Engaged learning with the inquiry-based question cluster discussion technique: student outcomes in a history of economic thought course.

• Author: Madden, Kirsten K.
• Position: Targeted Teaching

1. Introduction

   The structure of the college classroom discussion is important for the quality of learning that results. College classroom discussions can generate vibrant interchanges of ideas, motivating breadth and depth in student understanding. Participants of a good discussion benefit from intellectual exchanges where novel ideas are offered, opened to reflective scrutiny, and revised.

   Unfortunately, college classroom discussions can also disrupt learning. Opinionated, dominating participants (including professors) can stifle exchanges and stunt learning. Some discussions devolve into mechanical exercises regurgitating facts. Discussions also can wander off topic, wasting class time for most involved.

   Hansen and Salemi (1998), Salemi (2005), and Salemi and Hansen (2005) offer the inquiry-based discussion technique to circumvent common pitfalls in classroom discussions and increase the likelihood of positive learning outcomes. This article summarizes the main features of inquiry-based discussion and presents five interpretative question clusters for the history of economic thought.

   Although proponents of the discussion technique argue that it stimulates higher-quality learning, there is no formal assessment. Comparative evaluation of student learning across pre-and postdiscussion essays addresses the assessment gap. The assessment in this article statistically evaluates student learning in a 2007 history of economic thought class at a liberal arts university and presents student opinion survey results about the technique. Empirical evidence supports the hypothesized positive impact of the technique for learning compared to the alternative of no learning from the technique. Students also report learning from the technique and recommend it for future use.

2. The Technique: Inquiry-Based Discussion Overview and Application for the History of Economic Thought

   Classroom discussions require structure. A well-structured classroom discussion requires forethought about the material and questions intended for discussion as well as pre-discussion preparation by participants. Hansen and Salemi (1998), Salemi (2005), and Salemi and Hansen (2005) explain the technique in detail and are recommended reading for effective classroom implementation of the technique. This section begins with a brief sketch of the main features of inquiry-based discussion from their work and then presents discussion questions produced for use in history of economic thought courses.

   In the inquiry-based discussion technique, instructors develop a question cluster for a specific reading in advance of class discussion. The "basic" question of the cluster reflects an important learning objective from the course. This basic question is interpretative: There is no direct answer to it in the text. The interpretative question requires the student to explore the meaning behind the words of the text, citing textual evidence to justify the student-constructed interpretation.

   Because interpretative questions are challenging, follow-up questions in the cluster break down the basic interpretative question into manageable components. Follow-up questions are factual or interpretative, suggesting specific concepts and relationships for student contemplation.

   The question cluster typically ends with an evaluative question. Placement of the evaluative question at the end of the cluster suggests that the student should study the text before expressing opinions.

   It is important that students prepare in advance of an inquiry-based discussion. Students receive the question cluster days before the scheduled class discussion. Students prepare because they are told that their written responses will be collected before the class discussion for evaluation.

   The instructor operates as facilitator of a student-centered discussion. The facilitator encourages student exploration into the meaning of the text. The facilitator does not share personal insights with the class.

   A well-written interpretative question requires the student to study the assigned material in its entirety in order to construct a justifiable response from the perspective of the text's author. To give a complete answer to the question, the student studies major concepts, relates concepts to one another, or takes them apart (Salemi 2005). The basic interpretative question in the cluster motivates analysis and/or synthesis of ideas across the reading. Factual follow-up questions motivate knowledge and comprehension of relevant concepts. Follow-up interpretative questions encourage application, analysis, or synthesis of relevant subpoints to the basic question. A closing evaluative question prompts students to express educated opinions about what they learned.

   During discussion, the students compare and debate the validity of different interpretations, engaging skills of analysis, synthesis, and evaluation in an interactive setting. This public engagement of higher-level thinking skills stimulates broader and deeper insight than what results from the application of a single mind.

   The following are basic interpretative questions for five distinct inquiry-based discussions in the history of economic thought (the full question clusters for each discussion are available in the Appendix):

   Discussion No. Basic Interpretative Question for Each Discussion 1 According to Adam Smith, why does an increase in living standards for the common man depend upon cooperation? 2 According to Adam Smith, who (if anyone) has justifiable rights to claim the value generated in exchange? Justify with explicit quotes from the reading. 3 According to Robert Owen, how is it that if one's innate desire for self happiness or self-love is directed by true knowledge, it will generate the maximum sustainable well-being for all? 4 Why, according to Karl Marx, must private property be abolished when the system of bourgeois production is supplanted by communism? 5 Why does John Ruskin advocate a political economy that is based in justice? Provide evidence from the reading to support your answer. A relevant follow-up question of fact for discussion 1 includes identifying examples of cooperation in Smith. To support the student's ability to answer the question "who has justifiable claims to value" in discussion 2, explaining Smith's conceptualization of "value" is an important follow-up interpretative question; identifying the components of price an important factual follow-up. According to Smith, two of these components (profit and rent) arise only in "advanced" society; a follow-up interpretative question invites the student to ponder whether Smith identifies profit or rent as justifiable claims to value. For complete understanding of Marx's views on the abolition of private property, the student must know what type of property Marx wants to abolish (a question of fact). To understand Ruskin's insights for the basic interpretative question in discussion 5, "what does Ruskin mean by justice" is an important follow-up. This follow-up question would be factual except that Ruskin never gives an explicit explanation. Thus, it is interpretative. The student must work through the text to discern Ruskin's view of "justice."

   A well-structured inquiry-based discussion increases student learning for a number of reasons. A clear objective expressed in the basic interpretative question and relevant follow-up questions provide student focus to study challenging reading. The structure provides grading incentive to learn. Thoughtfully written question clusters require students to engage higher-order cognitive skills, such as application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. A well-run discussion allows learning to exceed the limits of one mind through cooperative interaction with peers. Pre-and postdiscussion essay assignments require students to revisit the interpretative question, the reading, and their notes at least three times, increasing the time spent exercising advanced cognitive skills and likely retention. This method promotes student ownership of the results since no faculty answer is ever provided.

3. Student Learning Outcomes with the Inquiry-Based Discussion Technique: Implementation

   This learning assessment took place during a spring 2007 history of economic thought course at Millersville University. The course is an elective for most of the students who meet the prerequisites: one semester each of microeconomic principles and of macroeconomic principles. During the 2007 semester, the class focused on the classics (Adam Smith and Karl Marx) and on ethics in the history of economic thought (Robert Owen and John Ruskin).

   Twenty-six students enrolled (one male student withdrew midsemester so that 25 students completed the course). Sixteen of the students were male, and 10 were female. There were 10 seniors, 14 juniors, one sophomore, and one student working on postgraduate teacher certification. By the end of the semester, 13 students were declared economics majors. Eight students were education majors, and two were business majors. Three students were economics minors.

   Students received an interpretative question cluster five days in advance of each class discussion date. To motivate student preparation, before class discussion each student turned in a copy of his or her written response to the basic interpretative question for homework credit. Students identified their responses by identification number instead of names to reduce the likelihood of biased grading. The instructor also checked student answers to the remaining questions before class discussion. The students received spot-check homework credit for this work. The vast majority of students arrived prepared for each discussion.

   As the students conversed, the instructor served as facilitator to support student-centered discussion. The facilitator also served as discussion scribe, recording the discussion on paper projected by a document camera. The students copied this...