Mobile Inquiry-based Learning: Relationship among levels of inquiry, learners’ autonomy and environmental interaction

This paper aims to further unpack the notion of mobile inquiry-based learning with a focus on the relationship between levels of inquiry, learners’ autonomy and environmental interaction in outdoor learning. Specifically, it provides a literature review and a retrospective analysis of the empirical studies on mobile inquiry-based learning at two institutions in two countries. The goal of this paper is two-fold: i) To review the effect of the different levels of inquiry, task types and technological mediation on learners’ autonomy and learners’ interaction with the environment in mobile learning and ii) To revisit the notion of environment interaction in outdoor learning spaces (open and enclosed spaces). An initial retrospective analysis of our empirical studies on mobile inquiry-based learning reiterated two core findings: 1. Different levels of inquiry not only shaped learners’ interaction with the physical affordances of the rich real world platform but also learners’ environmental interaction in enclosed- and open-outdoor learning spaces; 2. Technological mediation plays a crucial role in enabling learners to overcome the constraints of time, space and location interaction. In this after-action-review, we identify and discuss the intricate relationship between levels of inquiry, the constituting contextual elements of the outdoor learning environment, learners’ autonomy and learners’ interaction with the outdoor environment. How learners leverage the physical, material and social resources in the outdoor learning context to construct and to negotiate meaning (individually or with learning peers).