Professional Development for Teachers in Guiding High School Students’ Individual Research-Based Inquiry Learning

Overview

The Center conducts the project “Professional Development for Teachers in Guiding High School Students’ Individual Research-Based Inquiry Learning” in order to examine effective practices and approaches for implementing and teaching individual research-based inquiry learning in high schools.

This project is carried out in collaboration with the Secondary School attached to the Faculty of Education, the University of Tokyo, and Stanford University SPICE (Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education). Drawing on both domestic and international research and prior practices related to inquiry-based learning, the project places strong emphasis on understanding actual instructional practices and organizational approaches in school settings from multiple perspectives.

By fostering reciprocal engagement between university-based research and high school educational practice, the project organizes and shares insights into how individual research-based inquiry learning is positioned and implemented within school education.

In addition, through ongoing dialogue and collaborative forums involving high school teachers and education professionals from across Japan, participants share their respective contexts, challenges, and innovative practices. Through this process, the project seeks to accumulate and make visible practical knowledge related to the teaching of inquiry learning. Ultimately, the project aims to deepen understanding of the professional expertise and roles of teachers who support inquiry-based learning and to generate knowledge that contributes to the further development of inquiry-oriented learning in future school education.

Objectives

The purpose of this project is to support teachers in acquiring the knowledge, skills, and professional dispositions required to effectively guide individual research-based inquiry learning, thereby expanding high-quality practices of such learning across high schools throughout Japan.

Inquiry-based learning, in which students formulate their own questions and deepen their learning by engaging with those questions, has gained attention as an educational approach that fosters strong learner agency and higher-order thinking skills. However, the systematic development of teachers who can effectively support and guide this type of learning has not yet been sufficiently established.

This project aims to cultivate reliable instructional expertise for supporting inquiry-based learning by encouraging teachers’ own inquiry-oriented perspectives and by fostering a reciprocal relationship between practical knowledge and theoretical frameworks that underpin inquiry learning practices.

Activities

As part of this project, monthly regular meetings have been held for high school teachers from across Japan, with the aim of enhancing their understanding of and practical capacity for guiding individual research-based inquiry learning.

Each session begins with a shared discussion of the significance and overall framework of inquiry-based learning, followed by step-by-step and multi-perspective examinations of its positioning within the broader school curriculum. Topics addressed include the formulation of research themes and questions, as well as effective ways of utilizing existing research and learning resources.

In addition to lectures and case presentations, the project places strong emphasis on dialogue and the exchange of perspectives among participating teachers. By bringing together concrete practices and challenges from their respective schools, participants engage in in-depth reflection on effective approaches to supporting inquiry-based learning. Through these ongoing collaborative opportunities, practical knowledge is shared and accumulated, ensuring that inquiry learning does not remain a merely formal activity but is meaningfully connected to each student’s autonomous and engaged learning.

Reports from each monthly meeting are available here ↓

First Session: Kickoff Meeting

個人研究型探究学習教員研修プロジェクト第1回キックオフミーティングを開催しました！

Second Session: Regular Meeting

個人研究型探究学習教員研修プロジェクト第2回定例会を開催しました！

Third Session: Regular Meeting

個人研究型探究学習教員研修プロジェクト第3回定例会を開催しました！

Fourth Session: Regular Meeting

個人研究型探究学習教員研修プロジェクト第4回定例会を開催しました！