Inquiry-Based Teaching and Learning

In partnership with Model Teaching, an industry leader in supporting educators, this course will teach you about inquiry-based learning, how it can be used in the classroom, and how to plan for rigorous lessons. Model Teaching's Mission is to improve student performance by directly supporting teachers with quality content and resources. You will learn the roles of the teacher and the student in a true inquiry-based classroom and then plan for rigorous questions and lesson activities to support inquiry.

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3 Months / 10 Course Hrs
Open Enrollment
Offered in partnership with your preferred school

Community College of Rhode Island

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Inquiry-Based Teaching and Learning

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Course code: T14721

This teacher professional development course will teach you about inquiry-based learning, also known as inquiry-driven learning, and how you can use it to transform your lessons using more dynamic and rigorous activities. You will learn how to generate questions to enhance inquiry in your classroom and ensure that all your activities increase rigor and critical thinking. You will analyze what inquiry looks like in the classroom and then develop a plan ready for implementation. The course also comes with several resources to support you in your inquiry-based lesson planning.

What you will learn

  • Understand the benefits and key components of building an inquiry-based lesson plan
  • Evaluate effective inquiry-based education using classroom examples
  • Design inquiry-based learning strategies following an explicit approach you will learn in this course

How you will benefit

  • Your lessons will become more substantial, relevant, and rigorous as you plan with inquiry in mind
  • Your classroom dynamic will become more energized and engaging as students get used to the inquiry process to have meaningful discourse in your classroom
  • Help students engage with the content more, which can lead to increased and improved learning outcomes

How the course is taught

  • Self-Guided, online course
  • 3 Months access
  • 10 course hours
  1. What Is Inquiry?
    1. The meaning of inquiry-based instructional strategy
    2. The rationale behind using the inquiry-based strategy in the classroom
  2. Teacher & Student Roles
    1. The role of the teacher in an inquiry-based classroom
    2. The role of the student in an inquiry-based classroom
  3. A Classroom Snapshot of Inquiry-Based Learning
    1. What an inquiry-based lesson looks like in an actual elementary school classroom
  4. Developing a Lesson Plan
    1. Learn the components of an inquiry-based lesson
    2. Develop an inquiry-based lesson outline
  5. Developing Rigorous Questions
    1. Review the six levels of questions on Bloom's Taxonomy
    2. Use Bloom's Taxonomy to create questions at various cognitive thinking skill levels for your lesson
  6. Developing Guiding Activities
  7. Review the four levels of activities from Webb's Depth of Knowledge
    1. Use Webb's Depth of Knowledge to design activities at various levels of complexity for your lesson
  8. Putting it All Together
    1. Using the sample provided, build your own inquiry-based learning plan for an upcoming lesson.
  9. Applying What you Have Learned
    1. Get ideas on how to implement the concepts into your classroom, find a list of online resources that feature inquiry-based instruction ideas, and read the research behind this type of learning in the classroom.
Self-Study

Prerequisites:

There are no prerequisites to take this course.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

  • This course can be taken on either a PC, Mac, or Chromebook.

Software Requirements:

  • PC: Windows 10 or later.
  • Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
  • Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox is preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
  • Microsoft Word Online
  • Editing of a Microsoft Word document is required in this course. You may use a free version of Microsoft Word Online, or Google Docs if you do not have Microsoft Office installed on your computer. Model Teaching can provide support for this.
  • Adobe Acrobat Reader
  • Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

  • Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Your course begins immediately after you enroll.​

You have 3 months of access to the course. After enrolling, you can learn and complete the course at your own pace, within the allotted access period. You will have the opportunity to interact with other students in the online discussion area.

There is no time limit to complete each lesson, other than completing all lessons within the allotted access period. Discussion areas for each lesson are open for the entire duration of the course.

Because this course is self-guided, no extensions will be granted after the start of your enrollment.

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Fundamentals
Expository Writing & Embedded Grammar Instruction
Fundamentals
Flipped Learning in the Classroom
Fundamentals
Creating a Structured Classroom for Students with Autism
Fundamentals
Intro to Classroom Documentation
Fundamentals
Introduction to Response to Intervention (RTI)