We continue to work on this project that was originally supported by the TEACHER LEARNING and LEADERSHIP PROGRAM (TLLP) with the Ontario Ministry of Education.  Our project Uncovering Content-Integrating Critical Thinking into Social Studies for 21st Century Learners was developed because as teachers we felt we needed to enhance our knowledge of using critical thinking questions and inquiry-based learning in order for our students to become actively engaged in their learning.

Join us as we investigate how to implement inquiry-based learning in our grade 5/6 classroom. We will be sharing our experience through a blog and providing you with our lessons complete with pictures and videos. Join us with comments, ideas and discussion in our book study blog, we recommend resources and web links plus ideas on how we use the iPad & iPod technology with our students. Our goal for this website is to allow teachers to have convenient, user friendly resource to enhance their own inquiry-based classrooms.

Children want to know! Teaching children to think for themselves, to reason, to think critically, to build knowledge and to work with others is a goal worth reaching.  "Every effort must be made in childhood to teach the young to use their own minds." Eleanor Roosevelt

Inquiry-Based learning is student-centred and based on John Dewey’s philosophy that education begins with the curiosity of the learner.  "It is an approach to learning whereby students find and use a variety of sources of information and ideas to increase their understanding of a problem, topic, or issue....it espouses investigation, exploration, research, pursuit, and study." Guided Inquiry Learning in the 21st Century, Kuhlthau, Maniotes, Caspari, Libraries Unlimited,  2007

Research shows that active learning is a powerful tool. The benefits for students is the development of abilities that are crucial for learners such as, critical thinking, team-work and informational literacy. It encourages learners to be self-directed which is a significant skill that students will need to acquire in order to be successful in the 21st century. Inquiry-Based Learning can improve students´ enthusiasm and motivation for learning.