d problem-based learning becomes about creating an environment where the learner (student) needs to know as opposed to something you are going to tell them and then hope to show purpose and value later. All three learning strategies provide a rich, dynamic, and engaging means to provide context and motivation to students who would otherwise be apathetic to learning and school in general.
Response From Nancy Sulla
Dr. Nancy Sulla is the president of IDE Corp., designer of the Learner-Active, Technology-Infused Classroom, and author of Students Taking Charge and the upcoming book, It's Not What You Teach, But How: 7 Insights For CCSS Success:
Taking the meaning of the terms literally, the definitions create a subset situation. "Inquiry" is an investigation, an act of questioning. A project is a planned and designed activity to achieve a particular goal. A problem is a dilemma that needs to be resolved. As such, inquiry-based learning is the broadest term, with project-based learning being a specific kind of inquiry, one that ends with a tangible product. Problem-based learning is a further subset, with an open-ended situation to be resolved.
With problem-based learning, students tackle an open-ended problem for which they must propose a solution. Students might write a letter to a favorite author convincing the author to write a future book about their town. Students might design a unique polyhedra-based lighting fixture for an eccentric mathematician. The key is to have students grapple with content.
Projects may be open- or closed-ended. Using project-based learning, students work to achieve a goal: create a set of book reviews; build a set of polyhedra figures.
Inquiry-based learning can be broad, such as asking students to investigate what fictional books have in common or what role polyhedra play in the world. In K-12 schools, however, it is more typically closed ended, having students discover known concepts, for example, conducting experiments to see the conditions under which seedlings will grow.
Problem-based learning can include the others. Ex: Small particles of plastic are gathering in the ocean currents, creating large garbage patches; design a novel solution to clean up the plastic. Students might engage in inquiry-based experiments to determine how to remove microplastic from saltwater. A project-based component might be to develop a presentation on the garbage patches and the severity of the situation. Both of these activities involve procedural learning: skills that are attained through following and practicing a procedure. The final problem-based solution requires what I refer to as "novelity" - the ability to respond appropriately and successfully in novel situations, a key indicator of truly understanding content.
Response From Derek Cabrera
Derek Cabrera holds a PhD from Cornell University, is an author of six books and an internationally recognized expert in cognition, systems, and learning, and taught at Cornell University. Derek is currently co-Founder and senior research scientist at Cabrera Research Lab in Ithaca, New York. He is the co-author of Thinking at Every Desk: Four Simple Skills to Transform Your Classroom (W. W. Norton; 2012). Visit him at cabreraresearch.org:
The differences among project-based, problem-based, and inquiry learning are found in their origin point, and the subsequent context(s) in which one method is chosen over another. For example, project-based learning focuses on activating learning through experience, finalizing a product that demonstrates what was learned. Problem-based learning originated in medical schools as a means of developing effective collaboration and isolating the root of a real-world problem to come up with a solution. Inquiry-based learning developed in contrast to student memorization of facts in traditional schools: Teachers act as facilitators by posing a question for exploration rather than as a means to get information to be recalled.
Despite their different historical origins they are all early attempts to solve the same root problem in human lear