benefits of Inquiry-Based PD

    Giving teachers control over their professional development work boosts engagement and models a practice they can use in the classroom.
    Laura Lee

  • Want Mastery? Let Students Find Their Own Way

    Prominent scholars say that to drive deeper learning, students need to become accustomed to confusion—and develop the persistence to find their own answers.
    Emily Kaplan

  • Putting Students in Charge of Their Learning Journey

    By leaving space in their lessons for authentic curiosity to take hold, teachers can enable deeper 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.
    Andrew Miller

  • What the Heck Is Inquiry-Based Learning?

    Teachers use inquiry-based learning to combat the “dunno” -- a chronic problem in student engagement. Check out these four steps for creating inquiry-based curriculum.
    Heather Wolpert-Gawron

  • Using Scientific Pedagogy to Teach History

    Employing the scientific method in history instruction can improve comprehension and engagement.
    Shana Barnett

  • Inquiry-Based Learning: The Power of Asking the Right Questions

    An inquiry-based curriculum requires both planning and flexibility, as well as a teacher knowing the students well enough to anticipate their interests and limits.
    Georgia K. Mathis

  • Resources and Downloads to Facilitate Inquiry-Based Learning

    Find information, strategies, protocols, and tools to promote curiosity and engage students in asking questions, thinking critically, and solving problems.

  • Project-Based Learning vs. Problem-Based Learning vs. X-BL

    John Larmer of the Buck Institute for Education clears up any confusion on the difference between project-based learning, problem-based learning, and whatever-else-based learning.
    John Larmer

  • Project-Based Learning Using Disney Movies

    Popular movies can be an entry point for students to dig deeper into historical studies.
    Sarah Carter

  • Avoiding Learned Helplessness

    Some steps teachers can take to empower students to be self-directed learners.
    Andrew Miller

  • Bringing Inquiry-Based Learning Into Your Class

    A four-step approach to using a powerful model that increases student agency in learning.
    Trevor MacKenzie

  • Harnessing Students’ Curiosity to Drive Learning

    The inquiry-based model calls on students to develop questions to investigate and connect to other content.

  • Project-Based Learning Research Review

    What the research says about aspects of project-based learning ranging from implementation to learning outcomes.
    Vanessa Vega

  • 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.
    Christi Alper