Student-framed inquiry in a multidisciplinary bachelor course at a Dutch university of applied sciences

When students explore their own open questions, they learn
to be proactive and see themselves not only as consumers
but also as producers of knowledge. Such student-framed inquiry
has received less research attention. This article aims
to shed light on learning outcomes and effects on students’
mind-set and behavior by discussing a course that fosters
student-framed inquiry. The one-semester, elective course
was open to third- and fourth-year students of various bachelor’s-
level programs. A questionnaire was sent to alumni after
11 iterations of the course. The results showed that the
course fostered the development of skills in innovation, networking,
and cross-boundary collaboration and learning, as
well as enhanced personal and professional development.
Students became more proactive, less afraid to contact people
and take steps to make things happen. The results suggest
that courses for inquiry-based learning should include not
only more traditional, discipline-oriented research skills and
methods but also student-framed methods for design and
discovery.