Inquiry in Action - Bosque School | Private school serving grades 6-12 in ABQ, NM

Through our inquiry model, our expert teachers are responsible for curating the core skills and content that students need to thrive. Inquiry provides a pathway for students to showcase their understanding and application of the knowledge and skills in dynamic, relevant, and meaningful ways that help deepen engagement and retention.

Here are some examples of how teachers might employ inquiry opportunities:

6th-grade humanities class example:

6th-grade humanities class example:

“We have just read a short story and discussed the concept and characteristics of a protagonist. Take the next five minutes with your tablemates to brainstorm all of the protagonists that you can think of from movies, books, comic books, video games, etc., and then we will all share our examples with the class and discuss what you all came up with. For your homework, you will be responsible, as a group, to narrow down your list to one character that you all agree most exemplifies the characteristics of a protagonist. You will then be responsible for presenting your chosen character to the class, explaining how and why they manifest a protagonist in effective ways."

This prompt and homework require students to engage critical thinking skills, collaboration, and communication skills — both within their group and presenting to the class. It also moves students past a discussion of the short story’s protagonist to help students apply what they have learned to other potential protagonists that have personal and collective meaning to them and the class. Homework is relevant, engaging, and dynamic for both the individual student and the full class when the results are shared in the next class.

10th-grade chemistry class example:

10th-grade chemistry class example:

“In today’s class, you have determined the need to test a river water sample for possible pollutants such as arsenic, lead, and aluminum ions. Using your knowledge of single and double replacement reactions, several known stock solutions, and our lab equipment, your group will design an experiment to test which ions are water soluble and which are not. You will then use your data to test your river sample for the presence of these ions.”

This prompt requires student lab groups to engage in a collaborative experimental design process to collect valid data to generate their ionic solution solubility rules. They will then justify the conclusions of their river water sample based on the rules they constructed in their experiment and assess their reliability. This engages student groups in investigating the processes of solubility and ionic bonding while drawing on individual skills of critiquing different experimental strategies and formulating a set of standards to examine results.

The best thing about being a student at Bosque School is having the environment to learn and grow my skills as well as being in a place where I can collaborate and be okay to make mistakes.

Kendra, '24

students in classroom doing science experiment

students outside working with wood shop tools