This document discusses inquiry-based learning and its benefits. It notes that inquiry-based learning encourages students to take ownership of their learning, become co-creators of knowledge, and develop important skills like critical thinking that are useful for an uncertain world. The document provides examples of student feedback that praised inquiry-based learning for allowing active engagement, facilitating learning through doing, and making the learning experience more stimulating. It also outlines the schedule and assessments for a social work course that uses inquiry-based learning.

1. Researching
the
Social
World
B
Learning
in
Partnership
embracing
uncertainty,
encouraging
crea0vity,
empowering
the
learner

2. What kind of world is it that curricula in higher education
are preparing students for?
What kinds of capability, therefore, in general terms might
curricula be fostering?
(Barnett & Coate, 2005: 53)
Questions

3. Our
view…
‘…the
modern
world
is
characterized
by
heightened
levels
of
complexity
and
uncertainty.
Fluidity,
fuzziness,
instability,
fragility,
unpredictability,
indeterminacy,
turbulence,
changeability
contestability:
these
are
some
of
the
terms
that
mark
out
the
world
of
the
twenty
first
century’
(BarneE
and
Coate,
2005:
53)

4. Learning
as
researchers…
‘…can
help
develop
'research-­‐type‘
graduate
aEributes.
The
'aEributes'
in
ques0on
are
the
high-­‐level
generic
aEributes
that
are
necessary
to
allow
our
graduates
to
contribute
to
and
thrive
in
a
super-­‐complex
and
uncertain
future
where
the
ability
to
ques0on,
collate,
present
and
make
judgments,
quite
oQen
with
limited
or
unknown
informa0on,
increasingly
important;
key
aEributes,
it
is
argued,
that
are
necessary
for
our
graduates
to
contribute
effec0vely
to
Scotland's
civic,
cultural
and
economic
future
prosperity’
(Jenkins
2009:
3)

5. Why
inquiry-­‐based
learning?
‘Inquiry-­‐based
learning
inspires
a
ques0oning,
open
stance
in
students
and
to
foster
development
of
higher-­‐order
disposi0ons
and
capabili0es
–
in
areas
such
as
ini0a0ve,
self-­‐belief,
responsibility,
independence
of
mind,
cri0cal
judgment,
problem-­‐solving,
crea0vity,
self-­‐management,
collabora0on,
communica0on
–
that
are
essen0al
for
life
and
work
in
a
highly
complex
and
challenging
world’
(Levy
et
al
2011:
10)

6. learning
pedagogy
andragogy
heutagogy
Web
1.0
Web
2.0
Web
3.0
structured
dependent
passive
engagement
self
directed
independent
ac0ve
par0cipa0on
self
determined
interdependent
ac0ve
ownership
From instruction to discovery

7. Student
as
producer
• Learning
takes
place
through
an
emergent
process
of
explora0on
and
discovery
• Learning
is
driven
by
challenging,
open-­‐ended
problems
• Students
take
ownership
of
their
learning
and
become
co-­‐
creators
of
their
own
learning
experience
• Students
become
the
producers
of
knowledge
rather
than
just
the
consumers
of
informa0on
(Neary,
2010)

8. Why
acGve
learning?

9. Being
able
to
take
charge
of
my
learning
and
ac0vely
engage
with
the
lecturers
as
academic
partners
on
my
work
was
highly
confiden[ce]
building
Learning
by
doing.
I
personally…
simply
can't
learn
from
the
tradi0onal
talking-­‐for-­‐an-­‐hour-­‐
about-­‐new-­‐ideas
format
of
teaching
Student feedback: what they said about inquiry-based learning…
Enjoyed
being
kept
on
our
toes
and
encouraged
to
keep
thinking
rather
than
being
given
notes
to
copy.
You
are
more
likely
to
remember
it
if
you
learn
as
you
do
It
facilitates
learning.
That's
all
I
need
in
a
teaching
style,
and
the
current
system
fails
at
that.
I
only
found
it
scary
because
I
was
introduced
to
this
way
of
learning
so
late
in
to
my
degree
-­‐
do
it
earlier!!!
i
think
that
it
is
the
way
University
should
be
Should
be
implemented
more
as
it
allows
the
experience
of
university
educa0on
to
be
more
s0mula0ng,
interac0ve
and
therefore
more
enriching

10.
RSWB
learning
schedule
Week
1:
Learning
in
partnership:
introduc0on
to
the
module
and
inquiry-­‐
based
learning
Week
2:
Naviga0ng
and
working
with
data
sets
Week
3:
Defining
research
ques0on(s)
and
evalua0ng
data
sets
Week
4:
Towards
Assessment
1:
iden0fying
the
data
set
Week
5:
Working
on
assessment
1
Week
6:
Working
on
assessment
1
(submission
end
of
WK
6)
Week
7:
Towards
assessment
2:
Introduc0on
to
Xerte
learning
objects
Week
8:
Defining
the
research
project
and
project
presenta0ons
Week
9:
Storyboarding
and
the
produc0on
of
Xerte
learning
objects
Week
10:
Developing
and
enhancing
your
learning
object
Week
11:
Looking
backwards,
looking
forwards:
reviewing
the
disserta0on
proposal
Week12:
Looking
backwards,
looking
forwards:
pukng
the
e-­‐porlolio
to
work

11. Assessment
for
learning
not
assessment
of
learning
Assessments:
• Are
authen0c'
in
that
they
are
designed
to
resemble
'real
world'
problems,
challenges
and
tasks
that
support
originality,
encourage
crea0vity
and
s0mulate
cri0cality
• Are
linked
to
enable
students
to
build
upon
previous
learning,
encouraging
them
to
engage
with
feedback
from
assessment
1
and
to
use
it
to
help
them
tackle
assessment
2
• Are
designed
to
develop
a
deeper
understanding
of
the
research
process
and
for
students
to
learn
more
about
themselves
as
learners
and
about
the
way
they
are
assessed

12. RSWB
Assessment
• Assessment
1:
Data
evalua0on
exercise:
Students
will
examine
a
data
source
evalua0ng
its
validity
and
reliability.
1,000
words.
20%
of
overall
grade.
This
assessment
relates
to
Learning
Outcome
1.
Due
date:
• Assessment
2:
Research
project:
Students
will
conduct
secondary
analysis
on
an
appropriate
data
set
presen0ng
their
findings
in
a
wriEen
and
visual
form.
60%
of
overall
grade.
This
assessment
relates
to
Learning
Outcomes
2
&
3.
Due
date:
• Assessment
3:
Reflec0ve
research
&
employability
skills
audit:
Students
will
reflect
on
and
evaluate
their
development
of
transferable
research
skills.1,000
words.
20%
of
overall
grade.
This
assessment
relates
to
Learning
Outcome
4.
Due
date:

13. Engaging
interdisciplinarity,
acGve
learning
&
co-­‐creaGon
‘Engaging
students
in
the
process
of
research
and
of
creaGng
resources
does
far
more
than
simply
enhancing
the
learning
experience.
It
also
develops
valuable
skills
for
life
–
while
improving
research
outcomes
too’
(Jisc
Inform,
37:
14
–
Open
Lives
Project)
Researching
the
Social
World
B
linking
ac0ve,
inquiry-­‐based
learning
with
the
produc0on
of
editable,
re-­‐usable,
re-­‐purposable
Xerte
learning
objects

14. What is Xerte?
Xerte is a free open source tool
Xerte allows multi media resources to be
authored quickly & easily
Xerte is an interactive learning resource
Use of Xerte supports the development of digital
literacies
Xerte promotes & supports accessibility and
inclusivity
Source: adapted from the Xerte Homepage:
http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/xerte

15. Examples
of
student
Xertes

16.
Student feedback: what they said about Xerte…
The
feeling
of
crea0ng
a
tangible
object
based
on
academic
research
was
much
more
fulfilling
that
the
usual
essay,
exam,
presenta0on
I
like
that
its
different,
Powerpoint
gets
a
bit
boring.
It
is
more
crea0ve
You
have
a
finished
product
at
the
end
and
can
use
it
as
evidence
of
something
you
created
and
you
cannot
really
do
that
with
essays
Being
able
to
put
our
ideas
into
it
to
create
a
lesson
for
others
I
like
that
Xerte
allows
you
to
be
crea0ve
and
display
the
assessment
in
crea0ve
and
visual
ways
.
[It]
gives
you
a
good
feeling
when
you
see
the
finished
Xerte
and
that
you
helped
to
create
it

17. Enhancing
employability
through
learning,
teaching
and
assessment
This
module
will
support
your
acquisi0on
and
development
of
generic
aEributes,
ci0zenship
and
employability
competencies
by:
1)
Surfacing
assessment-­‐employability
linkages,
ensuring
you
are
aware
of
the
skills
you
are
developing
and
are
able
to
evidence
these
effec0vely
2)
Understanding
and
responding
posi0vely
to
complexity,
uncertainty
and
ambiguity
3)
Learning
to
work
with
ethical
dilemmas,
enhancing
a
sense
of
social
responsibility,
intercultural
awareness
and
sensi0vity
4)
Developing
digital
literacies,
allowing
you
to
demonstrate
your
digital
skills
and
engage
with
the
concept
of
‘digital
influence’
5)
Suppor0ng
peer-­‐review
and
collabora0on
to
aid
the
development
of
cri0cal
thinking,
independence
of
judgement
and
independent
learning;
6)
Crea0ng
staff-­‐student
partnerships
in
evalua0ng
assessment
criteria
and
making
academic
judgements
to
help
develop
appropriate
evalua0ve
exper0se
7)
Using
e-­‐porlolios
as
means
of
developing
your
reflec0ve
skills
that
can
be
used
to
help
ar0culate
your
wider
skills

18. References
BarneE,
R.
and
Coate,
K.
(2005)
Engaging
the
curriculum
in
higher
educa0on
Maidenhead:
Open
University
Press.
Jenkins,
A.
(2009)
Research-­‐Teaching
Linkages:
enhancing
graduate
aEributes.
Glasgow:
QAA
Scotland
Levy,
P.,
et
al.
(2011)
The
Sheffield
Companion
to
Inquiry-­‐based
Learning.
Sheffield:
The
University
of
Sheffield.
Neary,
M.
(2010)
Student
as
producer:
research-­‐engaged
teaching
and
learning
at
the
University
of
Lincoln.
Lincoln:
University
of
Lincoln.