Let It Go: THE POWER OF STUDENT-GENERATED QUESTIONING IN INQUIRY LEARNING

What happens when students are in charge of the questioning in inquiry learning? While beneficial to student engagement and learning outcomes, student-created research questions require a shift in thinking for the teaching team, which is made up of the school librarian, classroom teacher(s), and other specialists designing the inquiry learning experience. In the Guided Inquiry Design process, an innovative research method detailed in the book Guided Inquiry Design: A Framework for Inquiry in Your School, a critical component involves students' writing inquiry questions based on their own interests. This design empowers the teaching team to fully address curriculum and standards while empowering students to be the masters of their own learning. When both teachers and students are empowered, educators see the outcomes they desire, and students have the learning experience they deserve. Like any new idea implemented in the classroom, student-generated questioning takes practice for both students and educators. Students may be confused or intimidated by the idea of generating their own questions.