TECHNOLOGY FOR
TEACHING AND
LEARNING 2
Prepared by: Sylvester M. Suhayon
LESSON 3
Inquiry-Based
Learning
Lesson Outcomes
Discuss the salient features of inquiry-based learning and its
application to the attainment of mathematics learning competencies
and mathematics learning outcome.
Analyze how technologies for teaching and learning mathematics
can be maximized in inquiry-based learning.
Nature of Inquiry-Based Learning
Inquiry, in its simplest definition, is a process of asking questions.
This has spurred the numerous developments that we continue to enjoy in our society
today. It continues to usher the study of so many fields that enable various scientists and
experts to provide solutions to emerging issues affecting society in general.
In the classroom, in particular, the process of inquiry is a basic learning activity that every
teacher is expected to facilitate.
The development of the ability to ask among learners is primordial in the age of the
Fourth Industrial Revolution.
According to the Future of Jobs Report during the World Economic Forum, top three of
the ten skills needed in this age are complex problem solving, critical thinking and
creativity (Gray, 2016) which all start from the process of asking.
Inquiry-based learning as an approach essentially involves tasks requiring learners’ active
participation in finding answers to curricular questions.
The questions can run from very specific simple questions to more complex questions in
relation to the curriculum.
Learners are given opportunities to engage in self-regulated activities as they pursue their
investigation.
Using these in the mathematics classrooms can facilitate the development of
communication skills as it involves activities such as writing questions, deliberating on
ways of finding answers to curricular questions, and presenting outputs as evidences of
inquiry among others.
This approach encourages students to work together in accomplishing their task.
The process of inquiry starts from positing a question aligned to a content standard in the
K to 12 curriculum for Mathematics.
Investigation proceeds using various sources of information and presentation of outputs
of the students using a productivity tool.
Depending on the required output, the assessment tool that will be used should be given
to the students before the inquiry commences.
When to Use
Chisholm and Godley (2011) purport that inquiry-based instruction (IBI), which is also
referred to as inquiry-based learning (IBL), offers an especially appropriate approach to
learning about science since IBI can provide students with opportunities to investigate
and learn practical skills through hands-on activities.
As for mathematics, IBI can help students focus on how to solve problems in different
but logical ways.
Types of Inquiry
VIU (2020) presented four types of inquiry that can be used in facilitating classes. These
are:
1. Structured Inquiry
This lets the students follow the lead of the teacher as the entire class engages in one
inquiry together.
2. Controlled Inquiry
The teacher chooses topics and identifies the resources the students will use to answer
questions.
3. Guided Inquiry
The teacher chooses topics or questions and students design the product or solution.
4. Free Inquiry
Students are allowed to choose their own topics without any references to a prescribed
outcome.
Role of the Teacher
The success of IBL largely depends on the careful planning of the teacher in relation to
the curriculum.
The mathematics teacher needs to look into the learning competencies that can be
satisfied by a simple inquiry or more complex inquiry.
He/she controls and prepares the topic for investigation and guides the learners by setting
the questions to be explored.
Learners are allowed to design their own way of investigation and present their outputs
using technology tools that are afforded to them.
When technology is coupled with IBL, a gateway to information is opened and students
can have to information at anytime and anywhere.
It is assumed that the teacher is knowledgeable of the sources of information and whether
the learners have access to these sources.
When designing an IBL, the teacher has to consider the following fields proposed by Avsec
and Kocijncic (2016):
1. Prior knowledge and capacity
2. Context-Learners require meaning from experience.
3. Content and learning materials
4. Process
5. Strategy of reactions and behavior
6. Course outcomes
Role of Technology
The internet or the World Wide Web offers lots of platforms for mining information. It
has become the most sought our source of information because of the variety of tools that
abound.
Language is no longer a barrier in one’s search for information.
Depending on the unit of study in a mathematics curriculum, there are many free
educational websites that are available for the mathematics teachers and learners.
Due to the vastness of sources of information from the WWW, any mathematics teacher
who is using IBL has the responsibility to direct learners to websites that provide the
proper information.
The technology tools that are made available for the learners, whether online or offline,
should support the object of inquiry which is aligned to the learning competencies in the
K to 12 Mathematics Curricula.
It should be noted that the use of technology in IBL is just one of the many other sources
of information in the process of inquiry.
This does not exclude the other resources, human and non-human, in gathering
information.
Guiding them in locating online resources that are relevant in developing their research
and communication skills will let them learn the importance of using educational
resources in an explicit and implicit way.
