What is Inquiry?

Inquiry is a way of teaching that gets students to do most of the question-asking and answer-seeking. The role of the teacher is to design and guide experiences (and an environment) that encourage student discussion, collaboration, and critical thinking. 

Inquiry is an effective, evidence-based way to promote academic understanding and success. Inquiry puts more of the cognitive demand and learning responsibility on students. Most importantly, inquiry builds strong emotional bonds, promotes healthy SEL skills and breathes joyful curiosity into classrooms.

There are many reasons why inquiry isn’t implemented in more classrooms more often; time and curricular constraints among them. The biggest barrier, however, is that so few of us have actually experienced inquiry-based classrooms ourselves. Without good models of inquiry, it’s hard to know where to begin.

This is why Kimberly and the “inquiry five” framework have been such trusted guides for over a decade. They offer specific ways to get started with, and deepen, inquiry-based instruction.

The following five strategies form the backbone of our work: