Inquiry-based learning as a facilitator to student engagement in undergraduate and graduate social work programs
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.20343/teachlearninqu.8.1.13Keywords:
Student engagement, inquiry-based learning, professional education, mixed methods, social workAbstract
This seven-cohort mixed methods study examines student engagement in their learning in higher education utilizing inquiry-based learning. The study was conducted in varied settings (on-campus, in community, and study abroad), and across various degree levels (undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral) in social work education. Study results reveal an increase in participant reflective and integrative learning, and an increase in higher-order learning. Qualitative findings support the results through four emergent themes: (1) experience of inquiry-based learning, (2) adjustments required for learning process, (3) impactful facilitators to learning, and (4) developing deep learning. Implications and recommendations are offered for higher education and professional programs.
Metrics
References
Abbot, S. (2017). Review of Teaching to transgress: Education as the practice of freedom. International Journal for Students as Partners, 1(2). https://doi.org/10.15173/ijsap.v1i2.3230
Aditomo, A., Goodyear, P., Bliuc, A-M., & Ellis, R. A. (2013). Inquiry-based learning in higher education: Principal forms, educational objectives, and disciplinary variations. Studies in Higher Education, 38(9), 1239-1258. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2011.616584
Ahmad, A., Ali, A., VanMaaren, J., Barrington, J., Merritt, O., & Ansilio, K. (2017). Partnership In practice: Implementing Healey’s conceptual model. International Journal for Students as Partners, 1(2). https://doi.org/10.15173/ijsap.v1i2.3197
Alberta Education. (2010). Inspiring education: A dialogue with Albertans. Edmonton, AB: Alberta Education. Retrieved from https://open.alberta.ca/dataset/45370ce9-3a90-4ff2-8735-cdb760c720f0/resource/2ee2452c-81d3-414f-892f-060caf40e78e/download/4492270-2010-inspiring-education-dialogue-albertans-2010-04.pdf
Apedoe, X. S., & Reeves, T. C. (2006). Inquiry-based learning and digital libraries in undergraduate science education. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 15(5/6), 321-330. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10956-006-9020-8
Archer-Kuhn, B. (2013). Structured controversy: Inquiry-based learning in place of traditional group presentations. Teaching Innovations Projects, 3(1), article 14. Retrieved from https://ojs.lib.uwo.ca/index.php/tips/article/view/3645
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77-101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
Braye, S., Lebacq, M., Mann, F., & Midwinter, E. (2003). Learning social work law: An enquiry-based approach to developing knowledge and skills. Social Work Education, 22(5), 479-492. https://doi.org/10.1080/0261547032000126425
Buckner, E., & Kim, P. (2014). Integrating technology and pedagogy for inquiry-based learning: The Stanford mobile inquiry-based learning environment (SMILE). Prospects, 44(1), 99-118. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11125-013-9269-7
Choi, B. S., & Rhee, B. K. (2013). The influences of student engagement, institutional mission, and cooperative learning climate on the generic competency development of Korean undergraduate students. Higher Education, 67(1), 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-013-9637-5
Cochran-Smith, M. & Lytle, S. L. (2001). Beyond certainty: Taking an inquiry stance on practice. In A. Lieberman and L. Miller (Eds.), Teachers caught in the action: Professional development that matters (pp. 45-60). New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
Creswell, J., & Clark, V. L. P. (2011). Designing and conducting mixed methods research (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Dunleavy, J., & Milton, P. (2009). What did you do in school today? Exploring the concept of student engagement and its implications for teaching and learning in Canada. Toronto, ON: Canadian Education Association. Retrieved from https://education.alberta.ca/media/3069762/cea-2009-wdydist-concept.pdf
Engel, R. J., & Schutt, R. K. (2016). The practice of research in social work (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Friesen, S. & Scott, D. (2013). Inquiry-based learning: A review of the research literature. Paper prepared for the Alberta Ministry of Education. Retrieved from https://galileo.org/focus-on-inquiry-lit-review.pdf
Freire, P. (1988). Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York, NY: Continuum.
Furtak, E. M., Seidel, T., Iverson, H., & Briggs, D. C. (2012). Experimental and quasi-experimental studies of inquiry-based science teaching: A meta-analysis. Review of Educational Research, 82(3), 300-329. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654312457206
Healey, M. (2005). Linking research and teaching: Exploring disciplinary spaces and the role of inquiry-based learning. In Barnett, R. (Ed). Reshaping the university: New relationships between research, scholarship and teaching (pp 67-78). Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill/Open University Press.
Hudspith, B., & Jenkins, H. (2001). Teaching the art of inquiry. Halifax, NS: Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education/Société pour l’avancement de la pédagogie dans l’enseignement supérieur.
Justice, C., Rice, J., Roy, D., Hudspith, B., & Jenkins, H. (2009). Inquiry-based learning in higher education: Administrators’ perspectives on integrating inquiry pedagogy into the curriculum. Higher Education, 58(6), 841-855. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-009-9228-7
Justice, C., Warry, W., Cuneo, C., Inglis, S., Miller, S., Rice, J. & Sammon, S. (2002). A grammar for inquiry: Linking goals and methods in a collaboratively taught social sciences inquiry course. Ottawa, ON: Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education/Société pour l’avancement de la pédagogie dans l’enseignement supérieur. Retrieved from https://www.stlhe.ca/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/2001-Blizzard-McMaster.pdf
Krueger, R. & Casey, M. A. (2015). Focus groups: A practical guide for applied research (5th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Kuhlthau, C. C., Maniotes, L K., & Caspari, A. K. (2015). Guided inquiry: Learning in the 21st century (2nd ed.) Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited.
Lester, J., Leonard, J. B., & Mathias, D. (2013). Transfer student engagement: Blurring of social and academic engagement. Community College Review, 41(3), 202-222. https://doi.org/10.1177/0091552113496141
Levy, P. (2012). Developing inquiry‐guided learning in a research university in the United Kingdom. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 2012(129), 15-26. https://doi.org/10.1002/tl.20003
Levy, P., & Petrulis, R. (2012). How do first-year university students experience inquiry and research, and what are the implications for the practice of inquiry-based learning? Studies in Higher Education, 37(1), 85-101. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2010.499166
Little, S. (2010). Inquiry-based learning in the social sciences: A meta-analytical study. Sheffield: Centre for Inquiry-Based Learning in the Arts and Social Sciences, University of Sheffield. Retrieved from www.shef.ac.uk/polopoly_fs/1.122795!/file/IBL_in_SocSci-FINAL.pdf
MacKinnon, S. L. (2017). “The curiosity project”: Re-igniting the desire to inquire through
intrinsically-motivated learning and mentorship. Journal of Transformative Learning, 4(1), 4-21.
McKinney, P. (2014). Information literacy and inquiry-based learning: Evaluation of a five-year programme of curriculum development. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 46(2), 148-166. https://doi.org/10.1177/0961000613477677
Miller-Young, J., & Yeo, M. (2015). Conceptualizing and communicating SoTL: A framework for the field. Teaching & Learning Inquiry, 3(2), 37-53. https://doi.org/10.20343/teachlearninqu.3.2.37
Plowright, D., & Watkins, M. (2004). There are no problems to be solved, only inquiries to be made, in social work education. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 41(2), 185-206. https://doi.org/10.1080/1470329042000208701
Pulliam, R. M. (2017). Practical application of critical race theory: A social justice course design. Journal of Social Work Education, 53(3), 414-423. https://doi.org/10.1080/10437797.2016.1275896
Roy, D., Kustra, E., Borin, P. (2003). What is a “good” inquiry question? McMaster University, CLL resources. Retrieved from http://cll.mcmaster.ca/resources/misc/good_inquiry_question.html
Saunders-Stewart, K. S., Gyles, P. D. T., & Shore, B. M. (2012). Student outcomes in inquiry instruction: A literature-derived inventory. Journal of Advanced Academics, 23(1), 5-31. https://doi.org/10.1177/1932202X11429860
Spronken-Smith, R., & Walker, R. (2010). Can inquiry-based learning strengthen the links between teaching and disciplinary research? Studies in Higher Education, 35(6), 723-740. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075070903315502
Spronken-Smith, R., Walker, R., Batchelor, J., O’Steen, B., & Angelo, T. (2011). Enablers and constraints to the use of inquiry-based learning in undergraduate education. Teaching in Higher Education, 16(1), 15-28. https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2010.507300
Taylor, L., & Parsons, J. (2011). Improving student engagement. Current Issues in Education, 14(1). Retrieved from https://cie.asu.edu/ojs/index.php/cieatasu/article/view/745
Wilson, V. (2012). Research methods: Focus groups. Evidence Based Library and Information Practice, 7(1), 129-131. https://doi.org/10.18438/B8K32T
Woolf, J. (2017). An analytical autoethnographical account of using inquiry-based learning in a graduate research methods course. Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning/ La revue canadienne sur l’avancement des connaissances en enseignement et en apprentissage, 8(1), article 5. https://doi.org/10.5206/cjsotl-rcacea.2017.1.5
Wright, G. (2011). Student-centered learning in higher education. International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 23(1), 92-97. Retrieved from http://www.isetl.org/ijtlhe/pdf/IJTLHE23(1).pdf
Yesudhas, R., Lalit, P., Josy, A., & Impana, S. (2014). Water and sanitation in Mumbai’s slums: Education through inquiry-based learning in social work. Qualitative Report, 19 (45), 1-10. Retrieved from https://nsuworks.nova.edu/tqr/vol19/iss45/1
Zorn, I., & Seelmeyer, U. (2017). Inquiry-based learning about technologies in social work education. Journal of Technology in Human Services, 35(1), 49-62. https://doi.org/10.1080/15228835.2017.1277913
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2020 Beth Archer-Kuhn, Yeonjung Lee, Savannah Finnessey, Jacky Liu
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.