Inquiry Based Instruction: A Four Step Process to Student Empowerment
Having focused my higher education on lifelong learning, I studied both pedagogy (a child-focused teaching approach) as well as andragogy ( an adult-focused teaching approach) . In fact, I believe that many of the distinctions in instructional methods are valid, such as children come to lessons with little to no experience, while adults come to the learning table with far more know-how and knowledge. However, over the years of working with learners of all ages, I have found that incorporating many of the adult education principles into my one to one sessions with children has been extraordinarily beneficial. In fact the inquiry-based learning approach, that is sometimes used in the sciences with children, can help student think and be used to bridge learners to a place of greater independence and empowerment in the learning process. Inquiry Based Learning Helps to Unite Some of the Principles of Pedagogy and Andragogy for Young Learners. Inquiry-based learning is primarily a pedag