Month: January 2025

Inquiry-Based Learning, Design-Based Learning, and Artificial Intelligence

The conversations around inquiry based learning had me curious about how artificial intelligence could potentially help support the two methods of learning: inquiry-based and design-based.  I read three separate papers on the topic and came away with some major takeaways to reflect on. In the following blog post, I’m experimenting with a different approach to formatting. Each article is linked, with a subsequent reflection list, thereafter, the relevant research paper quote to back my reflection. I wanted to format it this way so that I can come back to it during my thesis and collect the information and citations.

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In this paper, the big takeaways for me were:

1. Intergroup communication and collaboration effectiveness are important for inquiry based learning, how can I enhance this in my AI course?
2. AI can help with teacher effectiveness (organizing inquiry activities)
3. Constructivism definition to use in my (thesis) paper / project with an emphasis on teacher reflection, ideally collaborative reflection
4. Shifts the focus from results to process
5. Inquiry based mind mapping = enhances students critical thinking skills and learning motivation
6. Teacher presence and guidance is fundamental

1. “When designing inquiry-based learning activities, teachers must deliberately select tasks that cannot be fully replaced by generative artificial intelligence (Hodges et al., 2023). Activities such as oral presentations, group collaborations, and hands-on practical tasks serve as prime examples of effective engagement. These types of activities require students not only to participate actively in practical exercises but also to develop essential teamwork and communication skills, which will help mitigate over-reliance on text generated by GAI.” (Xu, 2024, p. 16)
2. “The future direction of education will be focused on providing an inclusive and stimulating learning environment where every student can study successfully and their abilities can be nurtured and developed. Therefore, AI-driven inquiry teaching can be a valuable instructional approach that aids students in learning through efficient data analysis and algorithmic decision-making. This method also allows for more classroom time to be dedicated to higher-level learning activities, thereby facilitating continuous improvement in college students’ learning outcomes.” (Xie, 2023, p. 2)
3. Their paper also outlined a definition of constructivism theory that seems more accessible than others I’ve read, because it also talked about teacher’s reflecting. The usual definitions of how students acquire knowledge and information stayed true, but the addition of teachers also paying “attention to the changes in their own identity to become guides for students’ meaning construction instead of simply imparting what students have learned” was a new aspect that I hadn’t heard before or considered myself (Xie, 2023, p. 3). And yes, it’s true – teachers to a tremendous amount of reflecting, in the moment and on the fly, and in great depth. I recently blogged about a project I did with my students and how I was happy with the success of it, but at every step of the way I was reflecting on how I could have done it better, or how I will do it differently next time. They also suggested that collaborative teacher reflection is more impactful, a tool that I’ve been grateful to have more of this year with sharing a classroom with a teacher more experienced in providing adaptations in the classroom. Additionally, “Lotter [21] found that teachers need to reflect at different levels in the inquiry teaching mode, which can provide a more realistic learning environment to enhance students’ learning outcomes. Lin [22] investigated the influence of collaborative reflection on teachers’ inquiry teaching practices.” (Xie, 2023, p. 4)
4. “Gardner [5], an American psychologist, proposed the theory of multiple intelligences, theory which encompasses spatial intelligence, linguistic intelligence, and bodily kinesthetic skills. This theory emphasizes the abilities that learners need when encountering problems or creating works that exist independently. Therefore, this theory advocates various evaluation concepts to promote development through evaluation. It transcends the traditional testing-based evaluation orientation and shifts the focus from results to the procedural review of work.” (Xie, 2023, p. 3)
5. “Sari [14] found that students who utilize inquiry-based mind mapping exhibit differences in critical thinking ability and learning motivation. Furthermore, inquiry-based mind mapping tools have a significant impact on enhancing learners’ critical thinking skills and learning motivation. Aditomo [15] indicated that inquiry teaching is positively correlated with learners’ learning outcomes. However, in the absence of teacher guidance, it is negatively correlated with learners’ learning outcomes. This further proves that inquiry teaching must take into account the role of teachers, who should provide scientific and reasonable guidance in the inquiry learning process of learners.” (Xie, 2023, p. 4)

The authors also outlined four components of AI-Driven inquiry:

1. “Questioning
2. Evidence Acquisition
3. Explanation Focus
4. Evaluation Summary” (Xie, 2023, p. 1)

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In this paper, the big takeaways for me were:

1. GAI can help make the learning process highly personalized, catering to the learner
2. Students benefit from timely and effective feedback as they go through the process
3. They provided good suggestions on how to keep the soft skills sharp through the process of inquiry based learning

1. “GAI significantly enriches the variety of learning resources available to students, addressing the diverse educational needs of different individuals by employing sophisticated algorithms to generate highly personalized learning content. At the forefront of its capabilities, GAI possesses the ability to meticulously analyze each student’s learning history alongside their personal preferences, thus enabling the customization of personalized learning paths and content tailored specifically for them.” (Xu, 2024, p. 14)
2. “Within inquiry-based learning, the provision of timely and effective feedback is crucial for facilitating students’ growth and development. GAI is capable of conducting a thorough analysis of students’ learning processes and outcomes, offering personalized evaluations that cater to individual learning experiences.” (Xu, 2024, p. 15) This real-time feedback mechanism not only fosters an environment conducive to student reflection and self-regulation but also empowers teachers with timely insights into students’ learning statuses, allowing them to provide more effective support tailored to students’ evolving educational needs.” (Xu, 2024, p. 15)
3. “When designing inquiry-based learning activities, teachers must deliberately select tasks that cannot be fully replaced by generative artificial intelligence (Hodges et al., 2023). Activities such as oral presentations, group collaborations, and hands-on practical tasks serve as prime examples of effective engagement. These types of activities require students not only to participate actively in practical exercises but also to develop essential teamwork and communication skills, which will help mitigate over-reliance on text generated by GAI.” (Xu, 2024, p. 16)

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1. Design thinking is a skill teachers need more practice at, it’s not effectively being done, nor is there adequate research examining this.
2. This paper outlined an effective use of AI (in a well-established study with quantitative data) that I would like to explore with my future AI Course. They used AI in the process of creating a digital story. They reiterated the effect use of structured frameworks throughout the lessons to help guide students through the process with clarity.
3. Teacher guidance, again, needs to be specific and step-by-step
4. AI can help facilitate reflective thinking and student self-efficacy

1. “Tsai and Chai (2012) explained this situation with tertiary barriers. The learning process is not static; it is dynamic and constantly changing. Therefore, teachers need to have design thinking skills to transform this variable nature of the learning process (Tsai & Chai, 2012; Yildiz Durak et  al., 2023). Overcoming tertiary barriers significantly facilitates the effective use of technology in education.” (Saritepeci and Yildiz Durak, 2024, p. 25176)
2. “Participants were tasked with developing a digital story in a design-based process. In the context of experimental treatment, participants were systematically encouraged to use Chat GPT and Midjourney as guidance tools in the digital story development process.” (Saritepeci and Yildiz Durak, 2024, p. 25179)
3. “The students created the stories within the steps of the instruction presented by the instructor in collaboration with ChatGPT.” (Saritepeci and Yildiz Durak, 2024, p. 25182)
4. “In support of this, we have evidence that incorporating AI in various forms in educational processes has essential outcomes for reflective thinking. Indeed, Liu et al. (2023) reported that an intervention involving incorporating AI into the learning process as a feedback tool to support reflective thinking in foreign language teaching resulted in remarkable improvements in learning outcomes and student self-efficacy.” (Saritepeci and Yildiz Durak, 2024, p. 25193)

Works Cited:

Saritepeci, M., & Yildiz Durak, H. (2024). Effectiveness of artificial intelligence integration in design-based learning on design thinking mindset, creative and reflective thinking skills: An experimental study. Education and Information Technologies, 29(18), 25175–25209. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-024-12829-2

Xie, X. (2023). Influence of AI-driven Inquiry Teaching on Learning Outcomes. International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning (iJET), 18(23), Article 23. https://doi.org/10.3991/ijet.v18i23.45473

Xu, Y. (2024). Generative Artificial Intelligence Empowering Inquiry-Based Learning: Strategy and Challenges. Journal of Educational Research and Policies, 6(9), 14–18. https://doi.org/10.53469/jerp.2024.06(09).04

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A Reflection of Inquiry-Based Learning

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The paired readings, titled “Why Minimal Guidance During Instruction Does Not Work: An Analysis of the Failure of Constructivist, Discovery, Problem-Based, Experiential, and Inquiry-Based Teaching” and “A Review of Research on Inquiry-Based and Cooperative Learning” could not have been better timed for my teaching practice and reflection.

The last three weeks I worked with my grade eight English Language Arts class on a Food Truck Project, which I now recognize as being in the “design-based lessons” described in the article, “A Review of Research on Inquiry-Based and Cooperative Learning.”  The project was called “Food Truck Creation.”   I will come back to this topic. First, let me reflect on the readings.

The general point made in “Why Minimal Guidance During Instruction Does Not Work” is that inquiry-based learning can be detrimental to learning if not applied correctly.  The stress placed on the working memory to problem solve can become too great during inquiry-based instruction, which can lead to cognitive overload, subsequent frustration, misconceptions, lack of knowledge retention or long-term memory acquisition.  Fundamentally, the article argues and advocates for guided instruction during inquiry and process support for students as they move through their inquiry.  The research on cognitive load theory suggests, “guided instruction not only produced more immediate recall of facts than unguided approaches, but also longer term transfer and problem-solving skills.” (Kirschner et al., 2006, p. 80)  

“Furthermore, that working memory load does not contribute to the accumulation of knowledge in long-term memory because while working memory is being used to search for problem solutions, it is not available and cannot be used to learn.”

(Kirschner et al., 2006, p. 77)

Kirschner and others makes a strong claim – a skill I work diligently on with my language arts students while creating their own thesis in papers – and they have a strong criticism not against inquiry-based learning, but the method to achieving success in it.  The paper suggests guided instruction is fundamental to inquiry-based learning, and two major ways to provide adequate guided instruction are by providing examples, and process worksheets.

“Such worksheets provide a description of the phases one should go through when solving the problem as well as hints or rules of thumb that may help to successfully complete each phase. Students can consult the process worksheet while they are working on the learning tasks and they may use it to note intermediate results of the problem-solving process.”

(Kirschner et al., 2006, p. 80)

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Now I can circle back to my original point about my student’s projects the last eight weeks.  I LOVED this project.  My students worked step-by-step to engage in a collaborative, group approach that I now recognize as “Design-based lessons.”  

The process of the Food Truck Project was broken down into manageable segments, with graphic organizers to assist each step and facilitate individual roles within the groups.   As Baron suggests, students thrive when roles are designated,“ …roles are assigned to support equal participation, such as recorder, reporter, materials manager, resource manager, communication facilitator, and harmonizer.” (Barron, p. 11) I cannot take credit for this masterpiece, it was a unit plan that was purchased online, but this also speaks to open education and the benefits of sharing teacher resources openly.  

“A third genre of instructional approaches is based on the premise that children learn deeply when they are asked to design and create an artifact that requires understanding and application of knowledge. Design-based lessons have several features that make them ideal for developing technical and subject matter knowledge (Newstetter, 2000). For example, design activity supports revisions and iterative activity as students create, assess, and redesign their work product. The complexity of the work often dictates the need for collaboration and specific roles for different students, providing them with the opportunity to become “experts” in a particular area.”

(Barron, p. 7)

Why do I feel so passionately about sharing this process?  Well, it’s three-fold.  Firstly, I’m excited to learn that it falls under the concept of “design-based lesson” described in the article assigned in this week’s readings.  Secondly, the project serves to validate the concerns brought up in the research paper about minimal instruction during instruction being a flawed part of potential inquiry-based activities.  Thirdly, the project required students to share their final product in a public exhibition, which appeals to ideals set about by Barron and by Wagner and Dintersmith, earlier in previous weeks (and last year’s) required viewings in our course, in the “Most Likely to Succeed” documentary.  

I advocate for students to have public exhibition of their work. I believe it accurately reflects skills that they will need to acquire in the workforce, such as:

• Scheduling their work to be complete for a certain time frame
  (They had a certain number of days to complete each task)
• Learn to contribute to a group in a specific way
• Learn conflict resolution skills
• Go back to a step if they needed to, an example is if they lost a part of their measurement for cutting their cardboard cut outs to make their mini-food trucks
• Prepare talking points for the viewers
• Reflect on their project in a critical way, ie. one student reflected they could have “done a better job on the edges of their food truck”. Another reflected that they should have used their time better
• Take feedback from viewers, both constructive and positive ie. spelling errors in their work, and acknowledging how “cool” their lifted food truck was

“There are many ways in which performance assessments contribute to learning. For example, exhibitions, projects, and portfolios provide multiple occasions for review and revision toward a polished performance. These opportunities help students examine both how they learn and how to improve their performance. Students are often expected to present their work to an audience, such as groups of faculty, visitors, parents, or other students, to ensure that their mastery is genuine. These public presentations signal to students that their work is valued and reinforce the significance of their tasks in a real-world context.”

(Barron, p. 4)

I watched as my students thrived in the organized and structured lessons.  Here are some noticeable aspects of the project:

1. Every single student in my class had something to show on our “Food Truck Festival Day”.  There was variance in project-completion, or “process-completion” as I call it, but ultimately, everyone had completed something that they could exhibit.
2. Students who struggled with collaboration learned something from previous group projects and applied it to this activity.  In one case, a student chose to work alone rather than in a group – though this might seem like a ‘loss’ of collaboration, my observations suggest this particular student actually played a fundamental leadership role for other groups and helped them to navigate problems.
3. My students exceeded my expectations with what they were capable of, and I attribute this to the open-ness of  inquiry-based learning.  

“To develop these higher-order skills, students need to take part in complex, meaningful projects that require sustained engagement, collaboration, research, management of resources, and the development of an ambitious performance or product.”

(Barron, p. 3)

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In addition to the success of the process worksheets, this unit also aligns with the assessment practices outlined by Barron.  Checklists and rubrics were provided for students in a formative, ongoing way through this project and it lent itself well to growth and student reflection.  Barron outlines three key characteristics of assessment systems that support inquiry approaches:

• “1. Intellectually ambitious performance assessments that enable students to learn and apply desired concepts and skills in authentic and disciplined ways. 
• 2. Evaluation tools, such as assignment guidelines and rubrics, which define what constitutes good work and effective collaboration. 
• 3. Formative assessments to guide feedback to students and to shape their instructional decisions throughout a unit.” (Barron, p. 4)

Am I suggesting I am the BEST TEACHER EVER and I should just quit now while I’m ahead?  No.  Reflecting on the readings this week, I can recognize countless times where I got it wrong and did not provide adequate support to students through their inquiries.  I can think of three or four projects I’ve done this year where I had to scaffold in the moment, back track, or guide more because I did not structure the unit well enough.

But I will celebrate the wins, donut underestimate the power of guided inquiry. 😉

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