Give Them Freedom
Or Give them a Lecture
“It is, in fact, nothing short of a miracle that the modern methods of instruction have not yet entirely strangled the holy curiosity of inquiry” – Albert Einstein
A Different Approach
As I spent my first summer working at HSC and at HOT, I began to realize several things about the year that had passed.
My Instruction
- needed more engagement
- more student independence
- lacked consistent HOT
Students lacked
- intrinsic motivation
- self-direction
- creativity
- satisfaction
- achievement
- emotional connection to learning
- Voice
Those last few really got to me. No matter how I described what my room looked like last year, at the end of the day I was directing students to the learning goals and objectives, not the students.
This sparked an interest on how I should adjust my instruction and what exactly my classroom should look like. This would be the start of Inquiry Based learning in my classroom.
My Essentials of Inquiry Based Learning
1. Student Choice
Giving students a choice in not only what they learn, but how they will demonstrate their learning.
2. Need to Know & Significant Content
3. Driving Question
Students use the Driving Questions to drive their research and content.
Students in the future will be able to develop their own Driving Questions.
4. Inquiry & Innovation
5. 21st Century Skills
6. Feedback & Revision
The Product
Earlier in the year, students were introduce to the Multiple Intelligences and were given the opportunity to take an online assessment that highlighted their strengths. Using that information, students are asked to create a project that ties in their intelligence to the content. This is the last process in IBL and the most challenging.
To most students, this has been a new and exciting part of the class. Their desire to create something that is comfortable and unique to them was a plus in class and provided an extra motivational push. While most of the students have showed their interest in this phase of Inquiry, some have expressed anxiety and I will have to do my best to address this.