Inquiry and direct instruction work together
Inquiry does not remove the teacher. Educators provide background knowledge, models, vocabulary, strategies, procedures, curated resources, and feedback when students need them.
Partner With ARIEIn brief
What you need to know
Inquiry-based learning engages students in asking questions, investigating ideas, using evidence, testing explanations, and communicating conclusions. The teacher designs the conditions, explicitly teaches necessary knowledge and skills, and guides students toward increasingly independent reasoning.
Connected practice areas
The elements that make implementation work
- Student inquiry
- Evidence-based reasoning
- STEM teaching
- Problem-solving
- Teacher scaffolding
- Student independence
Clear answers
Frequently asked questions
What is inquiry-based learning?
Inquiry-based learning engages students in asking questions, investigating ideas, using evidence, testing explanations, and communicating conclusions.
How is inquiry related to PBL?
Inquiry is a central process within high-quality PBL. The project supplies a meaningful purpose while inquiry helps students determine what they need to know and make evidence-based decisions.
Does inquiry mean teachers stop teaching directly?
No. Effective inquiry uses direct instruction intentionally when students need knowledge, models, vocabulary, procedures, or clarification.
What makes a strong inquiry question?
A strong inquiry question requires investigation, connects to important content, invites reasoning, supports evidence-based responses, and cannot be answered with one simple fact.
How does inquiry support STEM teaching and problem-solving?
Inquiry gives students a structured way to define problems, investigate phenomena, analyze evidence, test ideas, refine solutions, and explain their reasoning.
How can teachers support student inquiry without lowering rigor?
Teachers maintain rigor by teaching essential content and methods, selecting strong sources, using checkpoints and criteria, questioning student reasoning, and gradually releasing responsibility.
Written and reviewed by Steven Zipkes, President and Founder of Advanced Reasoning in Education. His perspective is grounded in more than three decades of school leadership, the design and leadership of two PBL-centered schools, international educator development, and sustained implementation work.
Review Steven Zipkes's experience