Whether you’re enrolled at a Goddard School or are just discovering us, one of the questions we get asked the most is: What is inquiry-based learning? To follow our inquiry-based learning model, we would ask a question back: what does inquiry-based mean to you? It may feel frustrating as an adult to have a question met with a question but aren’t you curious? Now you really want to know the answer. You may fall down a rabbit hole, stumbling upon blog posts, videos, books or case studies. As you find one answer, it will likely lead to more questions, which means additional research to understand your inquiry. By following your curiosity, making new discoveries and realizing you have more questions, you’ve become an active participant in your quest for knowledge instead of a passive recipient of information. Active participation in learning means you’re interested and invested and that interest is what snowballs into what we confidently do at The Goddard School®: instill a lifelong love of learning.
Okay, now we’ll give you the answer you were looking for. Inquiry-based learning starts with curiosity, something children have in abundance! Between the ages of two and five, children ask an average of 40,000 questions. Inquiry-based learning lets them ask those questions then challenges them to ask more. It’s a child-led approach that puts children (mostly) in charge of their learning journey. They get to explore what piques their curiosity, like garbage trucks or animals, while teachers act as guides, tailoring lessons to each child’s interest. For example, an inquiry into “What does the sun do?” may lead to exploring light and shadows, heat and outer space or evolve into questions about gardening; the children lead the way! Plus, our program is deeply rooted in play-based learning, so kids get to have fun and enjoy the magic of childhood. They get messy, make mistakes and develop meaningful friendships in a safe, nurturing environment built with their best interests at heart.
Wonder of Learning® at a Glance
Our inquiry-based program, Wonder of Learning, has weekly inquiry questions that every classroom explores. Yes, including infants! The weekly inquiry is tied to a unit theme like how might I learn more about myself? Then each child explores the weekly question their own way, learning more about themselves, their classmates and the world around them. The curriculum also:
- Promotes learning through play allowing children to test out ideas, engage with each other, practice new skills and enjoy hands-on activities.
- Encourages children to seek information and deeper understanding because learning is forever, and an answer is just an endpoint.
- Supports the development of social-emotional skills, including self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision-making.
- Fuels intrinsic motivation — learning is fun, not a chore.
- Provides assessment tools that teachers use to chart each child’s progress throughout their time at Goddard.
- Includes robust family communication, participation and at-home activities so you can extend your child’s learning at home.
You can learn more about the benefits of inquiry-based learning from our Chief Academic Officer, Dr. Lauren Loquasto, in this Scary Mommy article. And if you want to practice this approach at home, it’s simple. Instead of giving your child an answer to their 1,000th why, ask them what they think. Get curious. Then explore the question together. You’ll be amazed at what you discover!
