Abstract
This qualitative constructivist grounded theory study of trust within inquiry-based learning in higher education (IBL-HE) environments examined the experiences of instructors and students through four focus groups and nine individual interviews. As the study purpose is to understand the development and maintenance of trust in IBL-HE classrooms, participants are experienced instructors, learners, and authors of IBL-HE from Canada, USA, New Zealand, and Ireland. We used face-to-face sessions and zoom sessions to facilitate the focus group experience, and telephone for the individual interviews to explore the following two research questions: (1) what does trust mean in a higher education IBL (IBL-HE) classroom; and, (2) how do those involved create and maintain it? Our findings are revealed through our Pedagogy of Trust in IBL-HE using 3 themes: (1) Creating an environment of negotiated mutuality; (2) Emerging relationship/community building; and, (3) Internalizing and applying a mindset shift. Each of these stages involved a different trust relationship: (1) Professor-Student; (2) Student-Student; and, (3) Student-Self. These findings provide evidence for IBL as a pedagogy of trust in higher education, and reinforce the need for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL), and the lifelong learning skills desired by contemporary employers.
Highlights
Human development is predicated on the practice of inquiry, the process of observing and questioning within our environment (Gopnik, Meltzoff, & Kuhl, 1999)
Our study began with our two-day intensive working conference where we explored two key research questions that needed to be addressed regarding Inquiry-based learning (IBL) in higher education: What does trust mean in a higher education IBL (IBL-HE) classroom and how do those involved create and maintain it? This study received ethics approval from the universities of Calgary and Prince Edward Island
Based on these focus groups and interviews, we determined that their IBL-HE experiences with trust involved three distinct themes: (1) Creating an environment of negotiated mutuality; (2) Emerging relationship/community building; and, (3) Internalizing and applying a mindset shift
Summary
Human development is predicated on the practice of inquiry, the process of observing and questioning within our environment (Gopnik, Meltzoff, & Kuhl, 1999). Experienced IBL learners may be better prepared to succeed in the workforce as the process supports the development of additional lifelong learning skills, such as ongoing reflection, curiosity, critical thinking, and collaborative work with diverse teams and clientele (Almajed, Skinner, Peterson, & Winning, 2016; Anstey, 2017; Braye et al, 2003; Crick, 2009; Dyche & Epstein, 2011; Inglis, Statham, & Hanekam, 2014) All of these benefits have been found to lead to an increase in satisfaction in post-graduation employment (Summerlee, 2018)
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