Abstract
Our 5-year experiment with teaching and evaluating an inquiry course has led us to conclude that inquiry is a potent pedagogical tool in higher education, encouraging students to become self-directed and engaged learners. This article offers key ingredients and procedures for designing an inquiry-based course. It provides a pragmatic model of inquiry that describes the structure and function of such a course and the goals and learning objectives for students. This model of inquiry is widely applicable and will help faculty members from a variety of disciplines develop an innovative way of engaging and teaching students.
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Acknowledgments
We would like to acknowledge McMaster University reference librarians Nora Gaskin and Olga Perkovic for their creative input and work in designing and conducting the library training sessions described in this article. We thank Dale Roy, Bob Hudspith, and Chris Knapper for their suggestions and critical feedback on this article.
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Christopher Justice, Ph.D., is an anthropologist and health social scientist, and is an associate of the Centre for Leadership in Learning.
e-mail: justice@mcmaster.ca
James Rice, Ph.D., is Professor Emeritus in the School of Social Work.
e-mail: ricejame@mcmaster.ca
Wayne Warry, Ph.D., is Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology. His interests include aboriginal issues, aboriginal health and health systems evaluation, and educational research.
e-mail: warrywa@mcmaster.ca
Sue Inglis, Ph.D., is Professor in the Department of Kinesiology. Her interests include organizational behaviour and student inquiry.
e-mail: ingliss@mcmaster.ca
Stefania Miller, Ph.D., is Associate Professor, Department of Political Science. Her interests include international human rights and democratization in post-communist systems.
e-mail: millers@mcmaster.ca
Sheila Sammon, M.A., is Associate Professor, School of Social Work. Her interests include social work education and the integration of theory and practice.
e-mail: sammon@mcmaster.ca
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Justice, C., Rice, J., Warry, W. et al. Inquiry in Higher Education: Reflections and Directions on Course Design and Teaching Methods. Innov High Educ 31, 201–214 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10755-006-9021-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10755-006-9021-9