Meaningfulness of Online Inquiry Learning

Abstract

Inquiry learning has long stood the test of time over the last hundred years to maintain value in the practice of education, more so in the 21st century. ‘Introspection’ captures best what Dewey (1910/1933) illumines on reflective thinking which is vital in the teaching-learning process (Bybee & Landes, 1990; Gibbs 1988; Farell, 2008). The current literature is rich to inform on the principles and practices of inquiry learning, but with disparate findings as to its effectiveness and design of approaches, both as framework for empirical work and as pedagogical innovation. This study reflects on the Inquiry-based Learning Project (IQBLP) designed to engage students to explore Intercultural Communication Competencies (ICC) of migrants, expats, and international students. The project was designed to be fully online. Through a comprehensive and reflective action analysis using SWOT, the study found that the IQBLP is an authentic highly motivating experience for students to achieve learning outcomes and could be moderately affected by student’s mediocre or superficial attitude towards learning. It is highly potential to promote holistic development with very minimal to negligible risk when done online. It is theoretically and philosophically sound to build ICC and uncover the hidden curriculum, targeting all prescribed general education outcomes. Its risks and threats are manageable but vital to inform future directions and application across the curriculum in hybrid or in-person modality.