Why not have the best of both worlds? How to use direct instruction principles in inquiry-based instructional design

This paper explores how principles drawn from direct instruction can inform the design of inquiry-based instruction, moving beyond traditional debates that pit one method against the other. Inquiry-based instruction encourages students to infer and construct knowledge through activities such as hypothesis generation, experimentation, data analysis, and drawing conclusions, while direct instruction involves explicit guidance, modeling, and structured practice, so as to minimize errors. Both methods have unique strengths: inquiry-based instruction fosters conceptual understanding and higher-order thinking, while direct instruction ensures mastery of foundational skills such as problem solving. Recent work has tried combinations of these approaches, using designs where inquiry cycles are supported by just-in-time direct instruction or alternating methods to try to optimize learning; this paper presents another approach and attempts to apply direct instruction principles within guided inquiry learning. Examples from disciplines such as mathematics, biology, chemistry, and physics as presented within the Go-Lab ecosystem illustrate how blending these methods can support students' active engagement while ensuring robust knowledge development.