Mobile Inquiry-Based Learning Environments
Summary
Mobile inquiry-based learning environments (mIBL) integrate the principles of learner-centred inquiry with the affordances of portable digital devices, enabling students to formulate questions, gather data in authentic contexts and construct knowledge through active exploration. By harnessing features such as location-based prompts, split-screen collaboration and sensor-driven data collection, mIBL transcends the boundaries between classroom and field, fostering situated learning across formal and informal settings. These environments support rapid feedback, peer interaction and reflective practices, promoting learner agency in defining goals, selecting strategies and monitoring progress. Across diverse educational levels and disciplines—from primary science investigations to secondary environmental field trips—mIBL has been shown to enhance motivation, deepen conceptual understanding and develop higher-order thinking skills. The global proliferation of mobile technologies further amplifies the accessibility of inquiry-driven approaches, offering scalable models for personalised, contextually rich science learning and 21st-century skill development.
Research from Nature Portfolio
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Mobile Inquiry-Based Learning Environments publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in mobile inquiry-based learning environments across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Inquiry-based learning: A pedagogical approach in which learners pose questions, investigate phenomena and construct understanding through guided exploration.
Mobile learning (mLearning): Learning activities that utilise portable digital devices to deliver content, support interaction and enable access to resources anytime and anywhere.
Learner agency: The capacity of students to make choices about their learning goals, strategies, actions, reflection and monitoring within an educational environment.
4Cs skills: A cluster of competencies—Collaboration, Communication, Critical thinking and problem solving, Creativity—deemed essential for effective participation in modern learning contexts.
References
- Exploring Colocated Synchronous Use of Tablets Based on Split Screen Feature. IEEE Access (2023).
- Smartphone Usage in Science Education: A Systematic Literature Review. Education Sciences (2023).
- Assessing Students’ Awareness of 4Cs Skills after Mobile-Technology-Supported Inquiry-Based Learning. Sustainability (2023).
- A review of the types of mobile activities in mobile inquiry-based learning. Computers & Education (2018).
- Situated learning in the mobile age: mobile devices on a field trip to the sea. Research in Learning Technology (2009).
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