Category: Starting with Inquiry Learning

Provocation vs Invitation: What is the Difference?

You might have heard the terms provocation and invitation with regards to inquiry learning. Here is the main difference between the two:

An invitation is something that encourages students to explore a concept. A provocation is something that provokes action and stimulates thinking.

Invitations and provocations can be seen in all classrooms, but they are incredibly popular in kindergarten and early elementary classrooms. However, they can be used with students of all ages to introduce new topics and concepts. Now that the difference is clear, let’s look into how these work in the classroom.

How to Use Experiential Learning in the Inquiry Classroom

The way we learn is the way we approach life; our learning styles are also responsible for the way we tackle challenges and make decisions. Students also learn and experiment in a variety of ways; some are comfortable observing and...

What the Heck is the Difference Between IBL and PBL?

A common question among educators is “what is the difference between inquiry-based learning and project-based learning?” Or, “what’s the difference between project-based and problem-based learning? How are they similar and what makes them different?” It can certainly be confusing, not...

4 Simple Steps for Creating Exciting and Impactful Provocations

Last year, we wrote a post all about creating learning provocations that get students excited in the classroom. In it, we described the purpose of provocations and included some helpful tips for preparing a provocation for students. We also included...

4 Quick, Simple Ways to Support Inquiry Learning at Home

Inquiry learning isn’t just for the classroom. While it is a popular approach to learning that has many great benefits at school, fostering an inquiry culture at home can further support critical thinking skills as well. However, this doesn’t mean...

How Inquiry Learning is Redefining Schools in the 21st Century

Traditional teaching has remained relatively unchanged for decades. Compulsory public education was established so that students could learn how to read, write, and perform math calculations. In addition, students were taught subjects such as the classics, religion, and learning how...

Helping Students See The Value in Their Contributions

For many of us, we can recall a time in our childhood when a teacher or parent thought of us as more capable than we actually were. It parallels quotes like “she believed she could, so she did” and “fake...

The Important Links Between Mindfulness and Inquiry Learning

Mindfulness is a relatively novel concept that has gained a lot of attention over the past few years. It was first introduced in 1979 as a medical intervention at the University of Massachusetts. Mindfulness is a meditative technique where your...