202. Inquiry is an Experience with Erik M. Francis

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In this insightful episode, Erik Francis delves into the transformative power of inquiry-based learning and the role of belief in education. Erik is an educator and the author of Deconstructing Depth of Knowledge and several other titles. He believes that kids can do anything, and it’s often the adult’s limiting beliefs that prevent a child from achieving, excelling, and succeeding. 

Erik emphasizes the necessity of nurturing curiosity to help students excel, advocating for a shift from traditional cognitive methods to contextual learning, which is significantly enhanced by Depth of Knowledge (DOK) strategies. He further discusses the importance of teaching through questioning, which encourages students to ask meaningful questions and become active participants in their education. This approach not only transfers instructional responsibility to learners but also fosters a dynamic and empowering learning environment.

The Big Dream 

Erik’s dream for education is that students love to learn—that they live through and beyond their potential. His belief is that answers come free, so ask questions! Curiosity and asking “why” is central to a good education that enables students to thrive. This dream extends to reevaluating educational standards, both in design and purpose.

Mindset Shifts Required
To embrace inquiry-based learning, educators must adopt a student-centered mindset. Inquiry and curiosity is an experience, a process—not a program that you can do on demand. 


This shift involves rethinking traditional teaching methods and embracing a questioning lens. Educators must be comfortable transferring instructional responsibility to students, encouraging questions for the purpose of teaching and learning. 


Action Steps  
Inquiry-based learning draws on students’ natural curiosity and desire for understanding. You can cultivate this in your classroom by taking these steps: 

Step 1: Start small by incorporating inquiry into everyday lessons. Begin by asking students how they can apply their knowledge and encouraging them to explain their understanding. Welcome questions from students and engage in your own process of questions and exploration, too. 

Step 2: Utilize Depth of Knowledge (DOK) levels to structure questioning, ensuring students progress from recalling information to applying and creatively using their knowledge. DOK levels include: 

• DOK 1: What is the knowledge or skill? 
• DOK 2: Can the knowledge or skill be understood and used? (i.e., the student becomes a teacher—can they teach it to someone else?)
• DOK 3: How and why can the knowledge or skill be understood and used?
• DOK 4: What else can be done with the knowledge or skill? 

These won’t be all captured in one classroom setting, but will get deeper over time as knowledge grows through curious questioning.  

Step 3: Transform educational standards by using curiosity and questioning to demonstrate learning, not just for the purpose of assessment (i.e., right or wrong answers). Get students to just start explaining—talking about their observations and understanding. Let curiosity be a driving force for knowledge instead of rigid assessment models.


Challenges?
One of the challenges educators may face is the fear of losing control in the classroom when turning over responsibility to students. There is also the challenge of re-teaching students how to ask effective questions, as traditional classroom settings often discourage this natural skill. Additionally, educators may struggle with differentiating instruction to cater to diverse learning needs and overcoming the constraints of rigid educational standards.

One Step to Get Started 
To get started, educators can begin by transforming their standards into inquiry-based questions using simple question stems like "How can you…?" or "How could you…?" This approach not only engages students but also encourages them to take ownership of their learning journey. 


Your goal is to have the students start explaining their thoughts and sharing their questions and ideas about the topic with you. From a book, for example, instead of them identifying a core theme (i.e., “family”) get them to start exploring family—what it is, who the family members are, how they’re related, how they feel about those characters in the book, etc. It’s about questioning and exploration.

Stay Connected
You can find this week’s guest on their website, Maverick Education or on X (Twitter), LinkedIn, and YouTube

To help you implement today’s takeaways, Erik is sharing a video for free: Deconstructing Depth of Knowledge - Discard the DOK Wheel. And, if you’re looking for more details on the ideas in this blog post, listen to episode 202 of the Time for Teachership podcast. If you’re unable to listen or you prefer to read the full episode, you can find the transcript below.

Quotes: 

• 2:53 “My belief is that answers come free, so ask questions.”
• 8:13 “You can’t say, ‘do inquiry.’ You can’t direct people to ‘do inquiry; today—it’s not a program, it’s experience. It’s a fluid stream of consciousness and it’s not easy or simple—it’s hard and it’s complex.”
• 10:02 “Traditionally in school, our questions are more so for the purpose of assessment or testing, and we need to make our questions about teaching and learning.”

29:02 “We need to take back control of standards-driven learning and we need to say that the standards are ours as educators. Because standards get thrust down to us and we’re not really sure why we have them. But we need to say, ‘They’re ours. They’re what we use to guide our students towards proficiency, competency, and success.’”

​If you enjoyed this episode, check out my YouTube channel where you can learn about more tips and resources like this one below: