Why Inquiry?
Inquiry-based teaching is not new. Socrates employed inquiry as a method of promoting deep thinking, discussion and debate to help peers collaboratively make meaning of concepts and controversy.
Inquiry-based teaching has been called by various names, including the Socratic method, Socratic circles or seminars, inquiry-based teaching, and instructional conversations.
In every approach lies the cornerstone of the theory of teaching through inquiry - that inquiry promotes reflection on the issues, the role of society and self in addressing those issues, and the questions inevitably raised by any issue that is not well-settled.
Why Inquiry in Medical Education?
Medicine is an ever-evolving profession intertwined with ongoing scientific research and discoveries. Inquiry is at the heart of clinical problem-solving and scientific research. Thus, inquiry-based teaching has become essential to how we teach medical students.
Inquiry-based Teaching Requires Effective Questions
There is a great difference between asking effective questions - questions that promote learning, and asking ineffective questions - questions that do not.
Effective questions:
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Engage learners as active participants in the learning process.
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Encourage learners to be less-instructor dependent, and more adept at self-regulation.
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Direct learners' attention to specific topics or issues.
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Provide opportunities for learners to make connections among peers, ideas and resources.
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Encouarge students to discover answers, rather than rely on instructors to provide them.
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Emphasize the process of thinking.
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Require reflection and self-assessment of knowledge and skills.
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Emphasize Learning through articulation.
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Enhance memory as learners determine meaning for themselves.
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