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 CONTENTS

LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS ix

SERIES EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION xi

FOREWORD xiii

PART I
CONCEPTS AND PRINCIPLES

INNOVATIVE APPROACHES IN TEACHING AND

LEARNING: AN INTRODUCTION TO INQUIRY-
BASED LEARNING FOR STEM PROGRAMS
Patrick Blessinger and John M. Carfora 3

INQUIRY-BASED LEARNING IN AN
UNDERGRADUATE HONOURS PROGRAM: LESSONS
FROM THE BACHELOR OF HEALTH SCIENCES
HONOURS PROGRAM AT McMASTER UNIVERSITY
Barb Bloemhof 21

TWO DECADES OF INQUIRY-ORIENTED LEARNING

IN FIRST YEAR UNDERGRADUATE PHYSICS
LABORATORIES: AN AUSTRALIAN EXPERIENCE
Les Kirkup 41

ARNOLD ARONS: PIONEER OF INQUIRY-BASED

LEARNING IN PHYSICS
Richard R. Hake 59

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 vi CONTENTS

PART II
PRACTICES AND STRATEGIES

MIT’S INTRODUCTION TO BIOLOGICAL

ENGINEERING: A LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF A
FRESHMAN INQUIRY-BASED CLASS
Natalie Kuldell and Rudolph Mitchell 75

PROBLEM BASED LEARNING APPROACHES TO

TEACHING CHEMISTRY
Dylan Powell Williams 93

AN INTENTIONAL AND FACILITATIVE

STUDENT-CENTERED APPROACH TO ENHANCE
INQUIRY-BASED LEARNING THROUGH
AUTHENTIC, HYPOTHESIS-DRIVEN RESEARCH
Amelia J. Ahern-Rindell 113

IBL AND MATHEMATICS: THE NECESSITY OF

FLEXIBLE KNOWLEDGE
Vanessa R. Pitts Bannister and Gina J. Mariano 135

ADVANTAGES OF SCIENCE EDUCATION

OUTDOORS THROUGH IBSE METHODOLOGY
Ana Cristina Tavares, Susana Silva and 151
Teresa Bettencourt

INQUIRY-BASED LEARNING IN ACTION:

REFLECTIONS ON AN INTERDISCIPLINARY
MASTER’S PROGRAM IN THE HEALTH AND LIFE
SCIENCES
Marjolein B. M. Zweekhorst, Wanda S. Konijn, 171
Jacqueline Broerse and Jeroen Maas

A NARRATIVE-BASED BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN

NURSING PROGRAM: EXPERIENCES AND INSIGHTS
Baiba Zarins and Lorraine Carter 193

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 Contents vii

MODELING SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY TO GUIDE

STUDENTS IN THE PRACTICES OF SCIENCE: THE
ED3U TEACHING MODEL OF CONCEPTUAL
CHANGE IN ACTION
Richard E. Shope and William F. McComas 217

UTILISING CONTEXT IN LEARNING

Wendy Trimmer and Philip Hawes 241

EVALUATING EUROPEAN INQUIRY-BASED

EDUCATION PROJECTS THROUGH THE LENS OF
EVALUATION CAPACITY BUILDING
Fabio Dovigo and Vincenza Rocco 257

INQUIRY-BASED LEARNING IN MATHEMATICS

Mindy Capaldi 283

ENHANCING INQUIRY-BASED LEARNING

ENVIRONMENTS WITH THE POWER OF PROBLEM-
BASED LEARNING TO TEACH 21ST CENTURY
LEARNING AND SKILLS
Henk Huijser, Megan Y. C. A. Kek and Ruth Terwijn 301

ABOUT THE AUTHORS 321

AUTHOR INDEX 333

SUBJECT INDEX 341

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 LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS

Amelia J. Ahern- University of Portland, Portland, OR, USA

Rindell
Teresa Bettencourt University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
Patrick Blessinger International HETL Association,
New York, NY, USA
Barb Bloemhof McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario,
Canada
Jacqueline Broerse VU University, Amsterdam,
The Netherlands
Mindy Capaldi Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, IN,
USA
John M. Carfora Loyola Marymount University,
Los Angeles, CA, USA
Lorraine Carter Nipissing University, North Bay, Ontario,
Canada
Fabio Dovigo University of Bergamo, Bergamo, Italy
Richard R. Hake Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
Philip Hawes Whitireia Community Polytechnic, Porirua,
New Zealand
Henk Huijser Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary
Education, Batchelor, Australia
Megan Y. C. A. Kek University of Southern Queensland,
Toowoomba, Australia
Les Kirkup University of Technology, Sydney,
New South Wales, Australia
Wanda S. Konijn VU University, Amsterdam,
The Netherlands
ix

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 x LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS

Natalie Kuldell Massachusetts Institute of Technology,

Cambridge, MA, USA
Jeroen Maas VU University, Amsterdam,
The Netherlands
Gina J. Mariano Troy University, Troy, AL, USA
William F. McComas University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR,
USA
Rudolph Mitchell Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
Cambridge, MA, USA
Vanessa R. Pitts Florida A&M University, Tallahassee, FL,
Bannister USA
Vincenza Rocco University of Bergamo, Bergamo, Italy
Richard E. Shope Loyola Marymount University,
Los Angeles, CA, USA
Susana Silva University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
Lorraine Stefani University of Auckland, Auckland,
New Zealand
Ana Cristina Tavares University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
Ruth Terwijn University of Southern Queensland,
Toowoomba, Australia
Wendy Trimmer Whitireia Community Polytechnic, Porirua,
New Zealand
Dylan Powell Williams University of Leicester, Leicester, UK
Baiba Zarins Nipissing University, North Bay, Ontario,
Canada
Marjolein B. M. VU University, Amsterdam,
Zweekhorst The Netherlands

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 SERIES EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this series is to publish current research and scholarship on

innovative teaching and learning practices in higher education. The series is
developed around the premise that teaching and learning is more effective
when instructors and students are actively and meaningfully engaged in the
teaching-learning process.
The main objectives of this series are to:
1. present how innovative teaching and learning practices are being used in
higher education institutions around the world across a wide variety of
disciplines and countries,
2. present the latest models, theories, concepts, paradigms, and frame-
works that educators should consider when adopting, implementing,
assessing, and evaluating innovative teaching and learning practices,
and
3. consider the implications of theory and practice on policy, strategy, and
leadership.
This series will appeal to anyone in higher education who is involved in
the teaching and learning process from any discipline, institutional type, or
nationality. The volumes in this series will focus on a variety of authentic
case studies and other empirical research that illustrates how educators
from around the world are using innovative approaches to create more
effective and meaningful learning environments.
Innovation teaching and learning is any approach, strategy, method,
practice, or means that has been shown to improve, enhance, or transform
the teaching-learning environment. Innovation involves doing things differ-
ently or in a novel way in order to improve outcomes. In short, innovation
is positive change. With respect to teaching and learning, innovation is the
implementation of new or improved educational practices that result in
improved educational and learning outcomes. This innovation can be any
positive change related to teaching, curriculum, assessment, technology, or
other tools, programs, policies, or processes that leads to improved educa-
tional and learning outcomes. Innovation can occur in institutional devel-
opment, program development, professional development, or learning
development.
xi

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 xii SERIES EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION

The volumes in this series will not only highlight the benefits and theore-
tical frameworks of such innovations through authentic case studies and
other empirical research but also look at the challenges and contexts asso-
ciated with implementing and assessing innovative teaching and learning
practices. The volumes represent all disciplines from a wide range of
national, cultural, and organizational contexts. The volumes in this series
will explore a wide variety of teaching and learning topics such as active
learning, integrative learning, transformative learning, inquiry-based learn-
ing, problem-based learning, meaningful learning, blended learning, crea-
tive learning, experiential learning, lifelong and lifewide learning, global
learning, learning assessment and analytics, student research, faculty and
student learning communities, as well as other topics.
This series brings together distinguished scholars and educational practi-
tioners from around the world to disseminate the latest knowledge on inno-
vative teaching and learning scholarship and practices. The authors offer a
range of disciplinary perspectives from different cultural contexts. This
series provides a unique and valuable resource for instructors, administra-
tors, and anyone interested in improving and transforming teaching and
learning.

Patrick Blessinger
Founder and Executive Director,
International HETL Association

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 FOREWORD

In the United States in particular, millions of dollars have been poured into
improving undergraduate education in science, technology, engineering and
mathematics (STEM) education. This is in response to mounting concern
about a lack of scientists, engineers and mathematicians to keep the United
States in the forefront of research, innovation and technology. As the chap-
ters in this book demonstrate this focus on STEM education has resulted
in research into, and implementation of, a range of different classroom
practices, the development of curricula designed for authentic STEM learn-
ing experiences and shifts in pedagogical models and frameworks. A promi-
nent development has been that of inquiry-based learning (IBL) as applied
to STEM education. Interestingly in Australia and the United Kingdom
the terms IBL and problem-based learning (PBL) are used almost inter-
changeably albeit there are potential philosophical and conceptual differ-
ences between definitions of the terms.
There is a school of thought suggesting that PBL is one of the most inno-
vative, instructional methods conceived in the history of education. As a
pedagogical approach, PBL first came to prominence in response to the
widespread criticism that traditional teaching and learning methods fail to
prepare medical students for solving problems in clinical settings. This is not
a dissimilar reason for IBL coming to the forefront in STEM education.
The significant commonalities between PBL and IBL are that they are peda-
gogies which have their origins in the work of the American philosopher
and educator John Dewey (1859
1952), father of the experiential learning
movement. Dewey’s view of learning essentially assigns a major role to what
can be best described as a creative intelligence in the discovery of new ideas
in the disciplines. At its best, IBL is a student-centred active learning
approach, focusing on questioning, critical thinking and problem solving.
What makes IBL as applied to STEM education intriguing is the idea of
STEM as a meta-discipline, that is, the creation of a discipline based on the
integration of other disciplinary knowledge into a new ‘whole’. STEM edu-
cation is an inter-disciplinary, some might say trans-disciplinary approach
where rigorous academic concepts are coupled with authentic real-world
learning as students apply science, technology, engineering and mathematics

xiii

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 xiv FOREWORD

learning that can help to make connections between formal learning, com-
munity learning and work-based situations. It is in no way an easy task to
achieve a meta-disciplinary approach in learning and teaching and it would
be wrong to suggest that we have completed this journey with respect to
integrative STEM education. However, by applying IBL within the STEM
subject areas, we are by definition: facilitating student learning rather than
pushing students through a content-driven curriculum (guide on the side
rather than sage on the stage); supporting the development of self-directed
learning skills (inquiring, questioning, researching
all of which are likely
to encourage boundary crossing between disciplines); supporting co-
creation of new knowledge (empowering students to create knowledge
rather than having all knowledge imposed).
Clearly, the effective use of new technologies in the classroom greatly
enhances the potential of IBL in STEM education. Learning is no longer
confined to official classroom hours or the availability of textbooks. Most
students in the 21st century carry with them their own personal digital envir-
onments; they communicate constantly using social media and they are con-
summate consumers of information instantly available to them. The real
trick for meaningful learning lies in strategies that enhance their information
literacy skills. Although IBL predates the technologies we have available to
us today, new technologies might be said to be ‘made to measure’ for IBL
and IBL as applied to STEM in particular. Digital technologies support a
range of learning styles and strategies and their huge advantage lies in the
potential for connectivity and creativity as well as access to increasingly
sophisticated software and experimentation in learning.
The chapters in this book will inspire and motivate all STEM teachers
and facilitators of learning to take the ideas into their own classrooms, to
provide authentic learning experiences for learners and to increase engage-
ment for STEM students.

Lorraine Stefani
Professor of Higher Education Strategic Engagement
Faculty of Education, University of Auckland

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 PART I
CONCEPTS AND PRINCIPLES

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 INNOVATIVE APPROACHES IN
TEACHING AND LEARNING:
AN INTRODUCTION TO
INQUIRY-BASED LEARNING
FOR STEM PROGRAMS

Patrick Blessinger and John M. Carfora

ABSTRACT
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 STEM programs. This chapter provides a synthesis and
analysis of the chapters in the volume, which present a range of case stu-
dies and empirical research on how IBL is being used across a range of
courses across a range of institutions within STEM programs. Based on
these findings, this 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

Inquiry-Based Learning for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Programs:
A Conceptual and Practical Resource for Educators
Innovations in Higher Education Teaching and Learning, Volume 4, 3
19
Copyright r 2015 by Emerald Group Publishing Limited
All rights of reproduction in any form reserved
ISSN: 2055-3641/doi:10.1108/S2055-364120150000004001
3

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 4 PATRICK BLESSINGER AND JOHN M. CARFORA

“how-to-learn”
where increasingly higher levels of self-directed learn-

ing is fostered
and where students grow in the three key areas of learn-
ing: affectively, behaviorally, and cognitively. To that end, this chapter
argues that IBL, if designed and implemented properly, can be an impor-
tant approach to enhancing and transforming teaching and learning in
higher education.
Keywords: STEM; inquiry; active learning; meaningful learning;
problem-based learning

INTRODUCTION
As the academic knowledge base and research has grown over the last few
decades on the effectiveness of inquiry-based learning (IBL), an increasing
number of colleges and universities have adopted this approach as a means
to enhance and transform the teaching and learning experience for instruc-
tors and students. This volume presents research-based evidenced by
educational scholars and practitioners from around the world on how IBL
is being used to strengthen the relations between teaching, learning,
and research. The potential for IBL enhance the teaching, learning, and
research nexus lies in nurturing a mindset of inquiry that infuses all aspects
of the teaching
learning experience (Carfora, 2011; Lee, 2013). Since the
main purpose of any human-based organism (e.g., individual, organiza-
tional, community) is to organize and make meaning from their experi-
ences, they naturally ask questions in order to investigate and understand
their experiences (Daloz Parks, 2000; Doherty, Riordan, & Roth, 2003;
Kovbasyuk & Blessinger, 2013). Thus, asking questions and seeking
answers to those questions is a natural part of learning in the human
experience. IBL with its focus on inquiry, intentionality, and meaning-
making as a means to learn is therefore well suited for this purpose.
Educational institutions can therefore serve as catalysts to cultivate this
inquiry-oriented learning process and also provide a safe and nurturing
environment to question, to investigate, to take reasonable risks, and to
develop more self-regulated learners. IBL can be used to foster higher-order
thinking, develop deeper intellectual capacities, as well as clarify
personal values, identity, and meaning-making. Mezirow (1991) states that,
“Making meaning is central to what learning is all about” (p. 11).
According to Mezirow (1991), people are better able to accept knowledge
when it is consistent with their existing knowledge base and their own

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 Innovative Approaches in Teaching and Learning 5

experiences. Kovbasyuk and Blessinger (2013) explain why open meaning-

making educational processes are important to advanced learning because
this type of learning challenges learners to investigate a question or pro-
blem from multiple perspectives. In inquiry-based learning spaces, educa-
tors help create learning spaces in which continual questioning and
meaning-making is at the heart of the teaching
learning process.
In response to some of the perceived shortcomings of IBL (Kirschner,
Sweller, & Clark, 2006), Hmelo-Silver, Duncan, and Chinn (2007) present a
large body of evidence that shows the effectiveness of IBL as a teaching

learning strategy if designed and implemented properly relative to the parti-
cular teaching
learning context. The authors conclude that “… there is
growing evidence from large-scale experimental and quasi-experimental
studies demonstrating that inquiry-based instruction results in significant
learning gains in comparison to traditional instruction and that disadvan-
taged students benefit most from inquiry-based instructional approaches”
(p. 104). The empirical evidence in this volume, as well as the three previous
IBL volumes in this series, adds to this IBL knowledge base. At the heart
of IBL is the recognition that education is about learning both the episte-
mic knowledge and the epistemic practices of the domain(s) being studied
since both components together help to more effectively prepare students
to begin thinking like a practitioner in the domain (e.g., to think like an
chemist, to think like an engineer, to think like a mathematician), which in
turn produces learning that is more authentic (Bereiter & Scardamalia,
2006; Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 2000; Sandoval & Reiser, 2004).
In light of this large knowledge base of evidence on the effectiveness of
IBL, the chapters in this volume demonstrate how the IBL approach is
being utilized across a range of educational sceneries and institutional types
in the STEM fields. The examples provided in this volume (e.g., case stu-
dies, empirical research studies) provide in-depth and broad examples of
how IBL can be used to design flexible and effective learning environments
for the STEM fields. The chapters in this volume cover the core theories,
concepts, and principles related to IBL as well successful practices and
strategies for IBL implementations at a variety of colleges and universities
around the world.
The chapters in this volume illustrate the effectiveness of IBL to work
within any institutional regardless of institutional type because IBL over-
laps and integrates with several important learning theories that have been
shown to be effective in cultivating higher-order thinking and academic
motivation among students (e.g., active learning, problem-based learning,
project-based learning, meaningful learning). The chapters in this volume

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 6 PATRICK BLESSINGER AND JOHN M. CARFORA

provide a wide- and far-reaching overview of recent developments in IBL

theories and pedagogical practices (Barrow, 2006; Bell, Urhahne,
Schanze, & Ploetzner, 2010; Blessinger & Carfora, 2014a, 2014b, 2015;
Bruner, 1961, 1990; Eslinger, White, & Frederiksen, 2008; Garrison,
Anderson, & Archer, 2000; Gredler, 2009; Hmelo-Silver et al., 2007; Lee,
Greene, Odom, Schechter, & Slatta, 2004; National Research Council,
1996; Spronken-Smith, 2012; Vygotsky, 1962, 1978).
Recent developments (e.g., changing student demographics, shifting
workforce needs, globalization) are requiring institutions to redefine their
notions of teaching and learning in the 21st century. In response to these
growing pressures, more institutions are seeking more effective ways to
engage and prepare students. To this end, Kuh (2008) identified several
high impact learning models that increase student engagement (e.g., service
learning, civic engagement, undergraduate research, education abroad).
IBL creates new opportunities for instructors, students, and institutions to
teach and learn in more effective ways. This is especially important since
higher education in the 21st century is a more complex enterprise than in
previous decades due to increased demands placed upon it by society,
policy makers, employers, and other group(s) that have an interest in the
outcomes shaped by higher education. The examples provided in this
volume therefore serve to illustrate on how IBL is being used in novel ways
in the STEM fields.
The chapters in this volume also illustrate the dramatic impact advances
in new learning research and theories are having upon educators’ notions
of what it means to teach and learn. The modern era is characterized by
dramatic increases in the production of new knowledge
and conversely,
the dramatic decrease in the shelf-life of new knowledge
and the growing
democratization of higher education (Blessinger & Anchan, 2015). Thus,
IBL with its inherent qualities of authenticity, real-world problem-solving,
and focus on open mean-making offers a promising approach to enhance
and transform the quality of teaching and learning by adopting a more
learning-centered teaching approach.

ADOPTION PRINCIPLES

Two key principles emerge from the findings of the chapters in this volume
that help frame on how IBL is being used within the STEM fields:

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 Innovative Approaches in Teaching and Learning 7

1. IBL is an approach to active learning that is driven by authentic

problem-based questions. IBL is typically grounded in a constructivist
based approach to teaching and learning and has its roots in the educa-
tional philosophy of John Dewey, which states that the essence of learn-
ing is the process of constructing meaning from knowledge consumption
and production. Key ingredients in this process are learning by doing
and developing the skill to “learn how to learn.” Because IBL is often
oriented around learning by doing, it often involves problem-based
learning and project-based learning also which is naturally suited for
STEM disciplines.
2. IBL is considered a learning-centered approach to education where the
instructors serve as facilitators and guides in the inquiry process. Most
inquiry-based projects are not completely unstructured. Rather, they are
operated on a continuum and require appropriate planning, design, and
assessment by the instructor. Thus, the roles of instructors and students
are different than in traditional teaching-centered or curriculum-
centered classrooms. With IBL, students learn to take increasing
amounts of responsibility for their own learning (self-regulated learning)
and they learn in more authentic ways (meaningful learning).

These principles reflect that IBL must be adapted to the context of the
learning goals of the course and the mission, vision, and shared values of
the institution. Although learners assume increasing responsibility for their
own learning, the instructor plays a critical role in creating the necessary
conditions for the learning environment. Since learners are learning to be
more self-directed, academic motivation is likely to be increased as well, all
else being equal. Moving from deeply embedded traditional teaching

learning roles (e.g., the instructor as the sole knowledge expert, the lecture
as the only means to facilitate learning, the textbook as the only or main
repository of information, and the student as passive recipient of informa-
tion dispensed solely through a steady diet of lectures) to IBL roles can be
a major transition because along with taking on new roles comes the devel-
opment of a new mindset about the purpose and nature of teaching and
learning in the modern era, which may be a formidable hurdle for those
who are deeply entrenched in more traditional modes of teaching and
learning.
While the student makes the transition from a passive participant to an
active participant in the learning process, the instructor must also make
the transition from solely a content specialist to an instructional leader, a

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 8 PATRICK BLESSINGER AND JOHN M. CARFORA

learning architect, and a learning mentor and facilitator. In the IBL

teaching
learning approach, both roles are greatly expanded, better
defined, and better focused on attaining more explicit, higher-order learn-
ing outcomes. Also important is the quality of the relationship between
instructor and learner, as well as between learners. IBL requires more inter-
action and collaboration among all participants. IBL requires careful plan-
ning and a great deal of commitment to move past the growing pains of
implementing a new paradigm and the organizational cultural resistance
that may resist this change. However, as the chapters in this volume
indicate, over the long-term, the benefits of IBL are worth the effort.

IMPLEMENTATION BENEFITS

A growing body of research suggests that IBL can be an effective teaching

and learning strategy if implemented properly with regard to context and
the linking of teaching, learning, research, and assessment (Blessinger &
Carfora, 2014a, 2014b, 2015; Cuneo et al., 2001, 2012; Justice et al., 2007;
Lynch, Kuipers, Pyke, & Szesze, 2005; Vajoczki, Watt, Vine & Xueqing
2011). If utilized appropriately and in a purposeful manner, IBL can pro-
duce positive learning effects in the classroom. Since IBL is oriented
around authentic and meaningful learning, it is well suited to align better
with a student’s own value system, learning needs, and life and career
aspirations.
One of the key advantages of IBL is that students learn to identify and
define meaningful questions and authentic problems to investigate, which
they then use inquiry and research to address. This approach is important
because it more closely models the way real professionals and scientist learn
and create new knowledge. The instructor, as knowledge expert, serves as a
resource by guiding the student through the inquiry process, which
develops multiple skills in students and fosters collaborative learning
since students often work together on projects together. Any inquiry-based
approach can work at any level but the instructor, as learning architect,
must decide how much guidance is needed and how much direct instruction
is needed. Ideally, one chief aim of inquiry-based classrooms is to create a
culture of inquiry where the spirit of inquiry is diffused in all learning
activities.
IBL does not just involve having students do projects or answer
questions posed by instructors during classroom discussions but rather it

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 Innovative Approaches in Teaching and Learning 9

aims to develop deep discipline-based thinking. IBL is an umbrella term

that refers to a strategic approach to learning that often involves, to
varying degrees depending on the grade level and discipline and educational
context, problem-based learning, project-based learning, and research-
based learning. Common inquiry-based elements include: addressing
authentic questions/issues, developing higher-order thinking through
honing research and communication skills, collaborating with peers and
knowledge experts, and developing solutions to complex problems. IBL is a
type of active learning strategy because it engages the student in their own
knowledge production and epistemic practices of the discipline by putting
the main locus of control for learning with the student so that she/he can
develop the skills necessary to continue to learn long after leaving the
classroom. Thus, in addition to many cognitive benefits, IBL is a more
holistic learning strategy for developing important psychological, social,
and behavioral qualities and skills necessary for higher-order thinking and
lifelong learning.

THEORETICAL FRAMING

In a broad sense, IBL can be viewed as a set of learning and assessment

strategies and standards where student learning is grounded in inquiry
that is driven by questions and problems relevant to the course and learn-
ing objectives (Levy, Lameras, McKinney, & Ford, 2011). IBL is a form
of active learning that engages students in a more meaningful, purposeful,
and self-regulated way to learn. IBL is applicable and relevant across all
disciplines and levels within education and in both formal and informal
learning situations (Levy, Little, McKinney, Nibbs, & Wood, 2010). The
broad based, ubiquitous applicability of IBL allows its benefits to be used
in virtually every aspect of teaching and learning, and also provides a
common theoretical framework upon which to design more effective
learning environments without the need to create a rigid system of stan-
dardization across educational disciplines and levels. The key to effective
design is in the contextualization of IBL to the specific level, discipline,
course, learning objectives, etc. At the heart of IBL is an inquiry teaching
and learning process where all learning activities and assessments are
purposefully designed to cultivate knowledge building and higher-order
thinking through exploration of authentic and meaningful questions and
problems.

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 10 PATRICK BLESSINGER AND JOHN M. CARFORA

The National Research Council (NSES p. 23) defines scientific inquiry

as “the diverse ways in which scientists study the natural world and pro-
pose explanations based on the evidence derived from their work. Scientific
inquiry also refers to the activities through which students develop knowl-
edge and understanding of scientific ideas, as well as an understanding of
how scientists study the natural world.” This definition reflects how scien-
tists investigate the natural world and how STEM students gain epistemic
knowledge and become immersed in the practice of authentic science. Thus,
understanding math and science is enhanced when it is grounded in authen-
tic scientific inquiry. At the heart of all inquiry is the ability to identify
meaningful problems and to ask meaningful questions that can be
answered through scientific inquiry. Inquiry-based science requires students
to conduct investigations in order to collect data. It is through the applica-
tion of the scientific method that students learn to collect and analyze data
in order to arrive at plausible evidence-based answers to the questions.
Finally, scientific inquiry requires students to communicate and defend
their conclusions. Thus, IBL is naturally suited to this scientific process.
IBL has its roots in a constructivist-based educational philosophy
a
rich and extensive epistemology whereby learners construct knowledge
through interaction with ideas, experiences, and empirical data
and is
oriented around three main components:

(1) exploration and investigation (e.g., problem-based learning, collabora-

tive learning, self-directed learning, meaningful learning),
(2) authentic inquiries using contextualized and situated learning (e.g., field
learning, service learning, case-based learning), and
(3) research-based approach (e.g., research-based learning, project-based
learning, scaffolded learning).

As such, IBL naturally supports different modes of inquiry where the

questions to be answered or the problems to be solved are grounded in the
relevant epistemological basis (i.e., the type and level of course and disci-
pline, and mode of inquiry). IBL is based on the notion that learning is
more effective when one starts with overarching questions and/or problem
scenarios. For instance, as in academic and scientific research, one starts
with a research question(s) or problem and that drives the entire research
process. In like manner, IBL in the STEM fields is driven by an investiga-
tion into finding answers to address the questions and/or finding solutions
to the problems. In doing so, IBL transforms the teaching and learning
process where students also become the teachers to their peers.

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