Inquiry-Rich Courses

Definition

An Inquiry-Rich course is one in which the student, with guidance from the instructor, engages in a systematic process involving:

Asking questions that are grounded in an articulated conceptual framework
Selecting methods for answering the question that are appropriate to the discipline
Collecting, recording, and analyzing information to answer the question
Linking evidence to explanation
Communicating valid conclusions
Critiquing explanations or models using evidence or information
Drawing inferences from data or information
Placing findings in a social and historical context

Although the level of student independence for each stop in the inquiry process will vary based on the student's background knowledge and skills, course objectives, and resource constraints, the student should have autonomy and responsibility for the outcome of the inquiry process. The student may be a member of a collaborative team that involves other undergraduate students, graduate students, and one or more instructors.

Inquiry-Rich courses meet a set of criteria to be established by faculty advisory groups within majors or programs in consultation with the Faculty Senate. These criteria should be broad enough to apply to inquiry in all disciplines. Departments may establish more discipline-specific criteria for Inquiry-Rich courses or develop Inquiry-Rich lectures and laboratories centered on methods of investigation specific to the particular field. Example guidelines adapted from the National Science Education Standards (1996) include the following:

Less Emphasis On	More Emphasis On
Lectures	Experiential inquiry and design
Classroom-based learning activities	Out-of-classroom learning activities
Separation of theory and practice	Integration of theory and practice
Student individual learning	Collegial and collaborative learning
Fragmented, one-shot learning activities	Long-term, coherent, planned activities
Student as consumer of knowledge	Student as creator of knowledge
Student as follower	Student as leader
Pre-defined, "fixed" problems	Open-ended problems

Some departments may decide that certain courses areInquiry-Rich courses. Alternatively, only certain sections of required or elective courses in a discipline may be designated as Inquiry-Rich courses. Departments may wish to make their freshman seminars inquiry-based.

An Inquiry-Rich course might involve multidisciplinary inquiry, in which case the course would be cross-listed (perhaps a problems course) in each of the participating departments. A multidisciplinary Inquiry-Rich course might provide students with the opportunity to understand and to appreciate how a given societal problem, such as environmental sustainability or health disparities in our country, is approached from different disciplines. The inquiry might be embedded in a service learning or study abroad experience.

Requirements

Through extensive faculty dialogue, a set of characteristics for Inquiry-Rich courses that applies across the University needs to be developed. These criteria would address student learning processes (e.g., level of student direction) and procedures for evaluating student learner outcomes.

Although a given course might have course pre-requisites,Inquiry-Rich courses should not be restricted to students with high GPRs. Participation in inquiry-based learning often energizes and focuses students' scholarship.

Supporting needs

Resources
Inquiry-Rich courses are demanding on faculty time. Faculty who teach such courses may be assigned graduate teaching assistance, smaller classes, or fewer courses. Faculty may also need access to funds to allow students to engage in authentic inquiry. Such funds might be used to support travel to collect data or to pay for laboratory supplies.

Faculty Ownership
Curricular changes often fail because faculty are not involved in the discussions that lead to the recommended changes. Consequently, faculty often perceive recommended curricular changes as yet another demand that they "do more with less." A recommended approach to incorporating inquiry-based learning into the undergraduate curriculum is to first identify and recruit as faculty advocates those individuals who are already incorporating inquiry into their courses. Faculty will adopt approaches that they view as a) valued by their colleagues, b) rewarded by the university, c) good for students, d) within their capacity to deliver, and e) consistent with their values. The implementation plan should include strategies that address each of these criteria.

College QEP faculty advisory group
This group will be responsible for establishing criteria for what constitutes an Inquiry-Rich within their college with the approval of the QEP Council.

Faculty development
Faculty development needs can be met through workshops, web-based resources, and consultation from faculty who have successfully implemented inquiry practices.

Goals Inquiry-Rich Courses Promote

Inquiry-Rich courses help advance each student towards many of the learning goals specified by the Task Force for Enhancing the Undergraduate Experience and noted in the goal statement of the refined QEP. The five major areas noted in these documents were as follows:

Communicate effectively in writing and speaking
Critically analyze
Possess personal integrity
Contribute to society
Master the depth of knowledge required of a discipline/major

Inquiry-Rich courses are particularly well-suited to advance all the skills pertaining to these goals and therefore are a very natural way of advancing the goals of the refined QEP.