Textiles Literacy: Implementing Inquiry-Based Learning in a Basic Textiles Class

Learning about textiles provides students with an essential foundation of knowledge for a career in fashion. More research is needed to help students with comprehension and application of knowledge, or textiles literacy. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of inquiry-based learning, a versatile student-driven pedagogy, in a basic textiles course. The inquiry-based project titled “Textiles Literacy” was developed to promote understanding and application of knowledge over memorization. Through group-led inquiry, students learned about textiles by applying creativity, critical thinking, literacy, communication, and teamwork skills. At the conclusion of the project, students responded to five open-ended questions about their project experience. Analysis resulted in five primary themes: impact on understanding textiles, role of textiles in fashion, attitude, skills and knowledge, and likelihood to seek further knowledge. Overall, the inquiry-based learning “Textiles Literacy” project had a positive impact on student appreciation, and attitude toward learning about textiles.