An Exploration of Inquiry Social Studies Education

Exploration of Inquiry in Social Studies Education Daniel Good, Dr. Gabe Swarts Education UW Oral Honors Denver, Colorado The educational world is rapidly changing and growing. The way that learning is accomplished has developed heavily in recent history. Students are rapidly becoming more accustomed with the necessary skills for the real world while learning them in the classroom. Educational research shows that students who learn through inquiry and through student-led exploration are able to retain more learning than students who are required to sit silently while taking notes in class. However, not all students have the opportunity to learn in this way. As a teacher it is important that your students learn in the most impactful way possible even when it is harder to prepare. Various schools around the state are currently working to grow in their use of inquiry which will in turn raise test scores, reading levels and student engagement. So much of this style of education ties in with literacy that this way of teaching encourages higher levels of reading and comprehension. This Exploration of Inquiry in Social Studies Education focuses on a high school World History classroom and on the use of inquiry based learning and teaching during a unit of study. Obviously, this is a small sample, yet it still provides insights to some of the positives and some of the growing pains experienced as schools begin to phase in Inquiry based learning. By peeling back all the bureaucracy it is possible to get a clear picture of where our education system lies and where it can improve.