Inquiry Resources
Additional Inquiry-Based Learning Resources
Where Do Ideas Come From?
This short film from filmmaker Andrew Norton tackles the nebulous origins of inspiration. Does a good idea strike like a bolt of lightning, or does it emerge from a soup of random ingredients cooked at just the right temperature?You might wish to compare this clip to the popular and beautiful book by Kobi Yamada: What do you do with an idea?
Student-Driven Learning
Watch how Ralston Elementary School is creating a culture of inquiry to nourish 21st-century learners.
Essential Questions that Encourage Inquiry-Based Learning

PD: Asking Questions that Encourage Inquiry-Based Learning*

Source: 2010 Centre for Research In Mathematics Education University of Nottingham
How To Get into Inquiry-Based Learning: Part 1
First Steps to Inquiry
How To Get into Inquiry-Based Learning: Part 2
Working Towards Open Inquiry
How To Get into Inquiry-Based Learning: Part 3
Five Skills to Become an Inquiry Teacher
How To Get Into Inquiry-Based Learning: Part 4
Four Inquiry Skills to Nurture and Assess
Insight on Inquiry: Starting the Year in K
Strategy for Promoting Critical Thinking
Podcast: Interview Kimberly Mitchell About Inquiry-Based Learning

Inquiry: Thoughts, Views & Strategies

Helping Students Think About Their Learning
Power of Curiosity - Lesson Plan (Gr 3-5)
Using Inquiry to Support Deeper Learning
Strategies to Improve Feedback & Collaboration

Source: Tom Barrett's Blog
Inquiry-Based Articles
Click/Tap to ViewScaffolding Curiosity: 5 Precepts for Guiding Inquiry | Toddle | Cindy Blackburn | Through this workshop, Cindy reviews the guided inquiry approach and its benefits for supporting learners and explores 5 practical lessons for structuring and supporting guided inquiry.
Instructional Shifts to Support Deep Learning | Jay McTighe and Harvey Silver | Educational Leadership | September 2020
Parent Guide to Personal Inquiries in the PYP | International Baccalaureate Organization 2020
30 Universal Strategies for Critical Learning | Terry Heick | Teach Thought |
32 Habits That Make Thinkers | Terry Heick |Teach Thought |
Books That Support Inquiry-Based Learning
The Power of Inquiry
By: Kath Murdoch*** Customers outside Australia and New Zealand are able to purchase through the Follett IB store
How can we create learning environments that cultivate curiosity and grow young people as confident, capable and creative inquirers? How can we ensure that our teaching nurtures rather than diminishes the sense of wonder with which we are all born? How can we become better inquirers as we teach?
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--- How can we help our students grow as thinkers, collaborators, self-managers, communicators and researchers as they inquire? The Power of Inquiry is an inspiring and comprehensive guide to the implementation of quality inquiry practices in the contemporary classroom. Organized around ten essential questions, each chapter provides both a theoretical and practical overview of the elements that combine to create learning environments rich in purpose and passion.
by Sir Ken Robinson
Two books written by Sir Ken Robinson and recommended by Kath Murdoch are: The Element which introduces readers to a new concept of self-fulfillment through the convergence of natural talents and personal passions and Finding Your Element which helps people find their own Element.
**Finding Your Element: Sir Ken Robinson’s TED talk video
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The Element is the point at which natural talent meets personal passion. When people arrive at the Element, they feel most themselves and most inspired and achieve at their highest levels. With a wry sense of humor, Ken Robinson looks at the conditions that enable us to find ourselves in the Element and those that stifle that possibility. Drawing on the stories of a wide range of people, including Paul McCartney, Matt Groening, Richard Branson, Arianna Huffington, and Bart Conner, he shows that age and occupation are no barrier and that this is the essential strategy for transforming education, business, and communities in the twenty-first century.
Sir Ken Robinson’s TED talk video and groundbreaking book, The Element, introduced readers to a new concept of self-fulfillment through the convergence of natural talents and personal passions. The Element has inspired readers all over the world and has created for Robinson an intensely devoted following. Now comes the long-awaited companion, the practical guide that helps people find their own Element. Among the questions that this new book answers are:
How do I find out what my talents and passions are?
What if I love something I’m not good at?
What if I’m good at something I don’t love?
What if I can’t make a living from my Element?
How do I do help my children find their Element?
Finding Your Element comes at a critical time as concerns about the economy, education and the environment continue to grow. The need to connect to our personal talents and passions has never been greater. As Robinson writes in his introduction, wherever you are, whatever you do, and no matter how old you are, if you’re searching for your Element, this book is for you.
by Philip Cam
Philosophical Inquiry shows how to use the tools of philosophy for educational purposes. It is a practical guide to the philosophical arts of questioning, conceptual exploration and reasoning, with wide application across the school curriculum. It provides educators with an effective means of teaching students to think critically and creatively, to use their knowledge to solve problems, to deal with issues, to explore possibilities and work with ideas.
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Philosophical Inquiry emphasizes the use of collaborative learning, through class discussion, working with a partner, and small group work. This approach teaches students to think in socially responsible ways. It means that students become not only thinking individuals but also good team-players, with benefits that extend beyond the classroom and the school to community life and the world of work.
by Jay McTighe , Harvey F. Silver
Recommended by Kath Murdoch
Far too often, our students attain only a superficial level of knowledge that fails to prepare them for deeper challenges in school and beyond. In Teaching for Deeper Learning, renowned educators and best-selling authors Jay McTighe and Harvey F. Silver propose a solution: teaching students to make meaning for themselves.
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Contending that the ability to "earn" understanding will equip students to thrive in school, at work, and in life, the authors highlight seven higher-order thinking skills that facilitate students' acquisition of information for greater retention, retrieval, and transfer. These skills, which cut across content areas and grade levels and are deeply embedded in current academic standards, separate high achievers from their low-performing peers.
Drawing on their deep well of research and experience, the authors
Explore what kind of content is worth having students make meaning about.
Provide practical tools and strategies to help teachers target each of the seven thinking skills in the classroom.
Explain how teachers can incorporate the thinking skills and tools into lesson and unit design.
Show how teachers can build students' capacity to use the strategies independently.
If our goal is to prepare students to meet the rigorous demands of school, college, and career, then we must foster their ability to respond to such challenges. This comprehensive, practical guide will enable teachers to engage students in the kind of learning that yields enduring understanding and valuable skills that they can use throughout their lives.
by Ian Gilbert
The Little Book of Thunks follows on the success of Ian Gilbert's bestseller, Big Book of Independent Thinking. What is a "Thunk?" A "Thunk" is a beguiling question about everyday things that stops you in your tracks but that helps you start to think. Thunks are wonderful examples of provocations that can be used to stimulate inquiry. Also check out A Tin of Thunks.
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The "thunks" in the book cover a broad range of topics including truth, justice, reality, beliefs, the natural world, the human condition, art, beauty, existence, difference between right and wrong, good and bad, life and death, war, religion, love, friendship and a whole lot more. Some examples of "thunks" are:
What makes something ugly? (Here is a supporting image)
If I borrow a million dollars am I a millionaire?
Could a fly cause a plane to crash?
Are you man-made or natural?
When you comb your hair is it art?
Not only are "thunks" a fun way to develop thinking skills, but they also hit all the right buttons to encourage children to generate imaginative ideas to stimulate thinking and inquiry; look at and think about things differently and from other points of view; provide examples of what good provocations look like; and ask why, how, what if, or other unusual questions.
Remember, because there are no right or wrong answers to these questions, they are a great resource for teachers to use in the classroom in a myriad of situations or for conversation starters.