“It’s like stickers in your brain”: Using the Guided Inquiry Process to Support Lifelong Learning Skills in an Australian School Library

Abstract

The Guided Inquiry Design process (GID) is a model of information seeking behaviour emphasising elements of autonomy and reflection throughout students’ research process and based on Kuhlthau’s (1989a; 2004) Information Search Process (ISP). GID is timely in the Australian context as a way to support the new Australian curriculum emphasising inquiry learning but omitting a practical framework for implementing it. This study sought to investigate the experience of students engaged in two GI research projects in Year 7 History and Geography at an independent girls’ school in an Australian urban area. Analysis of the data indicates rich and diverse interpretations of the GID process across participants. Freddo’s comment “It’s like stickers in your brain,” the title of this paper, highlights the memorability of the stages of the GI process. The girls also noted rewarding responses through their learning of the content and skills and “had fun” in this project.