How Inquiry-Based Learning Leads to Better Engagement?

posted on Nov 15, 2019

The common concern of every teacher and parent alike is that the student will sit through the entire span of a class and still not learn anything substantial from the lecture.

The common concern of every teacher and parent alike is that the student will sit through the entire span of a class and still not learn anything substantial from the lecture. Naturally, the time spent in the classroom is a total waste for all involved members and the ultimate goal of education will never be achieved. Student engagement in classrooms has thus been a widely researched topic. Experts have time and again surveyed students to obtain their feedback on lecture-based teaching as compared to the newly proposed learning methods. Of them, inquiry-based learning has received the best response from students as the underlying psychology at play gives this method the right foundation for better learning.

As evident from the name, inquiry-based learning is typically the learning method that follows a question-answer format. Instead of merely presenting the information, the teacher looks to discuss the topic as an answer to a specific question. The top CBSE school in Greater Noida West will follow this approach as it does away with the traditional one-directional control of education and students get an opportunity to engage in the class. Inquiry-based learning must form a crucial part of a school’s pedagogy as the reasons supporting this statement are truly irrefutable.

Inquiry-based learning creates the need to know

Human beings are wired to absorb only that information which they feel are essential for survival. Other topics are easily ignorable by our minds and we seldom pay attention to things we are not curious about. Education to children can act according to the same principle as students will only concentrate on subjects that they feel they “need to know” and simply ignore others that do not spur their curiosity. To break this natural wiring, curiosity must precede information and that is exactly what inquiry-based learning targets.

When the teacher places a question to the class, the students are compelled to brainstorm about it. As they feel to find the answer in their memories, curiosity stems in their minds. The “need to know” is thus created and students start seeking the answer. This is the right moment to present the information. They will easily absorb the topic as they now feel that the information is essential and store it in their memory.

It creates flow in education

A disengaged student will feel bored in the classroom. He/she will find it difficult to direct his/her attention to what the teacher is saying and soon enough, succumb to distractions that are far easier to focus on. This is natural to any human being who has to exert effort to pay attention as the process is exhausting for the mind. However, when this same person is presented with a question, the mind engages in the present happening and the effort required to pay attention diminishes. Flow is thus created and the person feels engaged.

The best preschool in Greater Noida West creates engagement through inquiry-based learning based on this same principle. Young children are easily distracted as they do not have any control over their attention span. By constantly engaging them with questions, the teachers can successfully keep their minds on the topic at hand and teach at a continuous flow. Monotony evaporates from classrooms with inquiry-based learning.

It leads to better research and rationality

Not all lessons in the paradigm of inquiry-based learning involve the teacher asking the questions and answering them right after. A crucial element of this technique is to empower students to control their educational pace and thus, they possess the freedom to raise questions and answer them as well. This directs the students to research. To raise better questions, they feel motivated to combined multiple resources and dig deep into subjects. The drive to learn becomes internal as inquiring transforms into a habit.

Isn’t that the goal of any top institute in the list of Greater Noida schools? To enable students to think for themselves and find out their own materials for research? Inquiry-based learning facilitates this from all angles which often leads to further engagement in the classrooms. Education reaches a new ground that is fueled by rational thinking and self-driven research.

Any modern school will recognise the essence of inquiry-based learning and follow its principles in the classrooms. And BGS Vijnatham naturally falls in that list who has adopted the technique from the very beginning to raise its educational benchmark and knowledge consumption. Inquiry-based learning is a vital element of the school’s pedagogy. Student engagement is a primary factor in its lessons. Schools like BGS follow a curriculum that the current century demands where knowledge and its consumption must take the forefront. Students today must own their learning and inquiry-based teaching paves the way for that to happen.