Transforming classrooms into spaces where questions ignite discovery and deeper understanding

Inquiry-based learning is redefining what it means to be educated in today’s world. Instead of memorising facts, students are encouraged to ask questions, investigate ideas, and connect classroom concepts to real-life situations. This approach nurtures curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking—skills essential for the 21st century. By becoming co-learners rather than lecturers, teachers help students explore openly, embrace mistakes, and develop confidence in their reasoning. With global education systems and India’s NEP 2020 emphasising experiential learning, inquiry-driven classrooms are emerging as spaces that build adaptable, compassionate, and future-ready minds grounded in a lifelong love of discovery

Nowadays, education is not about mere facts and figures; it’s about awakening curiosity. In a time when answers are only a click away, what truly matters is the ability to ask the right questions. Consequently, the future classroom will be the domain of those who can imagine, investigate, and comprehend, rather than those with the best memory. And it is here that inquiry-based learning becomes a great force: students are taken from textbooks and grades to a true and lifelong love of learning.

Power of Asking “Why?”

Curiousness is a natural thing in children; they want to know how things work, why something happens, and what comes after.

The conventional way of teaching usually puts an end to this natural curiosity for the sake of organization, pacing, and exam results. With inquiry-based learning, “why” is again the focus.

In this model, the question sets the lesson in motion, not the answer. A simple prompt like “What would happen if there were no gravity?” can trigger research, debate, and experimentation.

Learning thus becomes an adventure that links imagination with understanding.

Catch-up of Education Systems

Curiosity is being reassessed as a deep learning driver by different education systems aroundthe globe, and Finland’s phenomenon-basedlearning, Singapore’s focus on applied inquiry, and India’s NEP 2020 point to the same trend: learning that links classroom concepts and real-life situations is the trend.

The experiential learning part of NEP encourages students to see beyond the limitations of books and exams by becoming actively curious learners who conduct inquiries in the fields of exploration, experimentation, and expression, such as through art. It is indeed a culture shift from competition to curiosity, which actually supports the schools in raising the kinds of learners who are flexible, compassionate, and creative.

The Teacher as Co-Learner

In inquiry-based learning environments, the teacher is not the sole authority but a colleague in the investigation. The teacher’s role is to create an environment that fosters discovery and to guide students as they construct their own understanding.

A teacher should be more likely to opt for “Let us together discover the truth” instead of “Here is the solution.” This small but important change can be the shift in the power relations within a classroom. It leads to the realization of the intellectual risks taken, the expression of ideas, and the acceptance of mistakes as learning points. When teachers express their interest in finding out more, they imply that their students can do the same.

Beyond Classrooms: Real-World Problems

Inquiry-based learning represents an ongoing process. Learning through projects is made significant, as they teach skills like collaboration, empathy, and social responsibility, which are hard to measure by tests but are important for a successful life.

Building Future-Ready Minds

Inquiry-based learning is a powerful tool for students to develop the attributes that are most essential in the 21st century: critical thinking, collaboration, adaptability, and problem-solving. Moreover, it gives the student a self-esteem boost. Inquiry-based students tolerate ambiguity because they have the experience of examining, pondering, and adjusting to it. In this day and age, questioning and answering are no longer options but necessities; they are the great survival skills. It is to the benefit of humanity that minds are kept alive and societies are moved forward.

A Culture of Lifelong Wonder

Inquiry-based learning turns out to be both a teaching method and a philosophy. It implies that learning does not only happen in schools or through curricula. Each moment, each question, each difficulty can lead to a discovery. Such schools, teachers, and families, who together provide the necessary conditions for curiosity to thrive, are the creators of the new generation of thinkers who are not only able to follow commands but also to influence the future. Curiosity, after all, is the oldest form of human learning. Inquiry-based education simply gives it back its rightful place.

(The author is Principal of Amity Global School Noida.)