FEATURE STORY:
Defining Inquiry-Based Learning at Langley By Sarah Beck, Director of Curriculum & Instruction Recently, I observed a third-grade social studies lesson co-taught by Shari Bozorgzad and Jessica Robinson. When I arrived, students were clustered in groups on the carpet at the front of the room, excitedly scribbling questions on yellow sticky notes spread out before them: “How does climate affect how people live in different regions?” “What causes a disaster to happen?” “How do hurricanes form from water?” Their teachers were circulating, encouraging students to generate as many questions as they could about their study of climate and regions in the United States. The focus and engagement in the room was a powerful example of inquiry in action. We know that students (and adults!) learn best when they are asking and answering interesting questions. Psychology research has found that curiosity is the “third pillar” of learning, alongside effort and intelligence (von Stumm, Hell & Chamorro-Premuzic, 2011). By engaging our students in inquiry-based learning, we know they are learning in a
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deeper and more complex way that allows them to develop the skills and mindsets they will need to be successful at Langley and beyond. It is through inquiry that learning is not only joyful, but also rigorous. By solving authentic problems, applying challenging skills, and exploring new concepts, students engage in a level of learning that extends and builds their abilities beyond their current performance. One of our greatest challenges as educators is to create such learning experiences for students on a daily basis. When I joined Langley’s administrative team this past summer, one of our goals was to capture and articulate Langley’s approach to inquiry instruction. We started by asking the question: When we are doing inquiry well at Langley – which we are, all the time – what is happening in our classes? And very quickly, we started to notice themes that we were able to synthesize and describe. We noticed
