Teaching and Learning Inquiry Framework

Abstract

This article describes the development of the Teaching and Learning Inquiry Framework (TLIF) and applications for its use. For decades teacher preparation and support has been dictated by a narrow mindset in which academic disciplines have been taught in isolation. This landscape, however, is evolving to align with the view that the world is rarely experienced in disciplinary silos. Interdisciplinary approaches to teaching and learning can enable students to make more holistic connections to the world around them and be better prepared for college and career. With the recent publication in the USA of four related standards-based reform documents across each of the core subject areas, teacher preparation and professional development programs are evolving to offer teachers opportunities to examine the implications of the new standards. To address these complexities, a guiding conceptual framework is needed that focuses in on how inquiry can serve as an entry point to frame the integration of content within and across disciplines. The TLIF was developed out of the hypothesis that teachers need to be prepared to teach in a more interdisciplinary way using inquiry methods. There are six recursive stages to the TLIF: 1) stage and engage, 2) ask and pose, 3) plan and monitor, 4) search and gather, 5) analyze and create, and 6) communicate and apply.