{"id":13863,"date":"2021-01-19T16:40:38","date_gmt":"2021-01-19T08:40:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/owis.org\/sg\/?p=13863"},"modified":"2023-09-20T17:59:37","modified_gmt":"2023-09-20T09:59:37","slug":"inquiry-based-learning-versus-traditional-classroom-methods","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/owis.org\/sg\/blog\/inquiry-based-learning-versus-traditional-classroom-methods\/","title":{"rendered":"Inquiry-Based Learning Versus Traditional Classroom Methods"},"content":{"rendered":"

Inquiry-based learning is a method that flips an important switch in your child\u2019s mind. It can be tailored to make any topic, any subject, interesting to every child. Through inquiry-based learning, even the most reluctant learner becomes excited and eager to engage.<\/p>\n

Have you ever tried to make it to the end of a book you found terribly dull? Did you make yourself plod onward, or did you simply set the book aside to gather dust? If it\u2019s difficult for you, as an adult, to become engaged with topics you find mundane, imagine how your child must feel when confronted with their least favourite school subjects.<\/p>\n

While there\u2019s nothing a teacher would rather experience than a classroom filled with students who are engaged, curious and eager to interact, this rarely happens. In reality, students are engaged and curious about topics they find interesting. For most, this means music and social media take priority over maths and language arts. There is a solution to this quandary, however, and it\u2019s called inquiry-based learning<\/a> (IBL). Here\u2019s how it works:<\/p>\n

Inquiry-Based Learning Is Student-Led<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Teachers act as facilitators in inquiry-led classrooms. This means they\u2019re present to guide students and to help keep them on track. The learning experience, however, is driven by the students as they generate questions, which they then research, explore, examine and discuss to find answers. Learning is an open-ended process where there is room for children\u2019s curiosity and more.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s take an example of a subject theme, like classic poetry, for instance. In a traditional classroom setting, this might require students to read through a pre-determined collection of poems written by famous poets, while discussing such elements as rhyme, meter and meaning.<\/p>\n

In the inquiry-based learning classroom, however, students decide how they wish to approach the topic. Instead of reading poems provided to them by a curriculum, they develop sets of questions to which they would like answers. Examples could include:<\/p>\n