Inquiry Based Learning in Early Childhood Education

By Hazel May Vinluan-Kim

 There are so many types of curriculum coming out now, and as a parent, I hear you. I know it can be perplexing and discombobulating. At the end of the day, we all just want to give the best education for our children. But which one is the best? In this article, inquiry-based learning and enquiry based will be compared. Surely, you may have already heard of International Schools or Foreign Schools that are using inquiry-based learning or enquiry based learning. They sound similar, yes that is right yet they have differences.

Inquiry-based learning is not a new method, as a matter of fact; it was present during the time of John Dewey, although it stands more difference to the controlled, curriculum-centered structure of the present day’s schools. This type of learning is all begins with asking a question. From that question, learners begin to share their ideas, insights and raise other questions to expand the learning on one subject. It does not merely ask for any questions, but something that really ignites the interest among your learners. For example, for children, they are interested with dinosaurs, planets, animals, life cycle, etc. The teacher’s goal is to guide the learners in finding out the answer to their questions. The teacher enhances the students’ interest by providing them an opportunity to learn and be a part of the process of learning. It is believed that this type of learning is appropriate for out of school programs for the reason that they have more time to develop and expand on the work of children that they do in their K-12 classes.

Children are inquisitive by nature; therefore this is the best way to nurture their curious minds. They always want to learn and they are ready to absorb whatever information is given to them to satisfy their curiosity about the world around them. However, they want to be a part of the learning process because this is more meaningful to them instead of just receiving the information per se. Preschools and Kindergartens that use play-based learning which allows the students to explore and inquire are wonderful, but more significantly, they are essential to their early cognitive development.

Here are some reasons why inquiry-based learning is good for your child:

1. Enhances motivation and engagement.
2. Nurtures student’s passion and talents.
3. Encourages students to empower their voice.
4. Fosters inquisitiveness and love for learning.
5. Teaches grit and perseverance.
6. Develops strong research skills.
7. Deepens learning more than just merely memorization.
8. Encourages students to ask questions.
9. Allows students to take charge of their learning.
10. Teaches students that every problem has a solution.

Surely, parents want their children to develop these skills. This is not merely present in inquiry-based learning. Other learning styles have this as well but in a different approach. Inquiry-based learning is being used more prevalently these days because of the opportunity it presents the students to learn and dig deeper into the topic they want to learn in many ways. It teaches students the various ways to learn things and not merely depending on the books or single information presented to them.