Inquiry Based Learning in Teacher Education: Developments and implications

Currently, teaching at every level of education has a low status in Australia. Many teachers have reported an ambivalence about their profession and a number are, in fact, quite negative about their capacity to cope effectively with the increasing demands of the community (Kelly, 1995). There is no doubt that teaching in higher education has intensified over the past decade. The demands to cope with rapid changes in technology together with changing funding patterns, an increased number of students and the 'greying' of the profession over the last two decades, have contributed to a need to examine the effectiveness of teaching and learning at the tertiary level. Building on the work of Senge et al, (1990s, 2000) it would seem that universities, as well as schools, need to be recreated and renewed by taking a learning orientation. In Senge et al (2000:5)'s words:

This means involving everyone in the system in expressing their aspirations,

building their awareness and developing their capabilities together.

Inquiry and case based methodologies are approaches to teaching and learning which seek to place the learner at the centre of their own learning process either as individuals or in group situations. The next section of the paper will consider features of these approaches and their use in professional education.