Abstract
This
paper aims to explain about inquiry-based learning as a part of curriculum
material development. The author believe inquiry-based learning create
meaningful learning. To make meaningful learning, participations from all of
student are needed. To enhance student’s participations need their curiosity.
Beside that character, steps, and task of inquiry-based learning which are
focused on student center can be a factor in creating meaningful learning. The
author also believe inquiry-based learning can improve student’s critical
thinking through the steps of inquiry-based learning. Inquiry learning can make
student more active and use their thought. Definition, character, step and
impact of inquiry-based learning will explain below. Explanation of meaningful learning
and critical thinking also discussed in this paper. This paper also provide an
example of inquiry-based learning task or assignment.
Keyword: critical
thinking, curiosity, Inquiry-based
learning, meaningful learning.
Introduction
Education can be interpreted as a conscious effort that aims to prepare
students in learning through an activity of teaching, guidance and training for
their sake of their role in the future. To make meaningful education and
learning we have to design teaching and learning process more useful and more
contextually, it means the subject and material should related with student’s
daily activity and enchase student’s critical learning to increase student’s
participation. Nowadays many teacher use student centered approach to increase
student’s participation and also increase student’s critical thinking to make
teaching and learning more meaningful. This paper will discuss about it. This
paper will concern on a type of curriculum material development which is called
Inquiry-based Learning as a part of discovery learning to create meaningful
learning. But before go further, we have to know the definition of curriculum,
definition of syllabus, and four types of curriculum material development. All
of them will be explained below.
Curriculum
is a plan for the education of learners
usually is referred to as a curriculum or the curriculum. What is required when
referring to the term is “the grasp of the basic notions education involves as well
as the structural organization every author states within this definition for
the term curriculum” Moreno (2000:11). Curriculum is a very general concept
which involves consideration of the whole complex of philosophical, social, and
administrative factors which contribute to the planning of an educational program.”
Allen quoted in Nunan (2006: 6). From those definition, curriculum is a plan of
education in general unit and it will be explained specifically in syllabus as
a guidance in learning process. Curriculum will be foundation of syllabus,
which is explained practically and specifically in syllabus as an
implementation of curriculum. Syllabus can be an instrument for teacher to
design whole learning process in a semester. Teacher already design the method,
technique, strategy, material, and media in lesson plan as a practical
instrument. What teacher expect to the students and the goal of learning is
already designed and written in syllabus. For students, syllabus can be an
instrument for guiding them in whole learning process in a semester. They know
what will they study and do in a semester, so they can prepare their selves. It
is related with the readiness of a teaching and learning process.
Talk about curriculum as
a foundation of syllabus, we have to know many different
types of curriculum material development. There are four different types of curriculum material development. They are
character-based education, project-based learning,
problem-based learning, and discovery learning. Those four types of curriculum material development are related
with teaching and learning model or teaching
and learning style. They have different style in teaching and learning process.
Character-based education is an
umbrella term loosely used to describe the teaching of children in a manner that will help them develop variously
as moral, civic, good, mannered,
behaved, non-bullying, healthy, critical, successful, traditional, compliant or
socially acceptable beings.
Project-based learning is a student-centered pedagogy that involves a dynamic classroom
approach in which students acquire a deeper knowledge through active exploration of real-world challenges and
problems. Problem-based learning is a
student-centered pedagogy in which students learn about a subject through the experience of solving an open-ended
problem. The last is discovery learning, discovery
learning is a technique of Inquiry-based Learning and is considered a constructivist based approach to education.
Discovery learning is
related with inquiry and observation, curiosity will be the most factor of the successfulness of
discovery learning itself. Increase or improve student’s
curiosity might affect to student’s participation in learning. It force the
student to be active and being
independent. Discovery learning deals with student centered approach which is focus on student’s
participation and less teacher’s participation. It means teacher just lead, guide, and control every student’s
activity in teaching and learning
process. One example of discovery learning is Inquiry-based Learning. The characteristic of Inquiry-based
Learning, step of Inquiry-based Learning, example task of Inquiry-based Learning, and impact of Inquiry-based Learning will
be the content of this paper. As a
writer of this paper, I expect the reader to be able create meaningful learning through Inquiry-based Learning and
also increase your own student’s participation
and critical thinking of them. All of them will be discuss below.
Content
Before talk further
about Inquiry-based Learning, we have to understand and know about word “inquiry” or the meaning of inquiry. What is
inquiry? According to dictionary.com,
inquiry is a seeking or request for truth, information, or knowledge or an investigation, as into an incident. So,
inquiry is an investigation of seeking of truth
or information by asking questions and apply all of the human senses likes
seeing, hearing, etc. After we
know about inquiry, how about Inquiry-based Learning. What is Inquiry-based learning itself? Inquiry-based
Learning is starts by posing questions, problems
or scenarios rather than simply presenting established facts or portraying a smooth path to knowledge. The process is
often assisted by a facilitator. Inquirers will identify and research issues and questions to develop their
knowledge or solutions. Inquiry-based
Learning includes problem-based learning, and is generally used in small scale investigations and projects, as
well as research. The inquiry-based instruction is principally very closely related to the development and
practice of thinking skills. It can
conclude that inquiry learning is a learning which is started with question and
let the students find the truth and
fact by their own self by doing an investigation, observation, and practicing their thinking skills as well as small
research later on.
According
to Kahn and O’Rourke (2004) there are five characteristic of inquiry- based learning. Five characteristics of Inquiry-based
Learning are:
-Engagement with a complex problem or scenario, it means the task presented to the learner (possibly in the
form of a problem, issue or scenario) is structured
to be sufficiently open-ended to enable a variety of responses or solutions (i.e. students should not be seeking to
find the ‘right’ answer).
-Students direct the line of
enquiry and the methods employed, it
means students are placed at the
center of the learning process and presented with greater independence in decisions relating to their learning
(hence the term ‘learner independence’).
-The inquiry requires students to draw on existing knowledge and to identify
their required learning needs, it means Students are not viewed as empty vessels waiting to be filled with
‘knowledge’. Rather, placing students at the center of the learning process requires them to draw on their collective
knowledge in order to approach a
task. Working collaboratively in a group might entail identifying their required learning needs through a
process of asking questions, along the lines of ‘As a group, what do we know about this issue? What do we need
to find out in order to respond
to this issue?’
- Tasks stimulate curiosity in the students, encouraging them to
actively explore and seek new
evidence, it means Curiosity can be aroused through structuring tasks around real life issues that have
relevance to the students. This might be done through
the use of a recent newspaper cutting, a short video extract, a talking head or
a mocked up case scenario.
- Responsibility falls to the student for analyzing and presenting the evidence in appropriate ways and in support
of their own response to the problem, it
means by placing students at the center of the whole learning process, they
assume responsibility for justifying
their response to the task and providing a clear rationale for their response. Tasks will usually be
ill-defined – as such there will not be a single ‘answer’ (or indeed a simple response). Students
therefore become aware of the need to
justify the evidence they present in response to a particular issue.
How we apply Inquiry-based
Learning? Questioning, Planning and Predicting, Investigating, Recording and Reporting, and Reflecting
are the step of inquiry-based learning.
First step is questioning, in
questioning step Students are encouraged to ask the questions that help them discover how the world works.
These questions may be posed by the
teacher or formulated by the students. Asking good questions takes practice. At the beginning of inquiry, the
teacher needs to model how to formulate questions.
In questioning there are two types of questions to formulate when using Inquiry-based learning: essential and
foundation. Essential questions are
usually posed and modeled by the
teacher. Students may create their own question if they have had previous experience with Inquiry-based
Learning and are comfortable with the process. Students
generate questions (foundation) that will help them build answers to the essential question. For example, if
the U.S. History class spends a month on the Civil War, the teacher may pose one of the following essential
questions: 1.Why do we fight wars? 2. How could political issues or ideas ever
become more important than family loyalties? 3. How does our country portray the effects
of the slavery experience and the
Civil War?
On the other hand, Foundation question are generally the
"what is" questions. Students create
the foundation questions by brainstorming questions. Through investigation and research of factual information,
students work toward obtaining the answer to the essential question. Again, these may need to be modeled by the
teacher for students to gain a
better understanding of this process. The number of foundation questions is typically around six to eight.
Essential Question: How could political issues or ideas ever become more important than family loyalties? And the
Foundation Questions will be: 1. what were the political parties of the Civil
War? 2. What were similarities of each
group? 3. What were differences of each
group? 4. What are the important values
(personal, political, economic, etc.) of that era? 5. What was the family structure during the Civil War era? 6. Who had political influences? 7. What effect on
the family did these influences
play? It is important for students to understand that the essential question generates many small, foundation questions.
Second step is planning and
editing, in this step students are introduced to the topic. During this time, the teacher is
helping students to generate questions by modeling
questioning: How did you come to that conclusion? What are some other possibilities? After becoming familiar
with the material, cooperative teams create an essential
question, if not supplied by the teacher. They also brainstorm and formulate six to eight foundation questions. The
teacher may still need to model how to formulate these questions by asking open-ended questions: Who were some
political powers? How did they
influence the people in that era? It is important that students understand that the bigger (essential) question is the
compilation of smaller (foundation) questions.
Third step is investigating, in this step teachers allow students enough
time to investigate. The teacher
facilitates the process by gathering resources and asking open- ended questions during team investigations.
Students have the opportunity to move around
the room to see what other groups are doing. This generates other ideas that
can be incorporated in their own
investigations. Students, redirected by the teacher, stay focused on appropriate questions and
investigations. Fourth step is recording
and reporting, in this
step students record and report their findings. Students may use a variety of ways to record: lists,
spreadsheets, databases, graphic organizers, graphs, memos, notes, webs, and note
cards. Fifth step is reflecting, in
this step students reflect by
revisiting the essential and foundation questions. If the information gathered
does not answer the essential question
then more foundation questions may need to be formulated
and investigated. For each inquiry-based project, a rubric is created to help students maintain direction.
There seven approaches
in giving assignment or task to the students according to Kahn and O’Rourke (2004). First, case-based
learning, it is a complex case is provided
to students and followed with in-class discussion about content and concepts. Second, scenario-based learning, students
participate in a ‘scenario’ designed to simulate
a relevant issue or problem. The scenario may involve an element of role play. Third, problem-based
learning, it is an authentic problem is used to define and drive the student learning experience. Fourth,
project-based learning, students work collaboratively
to explore a problem or issue and create a presentation/product to demonstrate their learning. Fifth,
individual research project, it is a student explores a problem or issue through a structured
process of enquiry – this may take the form of a research module or a dissertation. Sixth, field work, it is a
small-scale investigation is undertaken
individually or in groups as part of a discipline related field trip. Seventh,
other, Respondents are
asked to provide further information.
Example of Inquiry Task
Here is an example of
scenario-based learning. Students meet for six hours
each week. They will work on this
assignment in class for two weeks. Students have
been divided into six groups of four students each. Each group is having problems with a particular grammar point. All of these grammar points have been taught
several times during class hours,
but students are still having difficulty producing the standard forms. Assignment: Working with your team-mates,
locate a web site that will help you
to understand. Group 1: subject/verb agreement. Group 2: use of the past participle. Group 3:
active vs passive adjectives. Group 4: formulating conditional statements. Group 5: using the past perfect tense. Group 6: forming and using the past tense and the present perfect tense.
Do the exercises that you find on the website, and work with each other to make sure you understand the
concepts. Then, write a skit in which one of you has to teach the
grammar point to the other members of the group. Each
group will have 15 minutes in which to perform the skit for the other members
of the class. From those
assignment they will ask and apply many language expression in group in order to figure out the topic
given by the teacher. After that they can use it in a skit and the other student can take a note about the language
expression that already performed
by the performer, it can increase the critical thinking and participation of
the students. At the end teacher expect
all of the students understand many different grammars
through language expression in the skit. After that the teacher believe all of students understand the usage of any grammar
for certain language expression and its social
function rather than only understand the formula of a grammar without know the appropriate condition for using that’s formula.
Techer also expect the students experienced
the real situation and condition in their real life or their daily activities. So,
make students being familiar with
appropriate language expression for certain situation and condition in their real life is the purpose of this assignment
in order to create meaningful
teaching and learning process.
The author believe that
inquiry brings many good impacts in order to create meaningful teaching and learning process. The impact of Inquiry-based
Learning for the students such as:
first, students are the ones who propose the topics they want to investigate and generate the questions to
solve the problems they are interested in. This gives them more opportunities to use and understand how to formulate
questions. Second, help students
learn metacognitive strategies. Third, students who can use these strategies are better language
learners. Fourth, make students not sit passively to take notes as with other approaches; on the
contrary, they have an active role in choosing the
topics they are learning and on developing the outcomes of their own
investigations. Fifth, it can
motivate students to pay more attention in class and to be interested in using the target language because they feel
a sense of control in a more appropriate language level. Sixth, it can encourages more communication in oral and
written forms, since students need to
discuss their conclusions with other members of their group. Seventh, it can bring the students into deeper investigation
process. Eighth, it can make students use
many language expressions not only to understand contents but also the world around them in a deeper way through
synchronous and asynchronous interactions with other
students, teachers and experts in the topic. Inquiry-based Learning also brings
good impact for the teacher. It makes
teachers can teach the corresponding structures of good questions, not only from the perspective of content
but also from the grammatical
point of view.
Suggestion
and Tips
After we know about Inquiry-based
Learning, we have to know about critical thinking
and meaningful learning. Critical thinking is Critical thinking is that mode of
thinking about any subject, content,
or problem in which the thinker improves the quality
of his or her thinking by skillfully analyzing, assessing, and reconstructing
it. Critical thinking is
self-directed, self-disciplined, self-monitored, and self-corrective thinking. It presupposes assent to
rigorous standards of excellence and mindful command
of their use. It entails effective communication and problem-solving abilities,
as well as a commitment to overcome our
native egocentrism and sociocentrism. What kind
of learning called as meaningful learning? Meaningful learning Meaningful learning refers to the concept that the
learned knowledge (let’s say a fact) is fully understood
by the individual and that the individual knows how that specific fact relates to other stored facts (stored in your brain
that is). There are five keys to create meaningful
learning. They are:
1.
Make sure what your students learn is in their proximal zone.
2.
If in doubt, ask your friends about new teaching strategy that will help you in
classroom
and new media that useful for your performance in the classroom.
3. Ask the student’s
need and what they want to study in the beginning of the class, which can help you in
creating a syllabus or lesson plan as your foundation
for one semester later on.
4.
Have a study partner or mentor (your friend or other teacher) ask you questions
that require recall of related material.
5. Make a figure that
illustrates what you should know about a specific topic and its related material before you teach in
real situation in the classroom.
From
those suggestion, we can understand how create meaningful learning later on. Don’t be confused between meaningful
learning with useful learning. Meaningful learning
is when the learning process deals with the fact and reality although the skill
students achieved is useful or not
in their daily life. Meaningful learning is more contextual than deeper study or specific study as well as
expertise. For example the material
of meaningful learning is more related with their social function and appropriate language expression rather
than formula and general structure a language expression.
So, they can apply the knowledge and recognize what they have learned later on rather understand the formula
without understand the appropriate usage of language.
To make all of them
happen, the key is teachers have to enhance student’s curiosity. Psychologists view curiosity as a life force, vital to
happiness, intellectual growth, and
well-being. It is interconnected with each of the other abilities on the Compass -- sociability, resilience,
self-awareness, integrity, resourcefulness, creativity, and empathy. Like most human abilities, curiosity also has a dark
side. After all, it did kill
the cat! And without proper nurturing by teachers and parents, unregulated
curiosity can lead students
down rabbit holes that waste time, obstruct goals, or damage health. The greatest advantage of curiosity lies in
its power to motivate learning in areas of life and work that are meaningful to the learner. It points students
toward the knowledge, skills,
relationships, and experiences that they need to live full and productive
lives. Here are ten ways to
stimulate student's curiosity:
First, value and reward curiosity.
It means often, the temptation is to reward students
when their curiosity leads to a desired outcome or good grade. But it's more important to notice and reinforce
curiosity when you see it in action. When you praise students by describing how their questions, explorations,
and investigations are contributing to
their own or classroom learning, you let them know that they are valued for their motivation, regardless of
the grade they achieve. Second, teach students how to ask quality questions. It
means quality questions are a vital medium for curiosity. Google is great at finding answers but
doesn't stimulate the formation of questions.
Good questions contain
"why," "what if," and "how." Third, notice when kids feel puzzled or confused. It means there a
"teachable moment" that will spark a desire to search for answers? How can you invite
students to see problems as mysteries waiting to
be solved? Fourth, encourage students to tinker. It means tinkering might
be constructive play with
feelings, concepts, ideas, and materials. How can students create a new widget, essay, blog article, poem,
science experiment, service, or product from their
explorations? Tinkering with materials, thoughts, and emotions stimulates curiosity and leads to innovative
outcomes. Fifth, spread the curiosity around. It means we have to create opportunities for more-curious
and less-curious students to work
together in project-based learning. Curiosity is contagious in groups working toward a real-world common goal,
helping to cross-pollinate questions and new ideas. Sixth, use current events. It means a news reports can lead
students to ask purposeful questions
that help unearth what's beneath the surface of societal problems. According to research, asking "why" is the
critical ingredient in unraveling these difficult conflicts. This often gets to the
fundamental reason for why people disagree about solutions. Seventh, teach students to be skeptics.
It means skeptic is derived from the Greek
skeptikos, meaning "to inquire" or "to look around." A
skeptic requires additional evidence
before accepting someone's claims as true. He or she is willing to challenge the status quo with open-minded,
deep questioning. For example Galileo and Steve Jobs. Eighth, explore a variety of cultures and societies. It means how
one culture or society is
uniquely different from another one? Encourage students to investigate their genetic or emotional links to other cultures.
Why do they relate to certain beliefs or values
that other societies hold? Ninth, model curiosity. It means you
can do this in your respectful
relationships with students by exploring their interests, expanding upon their ideas, and engaging them in meaningful
dialogue about what matters most. Tenth, encourage
curiosity at home. It means teacher have to help parents understand the
importance of curiosity in their child's
development and suggest ways that they can foster
it at home. Supportive caregivers can have a tremendous impact on developing curiosity and other essential
abilities.
Conclusion
Inquiry-based Learning is starts by
posing questions, problems or scenarios rather
than simply presenting established facts or portraying a smooth path to knowledge. The process is often assisted by a
facilitator. Inquirers will identify and research
issues and questions to develop their knowledge or solutions. Inquiry-based Learning includes problem-based learning,
and is generally used in small scale investigations
and projects, as well as research. The inquiry-based instruction is principally very closely related to the
development and practice of thinking skills. It can conclude that inquiry learning is a learning which is started
with question and let the students
find the truth and fact by their own self by doing an investigation, observation, and practicing their
thinking skills as well as small research later on.
How we apply Inquiry-based Learning?
Questioning, Planning and Predicting, Investigating,
Recording and Reporting, and Reflecting are the step of inquiry-based learning. There seven approaches in
giving assignment or task to the students according to Kahn and O’Rourke (2004). First, case-based
learning, it is a complex case is provided
to students and followed with in-class discussion about content and concepts. Second, scenario-based learning, students
participate in a ‘scenario’ designed to simulate
a relevant issue or problem. The scenario may involve an element of role play. Third, problem-based
learning, it is an authentic problem is used to define and drive the student learning experience. Fourth,
project-based learning, students work collaboratively
to explore a problem or issue and create a presentation/product to demonstrate their learning. Fifth,
individual research project, it is a student explores a problem or issue through a structured process
of enquiry – this may take the form of a research
module or a dissertation. Sixth, field work, it is a
small-scale investigation is undertaken
individually or in groups as part of a discipline related field trip. Seventh,
other, Respondents are asked to
provide further information.
Here
is an example of scenario-based learning. Students meet for six hours each week. They will work on this assignment in class
for two weeks. Students have
been divided into six groups of four students each. Each group is having problems with a particular grammar point. All of these grammar points have been taught
several times during class hours,
but students are still having difficulty producing the standard forms. Assignment: Working with your team-mates,
locate a web site that will help you
to understand. Group 1: subject/verb agreement. Group 2: use of the past participle. Group 3:
active vs passive adjectives. Group 4: formulating conditional statements. Group 5: using the past perfect tense. Group 6: forming and using the past tense and the present perfect tense.
Do the exercises that you find on the website, and work with each other to make sure you understand the
concepts. Then, write a skit in which one of you has to teach the
grammar point to the other members of the group. Each
group will have 15 minutes in which to perform the skit for the other members
of the class.
From the example above
the author believe the students will ask and apply many language expression in group in order to figure out the topic given
by the teacher. After that they can
use it in a skit and the other student can take a note about the language expression that already performed by the
performer, it can increase the critical thinking and participation of the students. At the end teacher
expect all of the students understand many
different grammars through language expression in the skit. After that the
teacher believe all of students
understand the usage of any grammar for certain language expression and its social function
rather than only understand the formula of a grammar
without know the appropriate condition for using that’s formula. Techer also expect the students experienced the
real situation and condition in their real life or their daily activities. So, make students being
familiar with appropriate language expression for
certain situation and condition in their real life is the purpose of this
assignment in order to create meaningful
teaching and learning process.
References
http://www.dictionary.com/
Accessed on October 12, 2016
Kahn and O’Rourke. 2004. Handbook of Enquiry & Problem Based
Learning, Barrett, T., Mac
Labhrainn, I., Fallon, H. (Eds). Galway. Liverpool.
Moreno, P. 2000: 11. The
implications of curriculum design for a graduate of the English language program at Universidad Veracruz Ana.
Unpublished dissertation. Mexico.
Nunan, D. 2006: 6. Syllabus Design Oxford. Oxford University
Press.
