Inquiry Based Learning:
a perspective
Sheila Webber
Department of Information Studies
University of Sheffield
November 2007

Outline
• Inquiry Based Learning at Sheffield University
• CILASS and examples of work so far
• Use of Second Life in a 1st year undergraduate
module
• Demonstration of Second Life (we hope ;-)

IBL
“IBL is a term used to describe approaches to learning that are based on
a process of self-directed inquiry or research. Students conduct small or
large-scale inquiries that enable them to engage actively and creatively
with the questions and problems of their discipline, often in collaboration
with others. IBL approaches include case-study and problem-based
learning (PBL) methods as well as research projects of different kinds. It
is a key characteristic of IBL that inquiry tasks facilitate exploration and
investigation of issues or scenarios that are open-ended enough for
different responses and solutions to be possible (Khan and O´Rourke,
2005)”
http://www.shef.ac.uk/cilass/ibl.html
Khan, P. and O´Rourke, K. (2005). `Understanding Enquiry-based Learning´, In: Barrett, T., Mac
Labhrainn, I., Fallon, H. (eds), Handbook of Enquiry and Problem Based Learning. Galway, CELT.

IBL involves
• Students and/or tutors establishing
question/problem etc
• Students pursuing lines of inquiry
• Drawing on existing knowledge
• Identifying new learning and information
needs
• Seeking information, evidence
• Discussing, receiving feedback,
synthesising information, constructing
knowledge
• Analysing & communicating ideas, results
• Working with staff as partners, participating
in a research community

Approaches to IBL
• Student-led exploration, investigation and
research
• Open-ended, critical inquiry
• Guided and supported by academic and
learning support staff
• Problems; case scenarios; field-work;
experiential learning; small- and large-
scale research projects…
• ‘Full’ IBL – the design principle for whole
modules/programmes
• ‘Hybrid’ IBL – activities incorporated into
more traditional curricula

Why IBL?
• Active and deep engagement with discipline-based
learning
• Experiencing ‘supercomplexity’ – messy, open-
ended problems and questions
• Developing capabilities of relevance to social
participation, employment, lifelong learning
• Strengthening relationship between research and
teaching in HE

IBL: a strategic focus
The ‘Sheffield Graduate’
“Studying at Sheffield will provide students with the
opportunity to… become involved in inquiry-based
learning, as a means of actively engaging with the
questions and problems of their discipline and of
developing a range of inquiry-related capabilities and
skills”
University of Sheffield Learning, Teaching and
Assessment Strategy, 2005-10.

Centre for Inquiry based Learning in the
Arts and Social Sciences (CILASS)
“Modelling the
process of
research within
the student
learning
experience”

CILASS
• Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning
• 5 year programme (£4.5 million funding) of reward,
development, innovation, research
• Core community: Faculties of Arts, Social Sciences and Law
• New teaching spaces, some core staff: but mostly focused
on developments with academics in real modules (by
February 2007 – 70 modules in 20 departments/schools.)
• Aiming to make “a major contribution towards strengthening
the links between research and teaching at UoS”
• http://www.shef.ac.uk/cilass/

CILASS - an inquiry framework
• Exploring what IBL means in different contexts
• Experimenting with new ideas and practice
• Learning about ‘what works’ from students’ and
tutors’ perspectives
• Sharing ideas, critically examining what we do
• Carrying out evaluation and research
• Building practice and theory

Some key activities
• Grants for individual or Departments (bidding rounds)
• IBL café every Tuesday morning
• Scholarship of Teaching & Learning group
• Students Ambassadors & Departmental Champions networks
• Research project, investigating the perceptions of a sample of
UG students through the 3 years of degree
• Staff/student conference; workshops etc. + CETL activities
• Blogs (student one won a prize) &
newsletter
• Student competitions (logo, photos)
• CILASS Fellowships
• Information Literacy Network

A vision of universities as…
“Places where academics work collaboratively in
partnership with students as members of inclusive scholarly
knowledge-building communities; where teaching and
research are integrated, and where both students and
academics are engaged in the challenging process of
coming to understand the world through systematic
investigation and collaborative decision-making in the light
of evidence” (Brew 2006).

CILASS IBL framework
• Collaborative inquiry and
inquiry communities
• Information literacy
development
• Networked learning
• Interdisciplinary inquiry
• Classrooms as research
environments
(‘collaboratories’)
Information literacy: “knowing when and why you need information, where to find it, and
how to evaluate, use and communicate it in an ethical manner” (CILIP).

IBL in the arts and social sciences at
Sheffield: sme examples

Field
work
UoS, Dept. of
Archaeology

‘Understanding Law 2’
• 250 students
• Online workbooks, structured tasks
• Learning journals
• Supported by online discussions (WebCT)
• 45 research groups, developing multimedia
resources (film, podcast, powerpoints)
• Presented at ‘celebration of learning’ event
(attended by other students, staff and invited law
professionals)

Inquiry at Level 1
‘Understanding
Law 2’
“It´s been really great – to
be able to talk to
academics – as a first
year law student, you
have so many arguments
inside you, you are averse
to so many things, and
think so many things are
unjust, and it´s really great
to talk to somebody who
has that knowledge,
who can tell you ‘actually,
there´s no precedence for
that´ – it´s really helped
me a lot!”

Richard Steadman-Jones and Duco van Oostrum, “Routes Roots”
English Language and Literature, Level 2 Undergraduate

Inquiry into…. “It was very much a case of making you think, rather than
spoon-feeding you”. “They’d start you off with
something, then you’d go off and do it, and [the tutors]
always said … we were throwing up things they hadn’t
even considered”.
“I found myself applying the research methods to
other modules so the module was more skills-based
than I anticipated which was more beneficial to me
than just knowledge”
“The module]
has really
changed my
thinking and
understanding
of literary
research”.
…genealogical autobiographies

Information Management
• First-years generating their own
research questions
Does Facebook support
• Working together and with tutors on students’
small-scale research projects personal information
• Interacting with researchers and management?
practitioners
• Using technologies – blogs, WebCT
MOLE What does mobile phone
user behaviour contribute to
• Accessing info resources in class – detrimental environmental
effects and how can these
Library, web be reduced?
• Collecting and analysing data
• Presenting posters at research
‘conference’
Strongly process- (not content-) driven – students’ information literacy is
essential

Inquiry at Level 1
– Information Management
“So in other words the idea
is to give students a chance
to teach themselves in some
sense and the module staff
was making an impression of
rather a team of advisors
and coordinators, rather
than ordinary lecturers.”

Photographed & uploaded to WebCT
Group
Copycam
Individual mindmap mindmap,
presented and
discussed in
class
WebCT
Blogs
Copycam
http://inquiry-in-im.group.shef.ac.uk/team/

INF106 ‘Inquiry in Information
Management’
Close of module research
poster conference, May 2007
“What made us pick this particular
topic was that we were all fascinated by
something non-one within the
department really knew the answer to.
Although we were not actually carrying
out original research, and someone out
there had the facts we needed to
successfully answer the question, it was
the challenge of finding this that drew
us to the idea of [the topic]…

Second Life

Second Life
• 3-D Online Digital world
• Most things created by SL residents: SL fashion
designers, architects, bakers, animal makers ….
• Avatars- 3D representation of yourself – free to
signup and can live on freebies, but need Linden
dollars if want to own land, buy clothes etc.
• Communication through text chat, Voice and Instant
Messaging

Practical issues
• Need broadband and good computer with right
graphics card
• Have to upgrade software about every 6 weeks
• Max of about 40 avatars per region/island, and
45K on whole grid
• Learning curve in basics of movement &
communication
• Some people may have concerns about signing
up for avatar or entering a dangerous space (but
possibly more those not used to social software)
• Inclusion issues

My Department in SL
• July onwards lent office by Eduserv for Centre for Information
Literacy Research: started discussion series (every week or 2)
• Successful bid to CILASS to fund island for a year
• Island delivered early October: Infolit iSchool
• Compulsory activity (feeding into assignment) for 1st year BSc
Information Management students in Information Literacy class
(20 students) starting 22 October (!)
• No student had used virtual world before (nb SL main grid is
18+ only)
• Work with 2 librarians: in Sheffield (Lyn Parker) & St Andrews
(Vickie Cormie)

My Department in SL
• Aim to deepen engagement with subject & class & part of
induction into research: in Sem 2 they undertake their own IM
mini-projects, as described earlier
• Students will undertake critical incident interviews with SL
residents (a time when they had an information need relating to
a SL activity) in SL itself
• Currently setting up interviews after email to SL Educators list –
good response - international
• Students will analyse transcripts in relation to models of RL
information behaviour + audit interview technique (for
assessment)

Observations
• SL a learning (and play) space – more like a classroom space
than a website – with new possibilities
• Has to be pedagogic rationale with students or they may see
it as just faffing about in SL
• Students won’t automatically be engaged & there is a
learning curve, even for gamers (but does have fun factor)
• When not so rushed – organise more quests etc. as part of
intro to improve engagement & hopefully student helpers too
• Valuable as staff/professional development environment
• Transmissive approaches even duller in SL than in Real Life
– need activity rather than content

Sheila Webber
s.webber@shef.ac.uk
http://information-literacy.blogspot.com/
Sheila Yoshikawa
http://adventuresofyoshikawa.blogspot.com/

Resources
• Kay, J and Fitzgerald, S. (2007) Second Life in Education
http://sleducation.wikispaces.com/ (wiki with useful
information for educators and students, and information on the
authors’ own projects – they are Australian educators)
• Kemp, J (Ed) (2007) Second Life Education Wiki: SimTeach
http://www.simteach.com/wiki/index.php?title=Second_Life_E
ducation_Wiki
• Second Life Educators List (SLED).
https://lists.secondlife.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/educators
(Very high volume discussion list, but is an invaluable
resource)
• There are further resources linked from these e.g. at
http://sleducation.wikispaces.com/secondliferesources