2. What is Inquiry Based Instruction? Inquiry based instruction is a method of teaching which allows the students to use their existing knowledge to establish a meaningful connection to a new concept or process in active engagement.
3.
4. Planning for Inquiry Identify goal Identify concept and skill that is important Preassess students’ existing knowledge Plan questions Assess the learnings Review assessments. Reteach if necessary.
It is not a teacher lecture. It is not putting a problem on the board and showing students how to solve for the unknown. It allows students to think, to develop problem-solving skills, to reason logically. It encourages children’s natural curiosity.
The goal of all instruction methods is mastery of content. This chart compares inquiry based instruction with traditional instruction. Inquiry based works well with middle school students. We know during this time of development in students lives, they are going through a lot of physical and emotional changes while they are trying to learn. If we develop lessons that actively involve our students, then we not only have prepared them with life skills to apply in real world situations, we have engaged them in the possibility of learning. This makes our classroom management easier in terms of student behavior issues and is expressed by the students with an enthusiasm to learn.
Preassess students’ existing knowledge: This can be done the day of the instruction or can information can be gathered from previous lessons, assignments and tests.Plan questions: Francie gave us a presentation on effective questioning. Inquiry based learning uses higher order questions of Bloom’s taxonomy such as exploring mathematical meanings and relationships, questions that generate discussion, that link and apply to other areas of life, etc. Be prepared to guide students’ path of thinking to your goal. Most students may not be experienced in discussing ideas and concepts as a way of learning, so be prepared to scaffold them in the beginning. Give them time to think, to discuss in small groups before you begin whole class discussion.Assess the learnings: There needs to be some sort of assessment. An exit ticket is a great way to see if the students understand the concept and skill. Examples: Write a sentence or two on what you think the big idea of today’s class is. Solve a problem. What do we still need to talk about to clarify your understanding of our goal?Assess formally: Not just a test that is solving for x or multiple choice. Assess through student demonstrations, produce a performance, keep a journal or diary, graphs
Engage your students with an issue that is relevant to them.
