Bringing Inquiry Based Instruction into the Classroom. TRY IT!

Photo By Daniel Foster :)

Today I had the opportunity to bring inquiry to the classroom and test it out! How did it go you may ask? Well to be quite honest, it didn't go as bad as I had expected. Planning was probably one of the hardest parts. I constantly asked myself: am I actually planning an inquiry lesson? And how much of the inquiry is student directed? This was a huge challenge for me and even after doing my lab, I find this method of teaching a bit difficult but completely worth it. Although challenging to prepare for, I realized through this process just how effective this strategy is for students in the classroom.

IBI encourages students to think at the higher levels Bloom's Taxonomy. I requires them to pull all their knowledge together and the information they don't know, they formulate questions. We often hear about teachers trying to avoid questions from students because it interrupts class time or it is disruptive; however, developing questions is the drive behind inquiry. This was a realization to me during my lab. Although I have been told this numerous times and have read different articles about inquiry, it was difficult for me to truly see it played out until I was the one articulating the lesson.

This realization came to me by playing the teacher role. While students were working in groups, what did I do? Well quite frankly, nothing as far as teaching goes! I observed my students and walked between the two groups but I wasn't teaching any content. I listened to the students and I heard them asking all sorts of questions. There were some frustrations, confusions, and others who just went with it. I wanted to just jump in and clarify all those confusions but I quickly realized the importance of inquiry based off their responses. They needed that bit of time for confusion in order to formulate questions about content they did not know yet. It was hard for me to stay quite, and not just because I am a talkative person, but because I wanted to give my students the answers right away. During this time I realized that it's not all about me talking and transferring the information. Rather student directed learning can be much more beneficial and challenges students' cognitive thinking skills.

I will admit that I am by no means a pro at conducting IBI in the classroom. However, everyone has to start somewhere and I am glad to have had this first experience in front of my cohort and advisor who could give me constructive feedback that will only help me improve next time. This was probably the toughest of the labs so far, but just getting up and testing it out has helped me to be more confident with IBI. I also truly believe that IBI is such a powerful learning tool for students, and if I truly believe this then I feel the need to develop the skills to carry out IBI in myself in order to develop the necessary skills in my students. Therefore, going forth from this I hope to put IBI into practice. IBI can be difficult for teachers but we will never improve ourselves if we don't keep practicing. So my message to other educators: keep trying it! Build and broaden your own teaching skills and expose your students to diverse learning environments that promote this higher order of thinking that will enable their own success.

What are you INQUIRING about? (WW#9)

Synonyms of inquire include inquisitive, interested, curious, questioning and analytical. These five synonyms describe perfectly the purpose of the new teaching strategy we are learning about this week: Inquiry Based Instruction. The article "The Science Teacher" by Bell, Smetana and Binns define inquiry based instruction as "involving students in a form of active learning that emphasizes questioning, data analysis, and critical thinking." I like this  short definition as it alludes to students learning in a hands on environment where learning is encouraged through the scientific method.

At first I thought inquiry based learning was really just the scientific method implemented into a lesson; however, I quickly realized that there is much preparation and thought that goes into this teaching strategy if it is to work effectively. These can cause setbacks for teachers in using inquiry based instruction. I have recognized a few challenges that may arise when planning a lesson utilizing this technique. First, it can be difficult to even recognize if you are utilizing inquiry based instruction. This method requires a research question that students can answer through data analysis. There are many classroom activities that are effective and engaging that appear inquiry based but they lack a research question and therefore they are not considered inquiry based. Second, the teacher needs to decide what level he or she will design the inquiry based activity to be at. This can also be difficult as there are diverse learners in every class and all learn at different speeds. Lower levels of inquiry based instruction should be used at the beginning of the year and progress to higher levels towards the end of the year. If a higher level activity is presented at the beginning of the year, students will not be equipped will the skills needed to be successful in the activity; however, a lower level used at the end of the year will not be challenging for students. It will not be effective in building cognitive skills. With that being said teachers must be aware of all of their learners and determine what levels are appropriate for each when planning for inquiry based instruction.

  Although a very effective strategy that promotes higher order of thinking, there are many teachers that don't utilize it because they feel unprepared to use it, they are confused by it or they feel it is too difficult to manage. This is frustrating to me that these are boundaries that are holding teachers back from implementing a classroom activity that could be beneficial to students. I realize that as a teacher I will face these same walls that might hold me back from trying something new in the classroom; however, I hope that I would push myself to try these methods and strategies. If we stay in our comfort zone as teachers we may never know the abilities we have to excel our students by utilizing new teaching techniques. I don't want the fear of failure to hold me back from providing an exceptional education to my students. Not every lesson will go perfectly and sometimes they will completely fail, but that is the beauty of learning and growing to become better!

My challenge for myself: TRY IT! (within reason of course) but you will never know the impact you can make if you never TRY IT.

Although math, reading and writing are all components involved in agricultural education, we must not forget the importance of science. Because agriculture is a science, inquiry based instruction can be very applicable to our agriculture classes. Don't believe me? Click on the link below and view many examples of activities that are inquiry based and can be used in the Ag classroom.

Link:http://www.agintheclassroom.org/teacherresources/Lesson%20Booklets/Ag=E5%20Inquiry%20Based%20Lessons.pdf








   

Evaluating Learning (WW#8)

Wow, after reading this weeks reading materials, it is becoming more clear to me how key components of teaching fit together. One of the first questions addressed in chapter 14 is "was the evaluation based on course objectives?' This makes complete sense! If your objectives for what you want your students to learn are identified at the beginning of the course or unit then it seems only logical to design assessments based off of those objectives. Sometimes I feel that I get caught up in being creative with my assessment that I lose focus of what I am truly testing my students on what I expected them to learn. This seems like a no brainer; however, I think appropriate and effective assessment can be hard to design and implement.

In our assignments and instruction we have learned how to design instruction to meet the needs of students with IEPs and ELLs. We have also observed classrooms with these students in them. What we haven't done is learned about how we should assess these students. I have always wondered how teachers might do this fairly and accurately. The article "Grading Exceptional Learners" focused on this exact concern. This article was especially helpful in breaking evaluation into steps of how go about grading. I will be honest that I often worry about how I will assess students with special needs appropriately. There are a wide variety of learners and the same assessment or evaluation is not always applicable for all of our students.

This validates the importance of developing accommodations and adaptations for learners with special needs. These modifications allow us to align our objectives for students with special needs with the way we evaluate and grade them. Just as I mentioned before, it only makes sense to assess our students on the objectives and standards we have set for them.

Below is a link to website I found resourceful on a variety of topics for teaching students with learning disabilities. If you look on pages 23 and 45, they provide a little more clarity on these topics and provide some excellent resources: 
http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/specialed/docs/learning_disabilities_guide.pdf


It is important that we create fair assessments for all of our students. One of the best ways to ensure you are grading fairly is by developing a rubric. This helps provide clarity for your students of your expectations for them. It also helps you to make sure that you are assessing your students fairly. I know as a student I always appreciated when my teacher provided a rubric because it helped me go about completing the task that included all necessary components. These tools are important to consider if we accurately wish to see our students grow and succeed in our classes.

WARNING: This may be too "cool" for you!

If you were to watch my video on my teaching for our Problem Solving Approach Lab you might find me saying "cool" far too many times! I enjoyed this lab and feel much more confident about implementing this strategy into my lessons; however, this lesson brought forth some annoying habits that I personally deal with as a teacher. One of them is saying "cool." From my previous labs I noticed that I used filler words such as "um" and "like." For some reason this week the word was "cool" (I don't think this is technically considered a filler word but I take pride in making it one).

I very much dislike watching and hearing myself speak. It's like a weird deja vou moment when watching our videos and it's the realization that all this time you sound nothing like you thought you did in real life. It's kind of a disappointment. Despite the creepy feeling when watching my video, these videos have been extremely helpful in allowing me to see my strengths and my weaknesses. We have been videoed for about four weeks now and it has been super awesome being able to watch my personal improvements since week one. Although we have gained many skills these past four weeks, I am still by no means a professional. From my video I realized that I am starting to use other filler words like "cool" and that I still am talking really fast. As I gather these observations I try to improve them for my next lab.

One aspect of my teaching that I don't believe has improved much (but I am trying!) is talking to fast. For those of you who don't know me I love to talk and I can sometimes be eccentric. Most of the time this isn't a problem; however, I notice that I sometimes fly through an important part of my lesson without checking for understanding. My reviews often say "you are very motivating and engaging but slow down a bit." The "a bit" part I think is just added to the end to make the feedback not sound so harsh or to make me feel better about myself, when in reality I should be slowing down "a lot." This may sound cheesy but sometimes I get really excitement about my content or lesson and I am ready to just dive into the material that I don't even realize how fast I am talking or explaining something. Talking fast is one thing I realize still needs improvement.

On the flip side there many positive aspects that I think I have been improving on. One skill that would be hard to develop without designing a lesson plan and teaching it in front of a class is pacing. This is one skill that was hard to even understand at first; however, now putting it into practice I have been able to pay close attention to how I utilize pacing. I think it's important that we realize both the improvements and the needs improvement aspects of our labs. Both focuses help to improve our teacher effectiveness.

Overall, this lab was based on the problem solving approach and I feel much more confident about utilizing this technique in the classroom. It provided some great insight to how students develop a higher order of thinking. Often times after a lesson I worry that my students gained information but didn't see the skills they were to be gaining. This strategy allows you to directly see a skill that is being developed in students. I get really excited when I see this outcome. After watching my other peers in my class present I realized how engaging and thought provoking this strategy can be.   I can't wait to test it out and use this teaching technique during my student teaching experience in the spring.          

Are Problems Really Problems? (WW#7)

                                                               
                                                                  Constructivism

Construct Knowledge!



 

 

When we ask kids if they are ready to go back to school we often get this daunting and dual response back. Why are kids uninterested in going to school? They automatically know that they are going to school to learn something and they assume learning is boring or sometimes difficult. It upsets me when I hear that students think school is boring or difficult. Who's fault is that? We could argue that it's the students' fault for not putting effort into their education, but I would contend that teachers hold the responsibility of creating engaging, innovative and motivating lessons. Possibly we need to put forth more effort into their education. Teachers are wonderful and I know they do in fact put in much time and effort into their classrooms. As an upcoming student teacher I am beginning to see just how much work this is! It is not an easy task. Yet still I am challenged in my classes to add variety to my lessons and think about how I can create lessons that develop 21st century skills in my students. I am convinced that I need to create different teaching strategies and activities that get my students out from behind their desks, engaged in their learning and help them to construct their own knowledge.  

 

 

Problem based learning is an opportunity to encourage this higher level of thinking in your classroom. From the reading this week I was able to pick out a description of constructivism that ties in well with problem based learning. It said "The philosophy of constructivism is that students construct knowledge from personal experiences, rather than passively absorbing information presented by teachers and others." This immediately makes me think of experiential learning. Learn by actually experiencing it! One of Dewey's philosophies was that "learning from experience helps people solve future problems." I feel as though this should be a huge part of my goals for my students. I want students to be involved in learning experiences where they will gain the necessary skills to allow them to solve problems in the future or make positive decisions. 

 

 

Of course we all know that implementing a teaching strategy like problem based learning is not something we can just throw together last minute. There are multiple steps involved in problem based learning we need consider each step and how we might facilitate them as the teacher. It's important on our part to design appropriate learning experiences that allow students to be successful. This doesn't necessarily mean that students reach positive outcomes. They can find negative results and still gain a positive learning experience from it. What is important that a problem is clearly identified to them and they understand the steps needed to reach a solution(s).   

 

 

Are problems really problems? In problem based learning, no! In fact problems are key to problem based learning. This type of learning allows students to work through a problem and come up with probable solutions. Students gain skills that will allow them to work through problems in the future too! This type of learning is important to Ag education and can easily be incorporated into our lessons because it is applicable to our content; however, in order to be effective we must make sure we as teachers are creating appropriate scenarios that allow students to gain these needed skills. 

 

Additional Resources on PBL:

 

 

I found this really neat organization that focuses on helping teachers prepare students for successful lives through problem based learning. How awesome! It's called the Buck Institute for Education (BIE). Bellow is a video they put on YouTube about PBL, but I would also encourage you to check out their website for awesome resources and materials you can use in your classroom!

 

Link to website: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMCZvGesRz8#t=23

 



Teaching the Individual (WW#6)

"If there is one truism about learning, it is that each individual is different and should be taken from where he or she is to where he or she is capable of being." - Newcomb

And this would be why I aspire to be a teacher. I loved reading through our book this week and finding this gem of  a line. As teachers we need to be observant of our students' individual needs and interests. We need to understand the learning abilities of each of our students and then we need to challenge them to reach heights they never thought possible. We need to help students realize their full potential. This is how I come to understand this statement in the world of teaching. It's about taking students from where they are to where they are capable of going. What an awesome job we have as teachers!

If we plan to achieve this goal as educators then we must implement variety into our teaching. In this way we can reach all of our learners with different skills, interests, and needs. I captured this other gem of a line in my notes from class which reads: the more ways we teach, the more ways we reach!This week our reading focused on individualized teaching techniques. These techniques add variety to our classrooms. One of my favorite techniques is notebooks.

Allowing students to be responsible of their own notebooks allows them to develop good note taking skills and work at a pace that is appropriate for each individual. When writing my first unit plan this year, my end of the unit assessment was to have students hand in a portfolio including a notebook. I really liked this idea because I know it aids individuals in developing necessary skills to be successful in all avenues of life; however, I was unaware that it was considered one of the individual teaching techniques highlighted in this book.

I always make sure that my activities, lessons and instructions are created with a purpose and meaning; however, as a beginning teacher I am still learning all of the technical terms and methods to teaching. It's exciting to me to design lesson plans and activities that I find later align with techniques and methods of teaching we learn about in class. I am continually learning new things through readings and my classes. As the year progresses I am constantly piecing together the pieces of this teaching puzzle. At the beginning of the semester I was concerned about doing projects when I didn't know how to implement these activities and strategies. Although only about half way through the semester, I already feel more confident about designing effective lesson plans and constructing an overall Ag program.

Here is a link to another blog that has an excellent resource for an interactive notebook. It looks as though it is designed for the elementary level; however, I was thinking of ways I could alter it for my own classroom! I think it could be very useful!

 Link: http://www.ateacherstreasure.com/2012/04/interactive-student-notebook.html
 

Horsin' Around

I had the opportunity to write my very first unit plan for an Equine Science course that I will be teaching in the Spring! I thought this was going to be an easy assignment since I love planning and organizing; however I found myself taking a bunch of time on this assignment and it turned out to be rather difficult. My original goal with this unit plan was to cover introductory topics of equine science and dive into a little bit of everything. As I started looking at the Pa academic and ag standards I started putting them all down as standards I wanted to use because I thought they would cover good information. I very quickly discovered that in a three week unit it is impossible to cover all the standards I had wrote down. This required me to get more specific and think about what exactly I wanted to teach and how I was going to teach the information. It also made me think about the flow of topics. What was the best order to teacher the variety of topics I wanted to cover? After creating my first draft I got some good feedback from my peers about how I can best organize the content and improvements I can make. First and foremost, my peer reviewers pointed out that I needed to include my daily objectives. Somehow I forgot my daily objectives (kind of a big deal). I think maybe I was getting standards, unit goals and daily objectives confused. As we talked about these subjects in class they became more clear to me and I was able to apply this knowledge to my final draft. There were a few formatting issues that I resolved as well. Other than that the other content was all included!

For my final draft I used many of these suggestions from my peers and created a final project with many revisions.. First, I took an idea from the person's that I peer reviewed. She created a flow chart of what standards, objectives and essential questions would be used on what days during the course. I created my own format like hers and found that it was very helpful in keeping everything organized. I plan to use this format for all of my other unit plans. I have also added all of the daily objectives that I will need everyday. These changes have definitely improved my unit plan as a whole and I am grateful for the peers reviews that have helped me create a better final product.