Community of Inquiry: Helping Students and

Teachers to Build Thinking Communities

What is collaborative inquiry-based learning?
Creating a Community of Inquiry in the Classroom

John Dewey

INQUIRY COMMUNITY

Lev Vygotsky
Thinking in education

“…all which the school can or need do for

pupils, so far as their minds are concerned...is to
develop their ability to think.”

Democracy and Education, p. 152

“The sole direct path to enduring

improvement in the methods of instruction and
learning consists in centering upon the
conditions which exact, promote and test
thinking.”
Democracy and Education, p. 153
Internalization of forms of social exchange

Every feature in the child’s cultural

development appears twice: first on
the social level, and later, on the
individual level; first between people
(interpsychological), and then inside
the child (intrapsychological).... All
the higher psychological functions
originate as actual relations between
human individuals.

Lev Vygotsky, Mind in Society, p. 57

 Inquiry-based

learning

involves learning to:

•identify problems
•probe and question
•hypothesize and explain
•weigh reasons and evidence
•consider various possibilities
•explore concepts and ideas
•reason proficiently
 Collaborative
learning

involves:
•discussion and deliberation
•work in pairs and small groups
•substantive communication
•considering other’s viewpoints
•the give-and–take of reasons
•exploring disagreement
•learning to think for yourself
Improving the intellectual quality of student work
and fostering a quality learning environment

SUBSTANTIVE DEEPER KNOWLEDGE HIGHER ORDER

COMMUNICATION AND UNDERSTANDING THINKING

Inquiry-based learning helps to raise the

intellectual quality of classroom work.

Collaborative work helps to provide a quality

learning environment.

HIGH LEVELS OF SUPPORTIVE CLASSROOM STUDENT SELF

ENGAGEMENT ENVIRONMENT REGULATION
What kind of person are we trying to form?

By teaching and learning through collaborative

inquiry we aim to produce individuals who are:

• critical and creative thinkers

• reasonable
• good collaborators
• effective communicators
• tolerant
• inclusive
• caring
 •Critical and creative thinking

Students become proficient in

the use of an array of tools that
enable them to think critically
and creatively when solving
problems and dealing with
issues.
 •Reasonableness

Students learn to explore their

differences and disagreements
reasonably, by examining
reasons for what they and
others believe, and withholding
judgment or changing their
minds if that is appropriate.
 •Collaboration

Students see themselves as

belonging to a collaborative
community.

They learn to value each

other’s contributions and
build upon one other’s ideas.
 •Effective communication

Students learn to communicate

complex thoughts effectively and
to deliberate with others on matters
of intellectual interest and common
concern.
 •Tolerance

Students learn to be more

considerate of cultural and
individual differences, and
to be respectful of others
who may be different from
themselves.
 •Inclusiveness

Students learn to consider

different points of view and to
seek a wider understanding.
 •Care

By exploring their thoughts

ideas and values together,
students develop care and
concern for each other.
Academic results

2002 Queensland Year 7 Tests

Aspects of Numeracy and Literacy

800
780
760
740
720 Buranda SS
700
State
680
660
640
620

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 2006 Queensland Year 3 Tests 2006 Queensland Year 5 Tests 2006 Queensland Year 7 Tests
Aspects of Literacy and Numeracy Aspects of Literacy and Numeracy Aspects of Literacy and Numeracy

590 740
660
580
650 720
570
640 700
560
630 680
550
540 620
660
530 610
640
520 600
620
510 590
500 580 600
490 570

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buranda state buranda state buranda state

 Buranda State School
Literacy compared with the State

Year 2 Year 5 Year 7

1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

Literacy 24 0 0 29 0 0 21 17 13 14
Overall

Reading 0 0 0 0 -28 0 16 12 29 0 0 21 17 13 14

Spelling 0 0 0 0 23 0 0 0 0 0

Writing -28 0 0 0 -28 0 0 -12 0 0 0 0 17 13 14

 Buranda State School
Literacy compared with the State

Year 2 Reading 1997-2007 Buranda State Year 3 Reading 2001-2007

School Buranda State School

3 600
2.5 580
2 560
Buranda 540 Buranda
1.5
State 520 State
1
0.5 500
480
0
460
97

98

00

01

02

05

06

07
99

03

04

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

19

19

19

20

20

20

20

20

20

20

20

Year 5 Reading 1998-2007

Year 7 Reading 1997-2007
Buranda State School Buranda State School

700 740
680 720
660 700
640 Buranda
680
620 Buranda State
660
600 State
580 640
560 620
540 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
520
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
 Cognitive gains at 2-year follow-up

K.J. Topping and S. Trickey, ‘Collaborative philosophical inquiry for schoolchildren: Cognitive gains at 2-
year follow-up,’ British Journal of Educational Psychology (2007), 77, 787-796.
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