Using Inquiry-Based Learning to Teach Math

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Originally published in TEACH Magazine, July/August 2015 Issue

By Tara Davis

My Inquiry-Based Learning (IBL) journey started in 2012 at a workshop hosted by the Mathematical Association of America. I received training in teaching IBL, specifically in a “Problem Solving for Math Teaching” class setting.

I was skeptical about IBL, having made it through a PhD program being taught almost exclusively with the traditional lecture method. But after graduate school, when I began teaching university full time in 2011, my colleagues challenged me to make my lessons more active. These encouragements, as well as my own budding curiosity, were what led me to participate in the workshop.

At the workshop, I learned that IBL has a broad definition and varied implementation. It is generally characterized by a student-centered learning experience, with the instructor serving more as a facilitator or a coach. There is little to no lecturing. IBL instruction does not use a traditional textbook, and may forbid students from consulting outside sources such as books or the Internet.

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Tara Davis is an Assistant Professor of Mathematics at Hawai’i Pacific University. She studied geometric group theory at Vanderbilt University but her interests now include mathematics education, especially active teaching and inquiry-based learning.

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Tara Davis
Tara Davis
Tara Davis is an Assistant Professor of Mathematics at Hawai’i Pacific University. She studied geometric group theory at Vanderbilt University but her interests now include mathematics education, especially active teaching and inquiry-based learning.

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