Inquiry-Based Learning in Primary School: A Synergistic Approach

Unlocking Deeper Understanding Through Multiple Approaches and Concept-Based Inquiry

In today’s rapidly changing world, primary school educators face the crucial task of cultivating students’ natural curiosity and fostering a lifelong love of learning. Inquiry-based learning (IBL) offers a dynamic framework that aligns perfectly with these goals. By combining multiple approaches with concept-based inquiry, we can create engaging and developmentally appropriate learning experiences that empower young learners to become active participants in their own educational journey.

The Power of Combining Approaches in Primary School

Inquiry-based learning in primary school is not a one-size-fits-all method; it flourishes by integrating various strategies that cater to the diverse learning needs and preferences of students. Here are some key approaches that can enrich IBL in the early years:

• Inductive Approach: This approach encourages young learners to begin with specific observations or examples and then work towards identifying broader patterns, principles, or concepts. For instance, after observing different types of leaves, children can sort them and identify common characteristics, leading to an understanding of what defines a leaf. This fosters early critical thinking and analytical skills as they construct their own understanding.
• Approaches to Learning and Teaching (ATL): Integrating ATL skills into IBL helps primary students develop essential metacognitive abilities, such as self-management, research, critical thinking, and collaboration. These skills are fundamental for navigating the complexities of the 21st century. In a primary setting, this might involve teaching students how to ask good questions, how to find information from simple sources, how to work effectively in small groups, and how to reflect on their learning.
• Concept Formation: Focusing on key concepts rather than just facts is particularly beneficial in primary education, as it helps young learners build a strong foundation for future learning. For example, instead of just memorizing the names of different animals, students can explore the concept of “habitat” by investigating where different animals live and what they need to survive.
• Transdisciplinary Learning: By breaking down traditional subject barriers and exploring real-world issues, transdisciplinary learning adds relevance and authenticity to the inquiry process for primary students. For instance, a unit on “water” could integrate science (exploring the water cycle), social studies (how people use water), math (measuring water), and language arts (writing stories about water).

Concept-Based Inquiry: The Cornerstone in Primary Education

At the heart of this synergistic approach lies concept-based inquiry, a framework that emphasizes the exploration of powerful, overarching concepts. Instead of focusing solely on factual recall, concept-based inquiry encourages students to delve into the relationships between concepts, fostering deeper understanding and transfer of learning. This is highly effective in primary school, as it allows learning to be organized around big ideas that are relevant to children’s lives. We believe that curiosity is the key to unlocking this deeper understanding and a passion for learning in every child, and concept-based inquiry provides the structure to cultivate that curiosity.

Key Features of Concept-Based Inquiry in Primary School:

• Focus on Enduring Understandings: The goal is to help students develop insights that go beyond the specific content being studied and apply to new situations. In primary school, this could involve understanding that “change” is a constant process, whether it’s the changing seasons, the life cycle of a butterfly, or how communities evolve.
• Use of Essential Questions: These open-ended questions drive the inquiry process, prompting students to explore concepts from multiple perspectives. For example, instead of asking “What are the parts of a plant?”, an essential question might be “How do plants help us?”
• Emphasis on Transfer: Students are encouraged to connect their learning to other contexts, making it more meaningful and relevant. For instance, after learning about how plants need sunlight, students could explore how they can help a plant grow.

Underpinning Principles for Effective IBL in Primary School

Several key principles underpin the successful implementation of inquiry-based learning in primary school, ensuring that it is both effective and equitable:

SOLO Taxonomy

This framework, developed by Biggs and Collis, provides a structure for assessing the depth of student understanding. It outlines five levels of learning:

• Prestructural: The student has no understanding of the topic.
• Unistructural: The student understands one relevant aspect.
• Multistructural: The student understands several aspects but does not connect them.
• Relational: The student understands the relationships between several aspects.
• Extended Abstract: The student can generalize and apply their understanding to new contexts.

Example: In a primary science class exploring the concept of “living things,” students might demonstrate their understanding at different SOLO levels:

• Prestructural: A student knows some animals.
• Unistructural: A student states one characteristic of a living thing, like “it breathes.”
• Multistructural: A student lists several characteristics of living things, like “it breathes, eats, and moves.”
• Relational: A student explains how these characteristics are related, such as “Living things breathe to get energy from food.”
• Extended Abstract: A student can classify different organisms as living or non-living and explain their reasoning and apply this understanding to determine if something they have never seen before is living.

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in Primary Education

UDL is a framework that guides the development of flexible learning environments that can accommodate individual learning differences. It emphasizes three key principles:

• Multiple Means of Representation: Providing information in various formats (e.g., visual, auditory, kinesthetic) to cater to different learning styles.
• Multiple Means of Action and Expression: Offering students diverse ways to demonstrate their learning (e.g., drawing, building, acting out).
• Multiple Means of Engagement: Stimulating students’ interest and motivation through various strategies (e.g., choice, relevance, collaboration).

Example: In a primary class conducting an inquiry into the concept of “friendship,” a teacher could apply UDL principles in the following ways:

• Multiple Means of Representation:
  • Read aloud stories about friendship.
  • Show short video clips depicting acts of friendship.
  • Create a class chart with pictures and words representing different aspects of friendship.
  • Use puppets or role-playing to model friendly interactions.
• Multiple Means of Action and Expression:
  • Allow students to draw pictures or write stories about their friends.
  • Provide options for students to work individually or in small groups to create a “friendship” display.
  • Let students role-play different scenarios involving friendship.
  • Offer choices in how students share what they have learned about friendship (e.g., show and tell, presentations, creating a class book).
• Multiple Means of Engagement:
  • Connect the inquiry to students’ own experiences with friendship.
  • Incorporate games and activities that promote cooperation and positive social interactions.
  • Create a classroom environment that is safe, supportive, and respectful.
  • Offer opportunities for students to work with different classmates.

By incorporating these principles into IBL, educators can create inclusive and effective learning experiences that empower all primary school students to reach their full potential and develop a lifelong love of learning.

Transfer of Learning

A key goal of inquiry-based learning is to promote the transfer of learning, which occurs when students can apply what they have learned in one context to new and different contexts. In primary school, this might look like students using their understanding of cause and effect in science to explain historical events, or applying their knowledge of fractions from math to real-world problems like sharing a pizza or measuring ingredients for a recipe. When students are able to transfer their learning, it demonstrates a deeper understanding of the concepts and ideas, and shows that they can use their knowledge flexibly and creatively.