Traditional vs. Inquiry Approach
A Comparison of a Traditional Approach with an Inquiry Approach.
| Traditional Approach | Inquiry Approach |
| Teacher selection and direction | Student voice and choice |
| Required topics and isolated facts | Questions and concepts |
| Solitary work | Collaborative work |
| Memorization | Strategic thinking |
| As if/surrogate learning | Authentic investigations |
| Student compliance | Student responsibility |
| Student as information receiver | Student as knowledge creator |
| Quiet and listening | Interaction and talk |
| Teacher as expert and presenter | Teacher as model and coach |
| One subject at a time | Cross and transdisciplinary studies |
| Reliance on a textbook | Multiple sources and perspectives |
| Verbal sources only | Multimodal learning |
| Hearing about a discipline | Engaging in a discipline |
| Extrinsic motivators | Real purpose and audience |
| Forgetting and moving to the next unit | Caring, reflecting, and taking action |
| Filling in bubbles and blanks | Performance and self-assessments |
Credit: International Baccalaureate Organization
