Inquiry Based Learning: What Does Research Say?

Inquiry-based learning (IBL) is an approach to education that places students’ questions, ideas and observations at the center of the learning experience. Here’s what research says about the effectiveness of this approach.

A research study was commissioned by the Einstein Project and conducted by the St. Norbert College Survey Center to evaluate the effectiveness of the inquiry-based Science and Technology for Children™ (STC) in the teaching and learning of Science. The comparative study looked at whether students who used STC learned better than students who were taught using traditional textbook-driven curriculum.

Five classrooms that used STC units were compared to five classrooms with a traditional textbook approach, with all other denominators such as English proficiency, class size, gender, socioeconomic status, ethnicity and the number of students with disabilities being equal.

Statistically, those students using STC in the Einstein Project showed a 4% increase in general Science knowledge between their pre and post-test scores compared to an only 1.7% increase in general Science knowledge for non-STC students. The conclusion was that inquiry-based classrooms produced students who were better able to perform tasks, investigate questions, classify, arrange, draw, label and describe scientific phenomena.

Research also indicates that using IBL can help students become more creative, more positive and more independent. This is true for all students, including those with special needs who require more individual attention during the process.

In a dissertation study on the effects of the inquiry-based Modified Moore Method (MMM) on college students’ concept of proof, Y.Y. Dhaler found that MMM had a positive effect on the student’s conceptualization of mathematical proof, as well as on self-confidence in their abilities, their appreciation of the relevance of proof, and their ability to be independent thinkers.

The Einstein Project (2005) Cornerstone Study: Research Conclusions.

Kühne, B. 1995, The Barkestorp project: Investigating school library use. School Libraries Worldwide

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