ABSTRACT
The art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery. Inquiry-based learning is where authentic learning starts because inquiry is learning at its most authentic. Elementary teachers facilitate lots of hands-on learning, whether it be coloring, cutting and pasting, playing duck-duck-goose, or using manipulatives to learn how to count. Inquiry-based learning is a teaching strategy where, instead of the teacher presenting facts, there is a question, problem, or scenario posed for students to consider. The entire purpose of inquiry-based learning is that the students ask the questions that drive the learning. There are various ways to use inquiry in the classroom, running the spectrum of teacher control to complete student control. Inquiry-based learning not only changes the role of the teacher, but also alters the role of the student. The brunt of the learning is no longer on the teacher.
