Inquiry is the mindset that students use to build their own knowledge and understanding through an active, open-minded exploration of a meaningful question, problem, or issue. Inquiry is considered to be a process where students:

• ask questions, conduct research, and produce some type of product to demonstrate their understanding (the product does not have to mark an end point and can be the starting point for further inquiry)

• actively engage in building knowledge and deeper understanding of key concepts

• employ disciplinary thinking to develop important skills, such as formulating good questions, planning inquiries, gathering and analyzing information, and communicating their findings

• explore challenging questions, problems, or issues that can be approached and answered in many different ways

Inquiry does not a follow a set process or program. Different authors and organizations have proposed many different models of inquiry. Further, inquiry does not mean that there are “no wrong answers” or that “anything goes.” Rather, it requires students to provide justification for their thinking, changing the discussion from “right or wrong” to “more or less justified.”

Inquiry can be more or less guided and structured depending on what teachers need students to learn or to demonstrate. Inquiry should be scaffolded to match the background knowledge and abilities of the students. (Ministry of Education)