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What is inquiry and the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program (PYP)

by Lisa Rhoads - A McGraw IB School Primary Grades Teacher

The word education comes from the Latin root educare which means "to draw forth". Inquiry is one of the teaching methodologies that helps learners to "draw forth" and to become inquirers and lifetime learners. Questions draw forth. Inquiry comes from exploring and being interested in the world. In an inquiry classroom, curriculum is integrated and children are encouraged and given opportunities to question, explore, practice, manipulate, respond, and be engaged in learning.

An important element of learning is connecting to and building from one’s life experiences. This connection is essential to learning. Allowing students to explore, make their own connections, and giving time to share their connections and hear each other’s voices is fundamental. The main goals, in any classroom, are to help students learn and to meet the needs of each student. To attain these goals one needs to understand the development of children, how children learn, as well as the what, how, and why of teaching.

Differentiation, constructivism, and inquiry are the philosophies and strategies that build the teaching framework in an IB school. All are intertwined. The main task of a teacher in the teaching of any strategy, technique, or skill is to introduce it, give a rationale for it, tie it to past learning, practice it, and finally, internalize it so that it becomes a integrated part of learning. Use of the inquiry process and inquiry teaching philosophy enables the student and the teacher to explore, develop meaning, and to become active constructors of their own knowledge (i.e., their own schemas) through experiences that encourage assimilation and accommodation.

Siu-Runyan (1999) believed that inquiry is more than curriculum; it is a way to approach the work as a lifelong learner who is constantly searching out questions to pursue. If this pursuit is achieved, then teachers have done their jobs.

Inquiry: What Does it Look Like in Kindergarten?

Kindergarten students are actively involved in exploring things that interest them, both inside and outside of the classroom. These investigations are fun and exciting, opening the door to even more things to explore. An important part of students' inquiry is telling others what they see, what they think, and what it makes them wonder about. Students are provided with lots of time to talk about what they observe and opportunities to compare their observations with those of others. These investigations also begin the process of children asking and answering their own questions, which is at the heart of the inquiry experience.

The unit planners we focus on in Kindergarten lend themselves naturally to the inquiry process. Students and families are encouraged to explore the process of inquiry together. Show and Tell becomes a major part of the inquiry in our planners because the children have a wide range of options they can select from.

Kindergarten students are also being introduced to the idea of taking action about something they've learned. This could be as simple as a thank you note to a visitor or as complex as a poster telling people how then can take care of their world.

Kindergarteners are natural inquirers!