How inquiry-based learning benefit students better

Many teachers in Singapore provide many facts to their students and believe that this is learning. However, people soon forget. At Science Buddies, we involve our students in their learning process by using inquiry-based methodology. This way they gain good understanding of the concepts taught and will be able to apply their knowledge to handle challenging examination questions rather than regurgitating facts.

Students in inquiry-based lessons do not wait for answers to be provided to them. Their curious nature makes them continue to seek solutions to problems. They know that relying on school text books alone is insufficient so they seek for resources in many other areas. Many school only focus on drilling their students for examinations alone. In our modern world, as things go global and changes are happening at very rapid rate, students need a skill set to prepare them for their future and be creative problem solvers. Memory skills will not be relevant when facts change. Inquiry-based learning will equip our students to be thinkers.

The teacher in an inquiry-based environment acts as the facilitator rather than a walking encyclopedia. Although they may still provide facts to the students, it is only to enhance learning and not as an information centre. Teachers using inquiry-based learning methodology will be able to track their students’ progress.

Many schools in Singapore are teacher-centred. This means the teacher is at the centre of attention and they will present all the facts to the students. This way, the teachers have no knowledge whether the students are following the lesson and if they have pick up any points. In a student-centred environment, the teachers are always challenging students to think out of the box. Teachers will be able to tell very quickly if the students are progressing.

As we are leaving in an information age, training your students to be thinkers and problem solvers is more effective than making them regurgitate facts that may become obsolete soon.