I'm going to start right off the bat and let you know that I most like the term "inquiry" for exploring new ideas and experiences with learners. I think it evokes the mindset of wondering, of questioning, of striving for new knowledge.
It doesn't lend itself to immediately thinking of a product, an end, a finish line.
The learning is the doing.
Where is all coming from? Well, back in the spring I read Inquiry Mindset by Trevor Mackenzie and Rebecca Bathurst-Hunt (and then I immediately read it again in the summer for their Flipgrid book chat) and I quite literally felt as though my kindred spirits were speaking to me through this book. But even before that I had been using the term inquiry in the Library Learning Commons with educators and students. Currently I am reading Engaging Children's Minds: The Project Approach and this question about terms came up as part of a book chat at Twitter.
Dictionary.com defines "inquire" as-
This to me is what learning is all about. Seeking information. Gaining knowledge. Asking questions.
It's not about a product but rather the process.
I want the learners I engage with to love the process of learning, whether they create something at the end or not.
Does that mean that I think learners don't need to create a product, or complete a project?
No!
The sharing of our learning through the creation of a product to share to an authentic audience is a valuable experience. I am a huge believer of the maker movement, maker culture and makerspaces in education. Learning through making is an essential part of a balanced education program and a necessary component for our 21st century learners.
But I do think the term we use matters.
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