Virginia S. Lee & Associates
			Higher Education Consulting
				Teaching, Learning and Assessment
							An Introduction to Inquiry-guided Learning
						Inquiry-guided learning promotes learning through students’ active investigation of questions, problems, and issues, often for which there is no one, single answer. It fosters complex student learning outcomes such as critical thinking, habits of independent inquiry, responsibility for one’s own learning, and intellectual growth and maturity. Advanced by the 1999 Boyer report as a “natural fit” for research universities, inquiry-guided learning blends faculty strength in research with contemporary understanding of how students learning. Faculty at non-research universities will also enjoy experimenting with this demanding constellation of teaching and learning strategies. We have designed five modules that introduce instructors to inquiry-guided learning. We can present the five modules together as a single, day-long (or longer) workshop OR a single module in a one-and-a-half-hour (or longer) workshop OR combinations of modules in variable time slots depending on the needs of your institution.
					Building Knowledge through Inquiry-guided Learning. Many traditional methods of teaching imply an empty vessel metaphor for student learning. In contrast, with inquiry-guided learning instructors help students build knowledge themselves through a process of active investigation. In this module, participants actively explore the process of knowledge building and how it relates to key learning outcomes associated with learning through inquiry. Teaching and Learning through the Disciplines. Rather than teaching about academic disciplines, inquiry-guided learning teaches through them. In order to teaching effectively in this way, instructors need to think about their disciplines very differently, approaching them as though for the first time. In this module, we explore the distinction between teaching through, rather than about, the disciplines, using the discipline as a vehicle for learning. Engaging Students with Inquiry-guided Learning. Student engagement is at the heart of inquiry-guided learning. Instructors can use a variety of teaching methods and activities to promote learning through inquiry including case studies, group work, problem-based learning and many more. In this module, participants experience a representative sample of strategies for engaging students in inquiry-guided learning. Assessing Students in Inquiry-guided Learning. In inquiry-guided learning instructors assess in ways that go beyond monitoring students to actually enhancing their learning through the process of assessment. The kind of learning fostered by inquiry-guided learning is complex. As a result often assessment involves students grappling with real life problems and situations similar to those encountered by adults in professional, personal or civic settings. In this module participants review various ways of assessing students appropriate to the complex outcomes of inquiry-guided learning. Easing into Inquiry-guided Learning. For instructors accustomed to traditional models of teaching, inquiry-guided learning requires a significant and exciting shift in perspective about the teaching and learning process. The learning outcomes it advances are more complex. And promoting learning through inquiry also suggests a broader repertoire of teaching and learning strategies and assessment methods. In this module, participants learn how to “ease into” inquiry-guided learning gradually over several semesters.