Hammad Motiwala | Staff Writer
Featured image: TLE is based on the principle that technology can radically transform education. | Courtesy of Pexels
A strategic research study, led by York’s Faculty of Education Professor Ron Owston, finds that inquiry-based learning (IBL) positively impacts student learning, increases student and teacher engagement, improves student autonomy, and promotes more in-depth opportunities for learning.
“Inquiry requires more than simply answering questions or getting a right answer. It espouses investigation, exploration, search, quest, research, pursuit, and study. It is enhanced by involvement with a community of learners, each learning from the other in social interaction,” noted Guided inquiry: Learning in the 21st century.
The study was commissioned by Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board as part of the Ontario Ministry of Education’s Technology and Learning Fund. The study looked at the second year of the five-year initiative of Transforming Learning Everywhere (TLE).
The study focuses on instructional practices in classrooms, accelerated by digital tools in order to improve problem-solving, critical literacy and thinking, and the knowledge and skills required for the modern era. By doing this, it aims to increase engagement in students and teachers alike.
“TLE is all about creating innovative learning environments for students that are essential for them to succeed in the 21st century,” said Owston.
IBL moves forward from practices that involve students being passive recipients of knowledge.
“Our research looked at IBL, and how the use of technologies in schools (such as iPads) can facilitate development of digital literacies, critical thinking, and lifelong learning skills for students. The findings were very encouraging, as we saw evidence of students learning new skills and changed teacher practices, despite some initial implementation issues,” said Owston.
TLE is based on the principle that technology tools, along with an effective pedagogy of transformative teaching and the rich support of technology—can radically transform education.
The paper Transforming Learning Everywhere: A Study of the Second Year of Implementation, of which Owston was a principal investigator of a research team, adds: “Pervasive research and emerging policy frameworks in and outside of Ontario indicate that TLE is not only on firm theoretical ground, but forward-looking. In our review of the literature, we found that the integration of IBL with one-to-one iPad use offers significant opportunities to increase student engagement and the development of literacies and learning,” adds Owston.
