Ashley Conroy, Stephanie A. Flores-Koulish, Ph.D.

Why Does This Even Matter? The Importance of Creating Authentic Questions in Inquiry-Based Teaching

 

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While Inquiry-based learning and teaching have become topics of significant educational research as of late, there is one critical aspect of inquiry-based instruction that has only recently begun to be examined, and that’s the role of creating authentic inquiry lessons (Meuwissen, et al, 2016) that continually motivate students to participate in the lesson (Memory, et al 2004), and achieve academic and skill-based learning (Guitierez, 2015). This teacher research and inquiry project presents an exploratory qualitative research study investigating the impact that inquiry-based lessons in a secondary social studies classroom that are meaningful and authentic to students has on students’ prolonged motivation to participate in the lesson, as well as their understanding of the content material being researched.