Enquiry and Independent Learning
"To ask questions wisely is to teach"
Alcuin of York, c740-804,
scholar, teacher and adviser to Charlemagne
Since the mid-1980s Enquiry has become a central element in curriculum planning and in day to day teaching. Much brain-power has been expended by individuals and departments on creating effective enquiry questions – but there’s much more to enquiry than the search for the ultimate enquiry question. What this section focusses on is the process of enquiry, the role that this process plays in the learning and teaching of history at all levels and how we can weave that process into the heart of the history curriculum right up to A level.
Just as significantly, the enquiry process is also of paramount importance in developing students’ ability to study independently, particularly by the time they reach A level. To study independently with confidence and success students need to have a clear route through new topics in their minds and this is what the enquiry process provides. Enquiry and independence in learning are therefore inextricably linked.
Therefore there are two core articles in this section.
The first, longer, article is The Nature and Significance of Enquiry in History Teaching which I revised in 2023 to summarise my main conclusions. It discusses, amongst other issues, the nature of the enquiry process, using enquiry to create coherence in courses and also introduces how we can develop students’ ability to study independently.
The second article Developing Independent Learning at A level focusses on how to build independence by helping students follow the enquiry process.
You can find these core articles immediately below – in the grey background.
Below this are two further articles discussing enquiry and independent learning – the first was published in Primary History and relates to KS2, the second reflects on my first experience of trying to develop A level students’ independence back in the late 1970s.
These are followed by a short list of the main activities and resources referred to in the articles.
In addition, much of the discussion here is developed in more detail, especially with regard to GCSE and A level classes, in:
Raising Attainment through Visible Learning HERE …
Core Article:
The nature and significance of enquiry in history teaching
Revised in 2023, this article describes the process of enquiry, ideas for using enquiry to create coherent courses, how enquiry helps students develop the ability to study independently, the reasons why enquiry should be central to teaching and its use at historical sites and museums.
Core Article:
Developing Independent Learning at A level
This article sets out how to develop A level students’ independence through using the enquiry process.
Additional Articles
Enquiry at KS2: developing puzzling, enjoyable,
effective historical investigations
Beginning with an exciting archaeological find, this article, published in Primary History in 2015, discusses approaches to enquiry at KS2 with an emphasis on practical activities.
The Importance of Keeping Enquiry Questions Flexible
A plea to adopt a flexible approach to asking enquiry questions with all ages, putting the development of students’ ability to ask questions before a department’s desire for precise assessment practices.
Flipped Learning and Independent Study: a 1970s forerunner
Discussion and explanation of how I tried to helped A level students become confident with learning with greater independence in the 1970s.
Activities and Resources
These items exemplify and support key aspects of the enquiry process and are referred to in the core article.
The Riccall Mystery – how do we carry out historical enquiries? |
Start with an imaginary excavation, finish by understanding vital ideas about enquiry. A lively and involving introduction to the process of historical enquiry. |
A card-sort demonstrating how to use the Enquiry Process to help students study more independently and with more confidence. |
This PowerPoint sequence can be used before a new enquiry to remind students of the process – and it’s a model for producing your own version. |
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Vocab-cards to reinforce the hypothetical vocabulary students use during an enquiry – possible, maybe, hypothesis. |
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Question dice to prompt students with interrogative words – who, what, why? |