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When a teaching method is described as inquiry or inquiry-based learning , it typically involves active learning in the setting of an open-ended investigation inspired by a specific question, problem, or project. The point of such an investigation is not to arrive at a "correct" answer that has already been determined by the teacher. Instead, students are expected to consult a variety of resources, investigate possible solutions, gather data, think critically about what they find, create a response that demonstrates what they have learned, seek dialogue and feedback, and be aware of new questions and problems that arose during their investigation. The last step is key; a good inquiry leads to more questions as the students discover that there are other questions, skills, and areas of knowledge that they would find useful, relevant, or interesting. In this way, instead of teaching students a preset or standardized body of knowledge, inquiry teaches them how to be the kind of person who can discover, understand, use, and discuss that kind of knowledge.
What do these ideas look like when put into practice? Here are a few examples of inquiry-style activities:
Although each of these inquiries is designed to introduce students to a particular type of knowledge, there is also room for students to engage with the task in a way that makes sense to them personally. For example, one young programmer may focus on creating amusing animations and sound effects for her game, while another is more interested in how to create multiple difficulty levels. The ability of the students to have an active part in choosing the direction of the investigation is intrinsic to true inquiry. For example, the music assignment gives the students room not only for musical creativity, but also for creativity in posing and solving the problem. One student might choose a short, simple tune and harmonize it in four different ways in the course of the arrangement, while another works on creating a jazzy instrumental version of a favorite pop ballad. By the end of the assignment, the first may know more about (and be more interested in pursuing) voice leading and cadence types, while the second has developed an interest in orchestration and jazz harmonies. In contrast, an assignment to "write a two-part invention for piano in the style of Bach" allows a music theory student a degree of musical creativity, but is not sufficiently open-ended to be considered inquiry.
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