Over the past week, my thoughts about inquiry-based learning have shifted here and there. In some ways my thoughts have been reassured as well. To begin, I want to highlight something Heather Wolpert-Gawron stated in her article “What the Heck is Inquiry-Based Learning”, “one of the reasons why the whole world seems to be losing its mind over the Broadway production of Hamilton is because it presents a fresh take on a story we’ve all heard before. The power of learning something new is undeniable. You have to bring that love of “whaaa?!” into your own classroom. You have to model your own curiosity quotient. Our curiosity quotient is a hunger to learn that defines how we advance our knowledge of the world”. I feel as though this is the perfect analogy to summarize my understanding of inquiry-based learning.
In looking at the Key Components of Inquiry-Based Learning in Topic D, I can see that my students are more than suited for trying out the full process of IBL. Our classroom environment is never a free-for-all, even during unstructured learning times. My students are accustomed to changing gears in terms of what we are learning and how we are learning, so I believe they are prepared to face the environmental change that would come along with IBL. I am fairly sure that all of my students feel safe in my classroom and feel that their opinion is valued; we spend a lot of time discussing writing prompts and debating, so they need to feel comfortable and valued before they will fully participate. Finally, I feel as though my students feel as though they are equal members in our “community” of a classroom. They often help to develop the way they will be graded on certain assignments and activities.
One thing that has changed for me is that I’ve realized that I have already been doing several components of the Inquiry-Based Learning process, but I am not doing it 100% correctly. I am limiting students’ choices in the topics or areas they are allowed to explore. I am also not always having my students reflect at the end of certain learning cycles; I find that my curriculum is too packed and I do not have enough time to always facilitate that reflection step. This leads me to the questions that popped in my head over the course of the week.
One question I have after reading the Four Steps of Inquiry-Based Learning in the “What the Heck is Inquiry-Based Learning” article by Heather Wolpert-Gawron is how do I contain students’ questions into my curriculum without squashing their curiosity? Furthermore, if students are directing their own learning, and each student is learning about something different, how do I ensure that all students receive content and instruction in each aspect of my required curriculum? How do I make sure they perform well on the PSSAs (Pennsylvania State Standardized Assessments)? Because as much as I loathe the tests, they are ever-integral to my responsibilities as a teacher according to my district.
In looking at the Key Components of Inquiry-Based Learning in Topic D, I can see that my students are more than suited for trying out the full process of IBL. Our classroom environment is never a free-for-all, even during unstructured learning times. My students are accustomed to changing gears in terms of what we are learning and how we are learning, so I believe they are prepared to face the environmental change that would come along with IBL. I am fairly sure that all of my students feel safe in my classroom and feel that their opinion is valued; we spend a lot of time discussing writing prompts and debating, so they need to feel comfortable and valued before they will fully participate. Finally, I feel as though my students feel as though they are equal members in our “community” of a classroom. They often help to develop the way they will be graded on certain assignments and activities.
One thing that has changed for me is that I’ve realized that I have already been doing several components of the Inquiry-Based Learning process, but I am not doing it 100% correctly. I am limiting students’ choices in the topics or areas they are allowed to explore. I am also not always having my students reflect at the end of certain learning cycles; I find that my curriculum is too packed and I do not have enough time to always facilitate that reflection step. This leads me to the questions that popped in my head over the course of the week.
One question I have after reading the Four Steps of Inquiry-Based Learning in the “What the Heck is Inquiry-Based Learning” article by Heather Wolpert-Gawron is how do I contain students’ questions into my curriculum without squashing their curiosity? Furthermore, if students are directing their own learning, and each student is learning about something different, how do I ensure that all students receive content and instruction in each aspect of my required curriculum? How do I make sure they perform well on the PSSAs (Pennsylvania State Standardized Assessments)? Because as much as I loathe the tests, they are ever-integral to my responsibilities as a teacher according to my district.
Sources:
Wolpert-Gawron, H. (2016, August 11). What the Heck is Inquiry-Based Learning? Retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/what-heck-inquiry-based-learning-heather-wolpert-gawron
