Inquiry and Problem-Based Learning in the Online Environment
What are Inquiry and Problem-Based Learning?
Inquiry and problem-based
learning are closely related methodologies that promote student
exploration and discovery of course objectives and goals. Generally,
a lesson based on these methodologies is centered around a discipline-specific
problem or question that will be “solved” by student
discovery, rather than through an instructor's explanation. These
methodologies promote the acquisition of critical thinking and
problem-solving skills by giving students the hands-on experience
of solving a specific problem in the discipline that they are
studying. Research also demonstrates that in certain cases inquiry
and task-based exercises provide more retention of key facts
and ideas than discursive exercises (such as the traditional
lecture).
In inquiry and problem-based learning, the educational focus is on the process of solving or exploring a problem, rather than on the result. The goal of these lessons is to give students a grounding in the problem-solving and critical thinking skills that practitioners of a discipline require to be successful. To encourage the growth of these skills, most inquiry and problem-based lessons are centered on a problem similar to one that a practitioner of a given discipline would have to solve. The students are then guided through and assessed on how they go about solving the particular problem.
For example, a business course may use a case study of a real or simulated business problem that students would have to analyze as if they were advising the CEO of a company. Alternatively, in a history course, the problem may be a primary document that students would have to “solve” by contextualizing it historically and demonstrating its importance to the secondary historical literature. In both of these cases, the instructor of the course would establish milestones and documentation requirements to assess how the students were handling the problem. Furthermore, particularly for lower level or introductory courses, the instructor would also establish clear guidelines about the methodologies and steps that students should follow in order to solve these problems.
In teaching the process, the business course might require students to present an analysis of the problem, several scenarios of possible solutions, a cost-benefit analysis of each of those scenarios, and finally a business plan based on what they think is the best scenario. In the history course, the instructor might require a survey of several secondary historical sources that cover similar material, an analysis of who produced the document and why, a review of larger historical trends that may have influenced the writing, and a final paper that synthesizes all of this material. In both of these courses, the instructor defines clear milestones that provide both an introduction to the methodology of the field as well as a means to assess student progress and acquisition of these skills.
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