As my exploration of Inquiry Based
Learning (IBL) comes to an end, I am left feeling excited about the
possibilities that await me and my students.
The information that I have gathered will allow me to better educate my
students while preparing them more for the real world problems they will face
upon graduation. Gone are the days where
my class will learn in a clean sterile environment where I disseminate
information to students who greedily consume it. Instead, my class will be a dynamic learning
environment that will allow students to struggle with bigger concepts while
developing the soft skills necessary to succeed later in life. To achieve this goal I will make a number of
changes in my room and philosophy.
First, I will start each unit with
the end results for the students planned out.
This backwards planning allows me to make sure that my educational goals
for the students are actually being taught and measured. I have to admit, that once or twice I have
reached the end of a unit and realized I missed an important concept. Well no more!! The standards will drive my instruction,
because everything I teach to my students will be in an effort to reinforce
that concept to them.
Second, by using the 5E model
(discussed in a previous post) I will know that my students will be engaged and
learning in the assignments for each unit.
While it would be naive to think that all my students will be engaged
all the time, by purposefully building in engagement activities I will have a
higher level of involvement. By using
the 5E model, I have a blueprint to follow to make sure that I am not missing
something vital for the students.
Third, technology is a part of our
society today and must be included in lessons for today’s students. When they reach adulthood they will be
expected to know how to use technology in ways that I cannot even think of
today. By exposing students to
technology in the classroom, I am allowing them the opportunity to learn and
explore what is out there in a relatively low stakes environment. Using
technology will allow me to motivate my students, and allow others who struggle
in more traditional school activities, to perhaps shine. As technology continues to develop the
possibilities that are made available for teachers is only as limited as ones
imagination.
Finally, I will make a purposeful
effort to change the type of questions that I ask to my students. It will be a goal of mine to shift away from
the simple fact based questions to more concepts based. This will allow me to still assess the facts
the students have acquired, while allowing me the ability to see the bigger
connections they are making with the material.
If I have learned nothing else about IBL at least I know that the soft
skills and ability to make connections that is learned throughout this process
is the most important skill I can provide to my students. Anyway can look up the date of an event on
their phone, but only a few can tell you it’s importance in the context of history.
I will leave you with this final
thought. While IBL is at first a scary
idea, and seems out of place in today’s schools were we rely on high stakes
testing far too much, let me assure you it is more appropriate than traditional
teaching. Learning information out of
context, or in a box, does not allow anyone to remember it forever. It is learned for the test and then promptly
forgotten. However, IBL provides the
same learning but in an authentic environment that the students will be able to
remember. While the facts might be lost
over time, the process they used to reach their goals will stay with them
forever. It is for that reason, and the
others I have mentioned today, that I will be shifting my classes over to a
more inquiry based environment. After
all, these students will be the ones leading us only a few years.
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