Inquiry-based learning approach “is a student-centered teaching method that encourages students to ask questions and investigate real-world problems” (Scholl, 2023), which triggers the students’ curiosity and motivation through the self-exploration process to conclude instead of directly telling them what to do by the teachers. Critical thinking and problem-solving skills will be applied and practiced in this learning approach. There are some main characteristics of the inquiry-based learning approach. First, it engages students actively, not passively, in the learning process by allowing them to pose questions, find information, and make sense of what they find instead of passively receiving the information from the teacher only. Second, the starting point of using this approach is always from a question, problem, or scenario that provides the learners with a purpose for their learning and the direction to find the information for a conclusion or solution. Last, the teacher mainly acts as a facilitator rather than a director instructor, who is responsible for raising the questions and guiding the learners to better understand and absorb the esoteric knowledge or sudden epiphany by assisting in analyzing the information they discovered during the self-exploration process. (Llego & Amad, 2022).

The main methods used in conducting inquiry-based learning include group discussion and the process of raising and solving the question. It aligns well with our learning session because two major learning activities involve these two methods. For example, students will obtain a real-world scenario about opportunity cost from the teacher for in-class discussion. The learners will be separated into small groups firstly for research and analysis of the necessary information to obtain the conclusion, and then share ideas with the entire class and debate on any disagreement to achieve a common consensus finally. The process helps the learner develop “a deeper understanding of content because they are actively engaged in making meaning of the material” to form their interpretations of the knowledge rather than only reading or receiving the existing information from the textbook without personal understanding. (Pappas, 2021). Meanwhile, another activity is inviting economic experts from the society (such as stock companies etc.) to the class and holding Q&A sessions for students to express their curious questions and be able to obtain professional answers that connect with the real world, which performs the process of asking and solving the problems. In addition, a type of this learning approach called guided inquiry keeps the teacher only giving the questions to the learners and allows them to explore results by themselves. This learning type process completely aligns with the learning activity of group discussion, which asks the teacher to bring a scenario or problem and let the students self-explore to get a conclusion. When students are used to asking questions and seeking answers by themselves, they can become more independent in the learning process. This benefits our interactive learning design because teachers are more challenged to monitor student’s learning processes and effects through online courses than face-to-face.

References:

Scholl, A. (2023, March 14). What is inquiry-based learning? types, benefits, examples. SplashLearn Blog – Educational Resources for Parents, Teachers & Kids. https://www.splashlearn.com/blog/what-is-inquiry-based-learning-a-complete-overview/

Pappas, C. (2021, May 12). Instructional design models and theories: Inquiry-Based Learning Model. eLearning Industry. https://elearningindustry.com/inquiry-based-learning-model

Llego, M. A., & Amad, M. (2022, September 16). Inquiry-Based Learning: What it is and why you should use it. TeacherPH. https://www.teacherph.com/inquiry-based-learning/

COMMENT ON WANQIN’S BLOG POST #2

Link to the post: https://wanqinjiang68.opened.ca/2023/06/03/blog-2-learning-design-ii-and-assessment/#comment-5

Hi Wanqin,

Thanks for sharing your fantastic post! I gained some new ideas after reading your post about what and how the cooperative learning approach suits our learning session design from your perspective since my choice is inquiry-based learning. I agree with your idea that the cooperative learning approach could align with our learning design. It facilitates students’ learning processes and reduces learning difficulty through collaboration study. As you mentioned, students could discuss together when they encounter confused problems or esoteric concepts. By combining each other’s different understandings from their own perspectives, the problem or the concepts can always obtain a more comprehensive solution or explanation. The students do not need to struggle with the issue independently, which impedes their study progression. A connection I noticed between your work and mine is that we both mentioned sharing ideas with others in the learning process. One of the methods in the inquiry-based learning approach is group discussion as well, in which all the learners are separated into small groups firstly to investigate a problem and then combine all the groups into the whole class to share their ideas about the problem solution from a different point of view. I think the process of sharing ideas helps the students build a more profound and complete understanding of the materials from the perspectives of both others and themselves. Compared cooperative learning approach and inquiry-based learning approach, I feel the former focuses more on how collaboration benefits the learning progression, and the latter emphasizes how the students develop their learning skills and independence. Independence does not mean the students only perform the individual study; it represents the students’ motivation to do self-exploration in the study, whether in a group or individually.

Thanks,
Angel Liu

COMMENT ON JENNY’S BLOG POST #2

Link to the post: https://jennydong.opened.ca/blog2/

Hi Jenny,

Thanks for sharing your fantastic post! I agree with your opinion that the experiential learning approach is a combination of theoretical and practical learning processes. Most current learning methods only involve the theoretical approach, in which the students can only read, watch, and memorize the knowledge from a primary textbook or video resources. It is a usual way of studying but might not be the most efficient and effective way to achieve the most optimal learning outcomes because sometimes only plain words cannot bring a deep understanding of the concept into students’ brains. In other words, it is hard to determine whether the students actually understand and master the complex concepts they learned from the course or just perform “rote memorization” to cope with exams but do not know how to apply the knowledge in the real work context. Our topic – economics especially emphasizes real experiences because the knowledge from our topic always surrounds everyone’s daily life. Economics focuses on allocating limited resources and maximizing their societal values to solve problems. Resources allocation happens every day at every place, and the resources include not only capital but also labor, land, information, technologies, etc. Everybody must encounter at least one experiences in the past that involved participation in economics concepts, even if we did not actually realize it. For example, the concept of the opportunity cost “represents the potential benefits that an individual, investor, or business misses out on when choosing one alternative over another” (Fernando, 2023). When a person encounters a situation of fixing the cavity, they have two options: spend 200 dollars to fix the cavity immediately or wait for two months appointment to resolve the cavity without any charge. This is the judgment between the time and capital resources allocation. During the hesitation period, the individual must think about what they might lose if they chose the first option, and conversely; meanwhile, they would think about what potential benefits they might gain if they give up the first option and conversely. This is the hidden application of opportunity cost when people measure the potential benefits and the risks they may take while choosing between two options. This is just a typical example that happens in daily life, which may be difficult for the party themselves to pay attention to. However, suppose students experience this kind of situation in real-life and obtain the knowledge that connects this event with it. In that case, they can relate themselves to the knowledge and understand it clearly with their own interpretations. I feel connected with your choice of learning approach with mine because one of our activities is the guest lecture and its Q&A session, which combines both the experiential and inquiry-based learning approaches. Through meeting with real economic experts, such as the CEO of a public company, the students gain the experience of talking with field experts to obtain the views of knowledge from real-life examples. Meanwhile, the Q&A sessions provide the opportunity for students to learn and ask with curiosity, which helps them solve the confusion and consolidate learning with real-life examples as well.

Thanks,

Angel Liu

References:

Fernando, J. (2023, March 20). Opportunity cost formula, calculation, and what it can tell you. Investopedia. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/o/opportunitycost.asp