Inquiry-Based Learning for Multidisciplinary Programs: A Conceptual and Practical Resource for Educators: Volume 3

This chapter provides an introduction to how the inquiry-based learning (IBL) approach is being used by colleges and universities around the world to strengthen the interconnections between teaching, learning, and research within the multidisciplinary programs. This chapter provides a synthesis and analysis of all the chapters in the volume, which present a range of perspectives, case studies, and empirical research on how IBL is being used across a range of courses across a range of institutions within multidisciplinary programs. The chapter argues that the IBL approach has great potential to enhance and transform teaching and learning. Given the growing demands placed on education to meet a diverse range of complex political, economic, and social problems and personal needs, this chapter argues that education should be a place where students learn “how-to-learn” – where increasingly higher levels of self-directed learning is fostered – and where students grow in the three key areas of learning: cognitively, emotionally, and socially. To that end, this chapter argues that IBL, if designed and implemented properly, can be an important approach to enhancing and transforming teaching and learning.

This chapter introduces an approach to higher education developed and practiced over four decades at Roskilde University in Denmark. Known as the Roskilde Model, the approach is characterized by (1) a special type of self-directed learning (SDL), named “problem-oriented project learning” (PPL); (2) a way of organizing undergraduate education into broad interdisciplinary programs; and (3) an interdisciplinary profile where double-major graduate programs allow students to design their own academic and professional profiles. The chapter first explains similarities and differences between PPL and some related concepts of SDL: problem-based learning (PBL), inquiry-based learning, and project learning. Secondly, it outlines the origins and development of Roskilde University and of PPL. Thirdly, it introduces and discusses the building blocks and workings of PPL: problem-orientation, interdisciplinarity, the exemplary principle, participant direction, and group-based project work. Fourthly, it describes how studies are organized so as to realize PPL in practice. And finally, it outlines the challenges that current educational policy poses to practicing an educational alternative.

This chapter introduces the history and development of inquiry-based learning (IBL) and describes how teaching and learning strategies over several decades in P-12 and higher education have built upon the ideas of John Dewey. Though personal reflection, uncertain learning paths and outcomes, and mindful inquiry have been central foundations undergirding IBL, the approach now stands upon the shoulders of theoretical and research giants such as Piaget, Vygotsky, and Bruner. Over 100 years, modern IBL proponents like Gruenewald, have implemented and experimented, contributing to cognitive and social science pedagogy, for instance, by attempting to make contemporary teaching and learning relevant, thoughtful, and action-oriented.

Dewey’s work continues to dominate educational landscapes and inquiry-based approaches to teaching and learning have, in contemporary forms, withstood the test of time. Two case studies in this chapter illustrate how IBL has materialized as problem-based and place-based methodology, reflecting influences of social and cognitive constructivism, humanistic psychology, and eco-feminism. Those who embrace IBL continue to improve teaching and learning strategies in order to find more effective methods of immersing themselves and their students in globally critical conversations about essential life issues – inside and outside of classrooms – a central and enduring tenet of Dewey’s experiential learning.

The authors introduce an innovative and practical approach for conducting, directing, and teaching qualitative research through inquiry-based learning at the undergraduate level. Folknography is a qualitative research methodology that allows the undergraduate to successfully learn the academic concepts and guidelines required for participating in field investigations. This methodology relies heavily on the investigative techniques associated with ethnography, phenomenology, and sociology. Data collection techniques are specifically designed to reveal thick descriptions that represent the subjective attitudes, perspectives, and interpretations of the folk selected for investigation. The main objective of study is to gather qualitative data that allows for the emergence of a collective voice assumed to be representative of the targeted population. This chapter identifies three separate research projects in which undergraduate students immersed themselves in a specific setting; and, from that perspective, made important discoveries that expanded their knowledge of socio-cultural phenomena. Folknography is presented in this chapter as parallel actions; first, as a method of teaching undergraduates research; and, second as a system of data collection specific to qualitative investigations.

Developed in this chapter are the conceptual underpinnings and practices of an interdisciplinary “Indian Studies” course taught through a unique inquiry-based epistemological approach referred to as resonances. In providing a resource and model for others who teach sensitive and even controversial topics that include the study of other groups of people, this chapter progresses in four stages. Firstly, necessary insight is provided about the course’s unique context within state teacher certification requirements and standards documents. Secondly, the nascent theory of resonances is developed from and then as an alternative to dissonance theory and cultural matching. Thirdly, and continuing the development, practical, and pedagogical applications of resonance-as-inquiry are shared with indebtedness to autoethnography. And lastly, the relative successes and limitations of this particular epistemological approach are discussed phenomenologically.

Higher-education institutions have an increasing responsibility to foster “global citizenship,” enabling students to recognize injustice and pursue equity. As a first step to creating a larger “hub” for global justice, McMaster University set out to develop an interdisciplinary course on the topic. With high-level institutional support, a cross-campus, interdisciplinary course design team was formed to further investigate effective pedagogy. Inquiry-based learning (IBL) was considered a foundation for other learning strategies within the course because of its evidenced ability to instigate a process of “learning by doing,” requiring students to both self-direct their education and develop their capacities as independent learners. To provide a further evidence base, a student member of the committee also conducted a pan-Ontario study surveying relevant instructors on successful global justice pedagogies. Collectively, these findings were integrated to inform the development of “Global Justice Inquiry,” which is characterized by its small course size, open-inquiry style, and engagement of alumni, community partners, and faculty from across campus. This chapter details the process followed to develop this course, presenting it as a model that might be helpful to others looking to develop interdisciplinary inquiry offerings.

This chapter describes the unique journey of two faculty members and six undergraduate students through the field of social justice theory and practice during the implementation of inquiry-based learning (IBL) in a social justice course. The two faculty members, from different departments, Education and Religion Studies, collaborated to structure and co-teach the course using IBL pedagogical strategies. This collaborative opportunity was made possible through a generous grant from the 1976 Hamilton Faculty Fellowship that was administered through the college’s Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL). The six undergraduate students represented majors from different disciplines. The goal of this chapter is to share the IBL implementation and to discuss the advantages and limitations from the perspectives of both the students and the two faculty. The chapter describes: (1) our exploration of the practice of social justice including how it ties to the mission and core values of the college and the theoretical framework of IBL, (2) implementation of IBL, (3) student and faculty feedback on the experience, and (4) advantages and limitations of the practice in higher education with suggestions for future practice.

Inquiry-based learning (IBL) coupled with integrative and deep learning can result in learning that is expansive and comprehensive. Integrated learning, in essence, is helping students develop the ability to make connections and see relationships between subjects, themselves, and the world around them. But these student-driven integrative learning experiences should also encourage deep, long lasting learning. Based on the theoretical underpinning of these three areas – student-driven learning, integrative learning, and deep learning – I designed a term-long inquiry-based project for university freshman at the end of a year-long (three terms) Freshman Inquiry class. The primary project associated with the term is an electronic magazine which addresses an overall conflict, each major stakeholder’s perspective of the conflict, statistical data, a joint conflict resolution piece, and other supplemental information the group deems important. This project which is largely student-driven allows students to explore areas of interdisciplinary interest in a variety of ways. Such a multifaceted project challenges students to make connections between themselves and the seemingly disparate fields of science and social science on a local, national, and international level and ultimately allows them “ownership” of their learning.

This chapter reflects on the outcomes of the Digital Student Selves project at a small, specialist arts institution in the United Kingdom. The project aimed to promote increased student understanding of the research process as well as increased reflexivity by engaging students in an inquiry-based approach to unpacking experiences and perspectives of the role of technology in learning. Specifically, students were asked to consider the contribution of programme-specific learning technologies and social media to their creative identity and lifelong professionalism.

Discussion within this chapter outlines strategies that students employed in adopting blended approaches to learning and also presents key aspects of students’ negotiation of digital selfhood. The discussion therefore has relevance in considering current practices in support of digital confidence and how these might be refined or augmented. In this way, the student contributors become co-creators in the learning environment, influencing recommendations for institutional change and best practice.

This chapter presents a practice example of inquiry-based learning. A graduate level research methods course was designed to be student-centered and inquiry-based utilizing scaffolding assignments (Skene & Fedko, 2012), small group discussions (Huang, 2005), peer feedback (Skene & Fedko, 2012), and collaborative interactive exercises (Volet & Mansfield, 2006). Having students ask the questions in which they are interested (Jansen, 2011), find the resources to answer those questions, which then leads to new questions (Stripling, 2009), eventually culminates in the creation of a literature review and research proposal. The course concludes with a number of application exercises that connect theory to practice (Kuh, Chen, & Nelson Laird, 2007). Many of the specific in-class practices that support this inquiry-based approach are presented.

Design thinking has become something of a buzz word in innovation discussions and has recently also invested occupied education spaces. In this chapter we briefly compare design thinking to problem-based learning (PBL) and enquiry-based learning (EBL) approaches to problem solving in education before focusing on the approach itself and current debates about its meaning and significance. This chapter focuses particular attention on the problem finding aspect of design thinking and its integration of creative methods for solving a range of tame to wicked problems in a variety of spaces. We ground our analysis in three environments of design thinking and five specific cases of application across education sectors from primary through to university. The examples focus on the generative potential of design thinking for all students and especially those from non-design disciplines. It is this capacity of design thinking to complement existing pedagogies and provide inspiration for change and innovation that is the strength of the model.

This chapter aims to show how the inquiry-based learning (IBL) approach can be successfully used in online education. To this purpose, we will present the experience of the Digital Competence Program at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, which is designed considering the principles of collaborative work, implemented with a wide range of educational resources taking advantage of ICT benefits, is delivered online, and is finally evaluated from opinions voiced by students. In addition, it is a good example of a multidisciplinary approach since it covers several disciplines and helps to acquire a number of skills that professionals require in their personal and social environments and at the workplace.

This chapter explores how Clark University’s recent educational innovations in liberal education and effective practice (or LEEP) have led to a cultural shift in how “real-world,” “off-campus,” and “hands-on” experiences are viewed on campus. Instead of supplementing academic coursework, inquiry-based learning (IBL) opportunities that take place outside the classroom are being embraced as a fundamental mode of learning that animates what goes on inside the classroom. The goal is to engage students throughout their academic career by challenging them to take responsibility for connecting their learning through exploration, inquiry and by defining solutions to real-world issues. We connect IBL to the curriculum of one academic program, the entrepreneurship minor, to illustrate how a recurrent feedback loop emerges as the student moves through academic, co-curricular, and extracurricular experiences. We do this by mapping the student experience onto the curriculum and creating individual student pathways. With an emphasis on student-as-conduit, we demonstrate how non-course-based experiences can reinforce coursework, as well as how the curriculum can be responsive to the experiences of individual students.

This chapter describes the benefits for learners when librarians collaborate with discipline faculty to design inquiry-based learning experiences. The authors purport that the research strategies and information literacy that form the basis of student inquiry are as critical to student learning and success as discipline-specific course outcomes. Drawing upon research in librarianship and educational psychology, the authors demonstrate benefits from direct instruction in information literacy that maximizes the depth and breadth of inquiry, brings more sophisticated questions to course topics, and acknowledges cognitive, metacognitive, and affective facets of the research process. This closes learning gaps and builds students’ confidence as researchers while simultaneously encouraging openness to ambiguity and diverse ideas.

Improving students’ ability to strategize about the information landscape, approach literature of various disciplines, and determine information quality are all critical to learning transfer and the scholarly process. The authors discover alignment between inquiry models and the information search process and demonstrate how using models facilitates instructional design and communicating expectations to students. Practical examples illustrate how faculty might embed information literacy into inquiry-based courses to scaffold, challenge, and support inquiry.

Inquiry-based learning (IBL) is one of many approaches that enhance the quality of education by moving away from teacher-centered instructional methods and toward more student-directed approaches. This chapter describes the adult-centered program delivered by The College of New Rochelle, School of New Resources – a northeastern, liberal arts institution that is a pioneer in educating adult learners. A model program for educating today’s adult learner is introduced with particular emphasis on faculty implementation of IBL in the classroom and student’s responses to the Life Arts Project (LAP), which is incorporated in each six credit course seminar. Through the LAP, adult learners investigate course content through exploration and discovery, participate in critical inquiry, investigate various research methodologies, and experience project-based learning.

The reported inquiry-based learning (IBL) study was designed in 2012–2013 for the highest achieving undergraduate students at a research-intensive university in the United Kingdom (U.K.). In 2005, the University received national funding from the U.K. Higher Education Academy (HEA) to develop an innovative model of IBL to be used in a multidisciplinary context (Tosey, 2006). As a consequence, IBL was an obvious tool when, in 2012, the authors set out to design learning interventions to improve the teamwork and leadership skills of high-attaining students. In the process of exploring the application of IBL to this task, the need to ensure the intervention allowed for development in the conative domain was considered important. Historically, IBL practice at the University had catered well for cognitive and affective learning but had not been focussed to develop conation. A conative-heavy element was therefore purposefully designed into the latest IBL intervention.

This chapter provides guidelines and strategies for higher education faculty and faculty developers who wish to implement inquiry-based teaching models online. The chapter focuses on two specific inquiry-based (IB) instructional models: guided and open inquiry as these two models are considered more relevant to higher education students. The chapter will present validated processes for implementing IB teaching models and consider how these processes can be authentically replicated in online learning environments. The chapter will also examine issues and challenges involved in implementing IB teaching models online. Grounded in the challenges that faculty face in translating their instructional practice in online environments, the chapter suggests strategies and interactive tools to scaffold and model IB learning in online environments.

Through use of a well-conceived and time-tested protocol that will be explained in this chapter, students learn not only how to produce an independent project with personal meaning, but also learn how to think critically, identify, and engage with a topic in a way that brings lasting skill in personal inquiry into their lives. The inquiry-based scaffolding method of leading students through several group projects conducted in synch with the thematic seminar and their independent reading demonstrates that students enjoy the process of growing intellectually through stimulating discussions with peers, and then are well able to generalize the process and produce independent papers.

The focus of this chapter is upon workplace coaching, one of the deepest forms of communication where true understanding is formed between two people in rich dialogue.

Two domains of personal learning are presented: the inner theatre, which includes multi-source feedback, and the outer theatre, which includes action-learning projects (Callan & Latemore, 2008).

Two transformative learning strategies are considered in detail: the therapeutic metaphor (Atkinson, 1995) and the intensive journal (Progoff, 1992). Four case studies are then examined where clients engage in transformative change.

The chapter concludes with cautions for the professional coach and insists that coaching needs to be deeply respectful. Authentic coaches facilitate change with their clients, not to do things to them.

This chapter begins with an overview of the concept of intercultural competence and its fundamental role in our global society. Using examples of inquiry-based learning (IBL) methods as a means to provide interdisciplinary pedagogies that foster learners’ intercultural competence development, this chapter examines innovative approaches to respond to this global community need in the academic context. With a review of interdisciplinary IBL methods, the chapter centers on the following three principal areas: (1) role of IBL and service-learning (SL) in the development of intercultural competence within an interdisciplinary framework, (2) practical examples of how the author implements IBL using cooperative learning strategies and SL into humanities courses that consist of students from various disciplines ranging from health to political sciences for intercultural competence development, and (3) challenges and benefits of SL programs as forms of IBL.