What is Inquiry-based Learning? A Student Perspective

Last June at the end of the school year, the grade 8 students at the Calgary Science School were invited to re-imagine what schools might look like, now and in the future. In groups, students chose educational topics to examine such as assessment, physical space, and the relationships within a school, all designed to give students a voice in how education might be re-imagined.

One group of students used this opportunity to examine the type of teaching and learning at our own school. They wanted to analyze our school-wide focus on inquiry-based learning and so they created and distributed a survey for students and staff. One of the interesting findings that these three grade 8 boys uncovered was that within our school community we have a wide range of definitions and understanding of what inquiry-based learning is.

With that in mind, the boys decided to help bring some clarity to this complex issue. They created a video and a poster of strong examples of inquiry-based projects and have presented their findings to our staff and board of directors.

With that in mind, here's their grade 8 perspective on Inquiry-Based Learning: