In my job as Middle School Principal at Kristin, I interview a lot of prospective students. I always ask them what their experience of school and learning is like and what kind of learning excites them.

Usually, they talk about ''inquiry'', something they get to do rarely but something they would like to do more often.

There's a lot of talk about the importance of inquiry-based learning in education. Yet, despite all the hype, there is often a lack of clarity around what, precisely, inquiry-based learning is. The origin of the word "educate", the Latin word educo, means to bring out or pull from, and develop from within. Inquiry-based learning does just that. While there is no one correct, all-encompassing definition, in general, inquiry-based learning refers to a set of active approaches that encourage students to engage with new ideas through curiosity and exploration. As protagonists of their own learning process, students develop new knowledge and skills while charting their own course, and therefore, develop longer-lasting competencies and critical skills such as self-efficacy, critical thinking, problem-solving and relationship-building in the process.

As an International Baccalaureate (IB) World School, Kristin offers the IB curriculum to all our students from Junior to Senior School. Importantly the IB curriculum is grounded in an inquiry approach to learning. Kristin has been following the IB inquiry-based curriculum for over 30 years now, and yet inquiry remains something that many schools are only still dabbling in today. Inquiry learning improves performance in all subjects, from arts to science. To truly establish a culture of inquiry-based learning, it is vital to have talented and trained teachers who can move beyond merely asking questions. At Kristin, we are fortunate to have such teachers who are mindful that every type of question they ask gives students a different kind of opportunity to demonstrate their learning. Our teachers also understand that an inquiry approach goes beyond asking students to connect to the text or imagine what might happen next. It means asking questions that demand students use evidence from the text to support their thinking. It means challenging students to respond to the differing ideas of their classmates. It means pushing students to further their thinking; it is about developing self-reliant thinkers. At Kristin, we ask our students curiosity-driven questions, where teachers are genuinely searching for meaning right alongside their students, co-creating the content as they progress.

Because of this approach to inquiry-based learning at Kristin, the process clicks, the students thrive, and the sense of achievement is palpable. Students love participating and expressing their thoughts, and when the bell rings, you can hear the discussion of great ideas continue down the hallway. With the guidance of their teachers, students can build the critical thinking, reading comprehension, empathic speaking, listening, and problem-solving skills they need to carry beyond the classroom and into the rest of their lives.