Inquiry Based Learning - Planning Curriculum

Savoie and Hughes (1994), describe the following actions for creating a process for inquiry:

• Identify an appropriate scenario suitable for the students.
• Connect the scenario with the context of the students' world so that it presents authentic opportunities.
•  Organize the learning issues around the scenario and not the subject discipline.
• Give students responsibility for defining their learning experience and planning to elicit the issues raised.
•  Encourage collaboration by creating learning teams.
• Expect all students to demonstrate the results of their learning through a product or performance.

Developing the Scenarios

The process begins with construction of a real life scenario. Most educationalists are of the firm opinion that these scenarios must be from real life and where possible practitioners, in collaboration with educationalists, should be involved in designing appropriate scenarios. The scenarios to stimulate the inquiry have to be from within the reality of practice, as suggested within the situated view of learning. The scenarios are to be presented to the students in the form of triggers, which will instigate inquiry. The scenarios and triggers have to be developed around the content in a manner that would create manageable chunks of learning. The learning outcomes need to relate to each scenario, to ensure that the overall learning outcomes of the module are being covered.

The next step is to identify the learning outcomes, which can be achieved through the scenario and then to be familiar with the learning issues, which the scenario is meant to provoke. This method, of developing the scenarios, is superior because it is essential to ensure the scenarios are appropriate in eliciting the necessary learning issues. It helps also to be objective, so as to be clear about the issues that will be addressed by the learners when faced with the scenario.

Triggers can take many different forms. You can use written extracts from journal article, newspaper, case study etc. Use of cartoons or pictures is another fairly effective method of provoking thoughts. Video or audio clips can be used if appropriate. Even a short role-play can be used if an effective video is not obtainable. It is important to use the peer group for rehearsal, to ascertain that all relevant issues can be identified. This will also be pertinent in identifying how appropriate are the trigger and the scenario.

Once the scenarios are in place it is deemed prudent to back track and map the learning outcomes identified for each scenario against the learning outcomes of the module/program. This approach is better than picking up learning outcomes and fitting a scenario on to them.

Developing a Facilitator’s Guide

Before finalising the scenarios and the triggers to be used to stimulate learning, there is a need to go through the process of identifying the learning outcomes are to be covered with each trigger. Exploring the triggers’ learning issues by using the other team members helps to have a broad overview of the issues of learning they could stimulate. At the same time, the resources necessary will have to be identified, so that it will be possible for the facilitator to point the students in directions they may not have thought of, for gathering information. This whole exercise, allows for the development of a guide for the facilitators to use, so that they will become familiar with the scenario as well as the depth and breadth of the learning to be covered. It is prudent to also include briefly within the guide, the concept of IBL and the responsibilities of the students and the facilitators during the process.

Developing a Student’s Guide

Since this is a new approach to learning for many students as well, there was a need to develop a student guide, to give them an understanding of the process. This guide needs to explain each aspect of the process and to be related to the activities of the students. Also highlighted for them is the role of the facilitator, to give them an understanding of what support they provide to the students.

Student Preparation

During introduction to the program / module, you can include an explanation of this different approach to learning. The student guide can be given to the students and also an opportunity to work through the process, for the students should have an awareness of this method of learning to make full use of situated learning. It raises and brings to forefront the concerns students may have about this approach to learning. Generally these are regarding:

•  their own ability to carry out self-directed study,
•  covering of appropriate knowledge and support,
•  their confidence in the facilitator’s ability to use this different method of teaching. 

The discomfort is seen more so in students who have not undertaken any studies in the recent times and also those who have not worked at required academic level before. These doubts could effect the motivation of the students. Jarvis (2000) suggests that learning is a need, through his adaptation of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. The fulfilment of this need requires social and psychological safety to be in place. To achieve this safety, there is a need to spend some time discussing the process, explaining the intense work that has to be done to ensure that their depth and breadth of knowledge and support provision will be taken into account. This also allows the facilitator to form an open and honest relationship with the students to reassure them of own knowledge and abilities to facilitate this process.

Group Dynamics

The facilitator carries out formation of groups within programs. There is no need for any specific requirements in forming the groups. However, consideration maybe given to geographical location, so that learners can have easy access to each other during un-facilitated study time, or to professional specialisms, to allow for perusal of common interests.

The student group needs to develop into a team so formulating ground rules for the functioning of the group is essential. Facilitator has to be involved in the formation of the rules for he/she would be functioning as part of the group, despite the fact that the facilitator is the ‘expert’ old timer who will guide the students. Considerable time maybe spent by the group to arrive at the rules that all agree upon, and this process should not be hurried or it will lead to friction. This makes it necessary to allocate time specifically into the program for this process. It is further imperative to revisit the rules again at a later date in case any amendment needs to be made. If the group do not agree to ground rules of functioning it can lead to dysfunction, which Hitchcock and Anderson (1997) identified as:

• Apathy or lack of meaningful interaction within the group.
• Limited or focused discussion that ignores other aspects of an issue.
• A group member who does not participate or perform work equally as others in the group.
• A scapegoated student, who gets ignored by others.
• A domineering student who will disrupt, or prevent others from learning.

The process of forming ground rules allows the group members to get to know one another and to begin the bonding process. When the understanding of the process is limited, and students are new to this method of learning within a classroom situation, they can find it difficult to believe the extent of the control over own learning. They constantly seek support and approval from the facilitator instead of one another. Despite having formed the ground rules there is inherent danger that the group can relinquish their control of learning in return for a firm direction from the facilitator. They would still be unfamiliar with each other at the beginning of a program and thus reticent in speaking up within the group.

Nevertheless, this changes as the group works through the scenario. There will be increased interaction among the group members and a marked change in group’s behaviour, from limited discussion with a lot of directing by the facilitator and a quick information giving session to a more discursive approach with additional reference to practice and experience from their practice. The reliance and trust among the members grows, as they feel free to discuss issues relating to their practice. Everyone begins to take part in the presentation and discussion more freely as they proceed to work through scenarios.  Towards the end facilitator becomes part of the group and valued for the contribution of own experience, just as the other group members. By the end of the program, the students will be ready to assume complete responsibility for their learning and looked less and less to the facilitator for guidance.

Senge (1990) is of the opinion that a group of talented individual learners will not necessarily produce a learning team, for this, the learners need to have the interpersonal skills that will help them become an effective team. Peterson (1997) agrees that the process depends upon and is proportional to the ability of students to work together to identify and analyze problems, and/or generate solutions. He cites the work of Kayser (1994) and Jessup (1995) in stating that ‘few employed health professionals, much less students, have the skills needed to work in groups competently or effectively’ (Peterson 1997, pp.1). The fact that these skills are necessary, for effective group work and for learning through IBL is crucial, as the same skills are needed to become an emotionally intelligent individual.

Resource Sessions

Despite the learning process being self-directed, it is sometimes necessary to provide information sessions or more formalised learning session. It should be possible to provide these resource sessions to make it easier for students to learn new information. So essentially, these resources sessions are just seen as information giving sessions. Generally when learners need to acquire information from an expert then it is easier for that individual to hold a resource session than to have any number of students individually asking for information. Despite the necessity of holding some resource session, too many should not be incorporated into the program as the students will get confused and find it difficult to move between passive and active styles of learning. Indeed, once they get comfortable with the process of learning within IBL and gain confidence in own learning capacity, they find the lectures tedious. These resource sessions should not be compulsory. Students should be allowed the choice of attending. Many a times the group appoints one or two members to attend the session and bring back information for the rest of the group and attending different session takes place by rotation. This choice allows them to retain control over own learning.