Getting it straight: The difference between inquiry-based learning and teaching as inquiry as taught to prospective teachers

Abstract

Teaching as inquiry is a concept included in the notes on effective pedagogy in The New Zealand Curriculum (Ministry of Education, 2007). In this paper we look at this concept in relation to inquiry-based learning, a longstanding approach to beliefs and practices in teaching. We study these two types of inquiry in the context of two courses in teacher education at the University of Canterbury. We demonstrate that these two types of inquiry are complex and there is a need for more evidence to evaluate their respective merits, given that they serve different purposes.