With the advent of common core standards, we are moving away from an instructional model that supports accumulation of facts and knowledge to a process or inquiry based model of searching for answers to driving questions.  In the past, teachers have been expected to impart information to students but now they must transform their instruction to a more collaborative, process-oriented and facilitated instruction.  Rather than thinking of this as an add-on requirement, teachers need to reassess their learning outcomes and find ways to redesign their lessons that will still have an end-goal in mind but also deliver the same content in a collaborate, inquiry, project-based model allowing students to synthesize the information they encounter.  This transformation can't be done overnight, so in order to maintain balance teachers need to make these changes in small steps.  One way would be to start with one content area such as social studies and then gradually add other content areas.  They need to also understand that the old ways isn't necessarily wrong or bad and that using old methods can still be integrated in with the new methods.

In order for inquiry learning to be successful. Several factors need to be considered and implemented:

• Standards should be the foundation of the inquiry and the project.
• Rubrics must be developed and shared with students to ensure clarity of the expectation of how they will be assessed.
• Every project should start with an end goal while avoiding "canned" projects.
• Before starting any inquiry project, students need to determine what content they know and what they need to know.
• Student journals facilitate student reflection and help teachers monitor student progress.
• Peer support (Teacher-Teacher and/or student/student) provides a means for feedback and to gain new ideas and perspectives.
• Final presentation and projects allow students to share their findings and demonstrate knowledge of the content.

Technology is not a required element in inquiry-based learning.  However, it can enhance the experience by providing a medium with which to search for information, share information and collaborate with others on a global scale. Technology is effective when in enhances learning and activities that would occur with or without the technology, but adds value to the learning by extending how, when and where the learning occurs.