Crafting Powerful Inquiry Questions in IB Visual Arts

Crafting Powerful Inquiry Questions in IB Visual Arts

By Ms. Mila Vasconcelos - Exploring the New IBDP Visual Arts Syllabus

In our school, one of our house mascots is the Kraken, a powerful and mythical octopus-like creature with many tentacles reaching in all directions. That’s the metaphor I now use with my students when we begin to unpack the new IB Visual Arts syllabus: your inquiry question is the Kraken's body, the center of your artistic thinking, and the tentacles represent the many paths of experimentation, connections, and reflection that emerge from it.

This is not just a poetic analogy. Inquiry questions are meant to serve as the anchor (or the brain!) of every IB student’s creative process. In the 2027 syllabus update, students are expected to develop a guiding inquiry question for their resolved artworks, one that is original, generative, and complex enough to be explored visually, technically, and conceptually.

The Importance of Inquiry Questions

In my classroom, this shift is a welcome one. We are moving away from surface-level experimentation or copying an aesthetic. Students are now being invited to think like artists, researchers, and problem-solvers, using inquiry as a tool to unlock deeper personal, social, cultural, and even political meaning.

Each question becomes an investigation. A starting point. A hypothesis to be tested with materials, compositions, symbols, and stylistic decisions. Whether a student is exploring identity, environment, or cultural memory, the inquiry question guides both the making and the reflecting, the sketchbook and the final piece.

What Makes a Great Inquiry Question?

Using the official IB documentation and classroom-tested scaffolds, we’ve identified the qualities that strong inquiry questions share:

• They are generative, opening multiple possible paths instead of narrowing to a single answer.

• They are specific, but not overly limiting.

• They connect to both personal voice and broader contexts — such as culture, society, or history.

• They often start with phrases like:

  ➤ “To what extent…”

  ➤ “How might…”

  ➤ “In what ways…”

  ➤ “Can an artwork communicate…”

  
  

Here’s an example from one of my students who loves fantasy books and medieval imagery:

"To what extent can symbolism from mythological creatures express contemporary fears?"

This inquiry allowed them to experiment with dragons, hybrid beasts, textures, mixed media, and digital illustrations — and led to a very resolved and meaningful artwork.

Helping Students Develop Their Own Inquiry

Below you can find a resource to be used in class or shared digitally with your students. It includes:

• Sentence starters

• Qualities of strong vs. weak questions

• An “Octopus Map” worksheet for brainstorming ideas

• Reflection prompts that support sketchbook annotation

Click here to download

A Tentacled Twist on Mind Mapping

Today’s lesson with my 11th-grade IB students was one of those moments where everything just clicked. Instead of jumping straight into research or brainstorming alone, students were invited to “feed the Kraken” by contributing to each other’s ideas. We began with each student identifying their initial theme, concept, or draft inquiry question and writing it on the center of their personal Kraken—an octopus-inspired worksheet we designed specifically for this activity.

But the real magic came next. Each tentacle of the Kraken represented one area of research to be expanded:

1. Artists or movements related to the theme

2. Emotions or concepts the theme evokes

3. Materials or techniques you want to explore

4. Cultural or historical contexts

5. Visual references or images

6. Personal connections or experiences

7. Possible artistic outcomes

8. Key questions or wonderings

Each student was assigned a specific color of marker and asked to rotate around the room, adding ideas to their classmates’ Krakens—one color-coded suggestion per tentacle. This created a web of peer-informed ideas, bringing in multiple perspectives, and helping students think outside of their own initial frame of reference.

From Collaboration to Reflection

Once the brainstorming round was complete, students returned to their own Krakens, now filled with rich, diverse annotations. They took time to reflect on the ideas suggested by their peers—circling key insights, drawing connecting lines, and adding notes that sparked curiosity. This transitioned into sketchbook work, where students began outlining the base of their personal mind maps using the reflection prompts shared in our previous sessions.

Some began mapping out research directions. Others started sketching visual responses. A few even rewrote and refined their inquiry questions based on what they had learned through the Kraken activity.

Inquiry That Embraces Process

Final Thoughts: Guiding the Kraken

What stood out to me most was how collaborative and flexible this approach felt. Inquiry questions aren't something students should feel pressured to get “right” the first time. This activity allowed them to experiment, to borrow from each other's perspectives, and to find clarity through dialogue and discovery. As I watched them add playful sketches, draw arrows between ideas, and debate whether something was “aesthetic or symbolic,” it was clear that they were not just thinking about art—they were beginning to live their questions.

Helping students craft thoughtful, challenging, and personal questions will transform their creative process. It doesn't matter whether you're just introducing inquiry-based artmaking or already deep into the IB curriculum; it gives structure to chaos, intention to experimentation, and direction to creative exploration.

So let your students embrace their inner Kraken! Each tentacle reaches into the unknown, pulling meaning from history, materials, identity, and imagination. I am sure your students will enjoy this part of the process.

Ms. Mila Vasconcelos