Inquiry Based Learning Method [Image]. (2013). Retrieved from http://iblinstitute.com
Inquiry-based learning or
discipline-based inquiry really caught my attention when looking through the
textbook Interweaving Curriculum and Classroom Assessment by Drake, Reid, and
Kolohon. It caught my attention because it talks about how these methods of
inquiry-based learning can promote creativity within students and help problem
solving (Drake et al., 2014). I loved this idea of allowing students to ask
questions and be active in their own learning rather than teachers simply
relaying information to the students.
Here
is a short video explaining inquiry-based learning to start off my post so that
you have a clear understanding of the topic:
This time of learning often incorporates discipline-based inquiry projects that engage students in exploring topics that they want to learn more about with an added level of authenticity and accountability (Drake et al., 2014). I have realized through many classes that inquiry-based learning and learning through projects can help with critical thinking. In my own experiences I find myself having more trouble critically thinking, most likely due to a more fixed mindset instead of growth, because I never experienced lessons where I was given an active role. It is important that we instil the ability to think critically in our students and I believe inquiry-based learning is a great tool to do so as it allows for deeper and richer learning (Drake et al., 2014).
In an
article by Server and Guven (2014) they explored how inquiry-based learning can
help students who are disengaged in science courses. I found this very
interesting to me personally because I often found myself disengaged in science
class because I was never able to understand the concepts. Server and Guven
(2014) were able to conduct research that showed inquiry-based learning to help
lessen resistant behaviour in science classes because students were engaged in
the subject matter. Studnets in the study were allowed to be creative, ask
questions and do their own research, which made the topics more relatable
(Server & Guven, 2014). In a similar article by Walan and Chang Rundgren
(2015) they found that there was an effective three step model that helped
increase interest in science among students. The researchers explain that by
contextualisation, de-contextualisation, and re-contextualisation students are
able to first learn about a topic, inquire and ask questions about it, and then
reconstruct their ideas of that topic (Walan & Chang Rundgren, 2015). By
doing these steps students are not just taking the new information for its
surface meaning, but inquiring about it to understand what the topic means in
their own terms. The purpose of inquiry-based learning in science is to fill
the gaps of what students learn in school and their real life (Walan & Chang
Rundgren, 2015). I feel like this is important because often in science I was
confused because the concepts were just being told to me, but if I had the
chance to relate it to real life and reconstruct meanings for myself I believe
I would have been more engaged and understood much more.
David Scott: Introduction to Discipline-based Inquiry [Video]. (2014). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVhKTMFCgq0
In the video above it shows a grade 2 teacher in Alberta named Amy Park who instilled discipline-based inquiry into her own classroom with a project on Inuit peoples. Park explains how before she would use traditional methods of teaching by simply lecturing to her class, but she found them to be disengaged. To change this she began incorporating discipline-based inquiry as a way to actively involve her students in their own learning. I love how Park explains discipline-based inquiry because she really embraces it in her own classroom and shows that even if we as teachers don't fully understand something we can learn from our students. She explains that she didn't know much about the technology she wanted to use for the Inuit project, but the children were innovative enough to take it farther then she had ever imagined. This shows that any teacher can incorporate discipline-based inquiry and it allows students to explore subject matter for themselves.
This video on Amy Park reminded me of a
grade 1, 2 split that I had the opportunity to observe last year. The class had
individual I Pad’s for the students and the teaching incorporated an easy and
interesting inquiry-based learning activity. The teacher would have a project
called “I wonder” where the students would pick any topic they want and would
research it on their I Pad’s and then later present what they had learned to
the rest of the class. By doing this I could see how involved and interested
the students were to learn. It allowed me to see how powerful it can be in a
classroom to give students a little bit of agency in their learning because
they become much more engaged and passionate.
As a future teacher I hope to instil this
same inquiry-based learning approaches in my own class because I see it as a
way to allow students to build on their own knowledge and to actively learn. It
also allows students to show their intelligence in multiple ways as well as
creatively by having these projects instead of just having tests or
presentations. Not all students will achieve in tests or presentations and by
using inquiry-based learning it allows them to express themselves in different
ways. A quote about inquiry-based learning is “involve me and I will understand”
and I think that perfectly describes how these methods help children actively
learn.
References
Drake, S. M.,
Reid, J. L., & Kolohon, W. (2014). Interweaving Curriculum and Classroom
Assessment: Engaging the 21st Century Learner. Don Mills, ON:
Oxford University Press.
Sever, D., &
Guven, M. (2014). Effect of inquiry-based learning approach on student
resistance in a science and technology course. Educational Sciences: Theory
& Practice, 14(4), 1601-1605.
Walan, S., &
Chang Rundgren, S. (2015). Student responses to a context- and inquiry-based
three-step teaching model. Teaching Science, 61(2), 33-39.
