Inquiry-based learning is a student-centered learning style. It starts from questions. The students have to figure out the questions by themselves through self-investigations and self-learning.

There are 5 basic characteristics of inquiry-based learning (“How Inquiry-Based Learning Can Work in a Math Classroom,” 2017).

Inquiry-based learning is process focused. Students are internalizing conceptual processes when they solve problems by themselves. The process to solve the given problems should the focus, not the results.

Inquiry-based learning requires investigation skills. The questions to be investigated may be developed on the content of the class or questions the students come up with.

Inquiry-based learning can involve group learning, where students help each other during the process that gets them to arrive at a solution by sharing and building upon each others ideas.

Teachers act as monitors. Teachers are actively moving from group to group to make sure the students’ understanding. Teachers also need to correct any misconceptions spotted from the students.

Students are solving the problems based on real life. This helps them to both see the real-life problems in a theoretical aspect, and understand the problems more easily based on their own real-life experience.

Inquiry-based learning is a very good approach for learning our topic on successful leadership styles. Leadership styles are real-life based and practical skills to learn through experiencing and solving problems based on real-life cases. They are students-focused, for students have to be the center in figuring out the solutions. There could be more than one answer and the students need to work with each other, learn from each other and finally arrive at a solution.

In our designing for the topic on successful leadership, there are discussions that include students working with each other on given topics. Teachers would monitor the discussions and answer any questions to be raised. We think this helps the students to think independently and gives them the freedom to investigate on related matters. This aligns with the inquiry-based learning approach and we think this approach could be the main approach in our topic learning design.

Huatian He

References

How Inquiry-Based Learning Can Work in a Math Classroom, Spetember 08, 2017，from https://academicpartnerships.uta.edu/articles/education/inquiry-based-learning-math-classroom.aspx#:~:text=5%20Characteristics%20of%20Inquiry-Based%20Teaching%201%20Process%20focus.,problems%20that%20have%20a%20meaningful%20life%20application.%20