Inquiry-based learning is an important part of the Hibarigaoka Gakuen Elementary School curriculum. It gives the students a chance to combine all the learning they have acquired throughout the year and discover something new. It is also one of the most perfect ways to learn. Students can learn to learn. This is how our eyes are open to a new world of new possibilities.

This week in 1st grade, the students are combining their previous experience of making their round paper craft move with the wind and their knowledge of vehicles and how they move. The students started today by designing their cars after they decided what materials they would have to use.

The inquiry process requires the learner to make ideas, try those ideas out, and then re-think those ideas over and over until the learner feels like they got it right. 

Documenting the learning process can be like a snapshot of the student’s growth. As their ideas change and evolve, the students learn to combine their understanding of the world to form new understandings. 

This process never stops. This is why inquiring is such an important part of learning. This allows students to feel successful as activities like the “wind car” encourages students to start where they are, not at the same place as the whole class. We all grow and learn at different paces. 

Inquiry allows us to bloom into our best selves.