A US perspective on the implementation of inquiry-based learning in mathematics

This paper discusses issues related to the potential adoption of inquiry-based learning (IBL) projects in mathematics in the United States. To explain the challenges faced in making a place for IBL in the mathematics curriculum, we describe the historical demands of working with a diverse, highly distributed educational system (that is, a system that does not have a central educational decision-making agency with the authority to mandate nationwide changes), the impact of high-stakes tests to either open or limit the potential for curricular changes, and the changing context in the United States owing to the emergence of the Common Core State Standards in Mathematics (CCSS-M) and nationwide high-stakes assessments designed to be consistent with the CCSS-M. We identify a number of dimensions along which there would be challenges for the implementation of IBL in US school mathematics, including: perceived societal needs; schooling traditions; the specific framing of CCSS-M goals pertaining to problem solving, communicating and reasoning, and modeling and data analysis; and the readiness of the US teaching force to implement IBL. We then consider the issue of scaling up interventions such as IBL, and the politics involved therein.