Reflections

Questionaire #1

1. What do I know about my topic?

I have a very generalised (sparse) understanding of Inquiry Based Learning, although for years I have believed that I have been leading my students through this approach to research - we will have to see...

2. How interested am I in this topic?

Very interested

3. How much do I know about this topic?

I know that as a teacher (or guide in this instance, I need to know a LOT more to be able to guide the children effectively to get the most out of their acutal guided inquiries.)

4. When I do research, what do I generally find easy to do?

I find it very easy to find answers to my questions, as well as find a lot of resources to use to illustrate my findings.

5. When I do research, what do I generally find difficult to do?

I find it difficult to analyse and synthesise information at times. I also find it difficult to stop searching once I start - it is like a bug - once I start finding good information, it is hard to simply decide that I have enough resources, links and information.

A journey through guided inquiry and inquiry based learning

This blog will serve to take the the reader on a journey through the process of an enquiry based approach to reasearch. This research will be specifically targeted to Upper Primary Students operating in the English Key Learning Area.

Upon typing in my search for "inquiry based learning + elementary", I came across a variety of interesting articles on a page called "Youth Learn" (http://www.youthlearn.org/learning/general-info/our-approach/intro-inquiry-learning/intro-inquiry-learning)which discusses technology, media and project-based learning to inspire young minds. Yes! I think I have finally found something of interest... I think the key to doing inquiry based learning is that the questions the children chose have to be questions they honestly care about. These questions should be such that they actually encourage the children to ask more questions along the way. Although this whole approach is founded on children taking the lead in their own learning, it still requires us as guides to be well planned with goals to be reached. There is a fear that inquiry based learning my be too unstructured, but this is definitely not the case, as they require the teacher to be even better planned and prepared - the major difference is that the teacher's role is vastly different, not the actual learnng process. The following diagram (Morino Institute 2010) illustrates the inquiry process:

One of the difficulties I have as a teacher is drawing good questions out of the children. The greatest tip here is to steer clear away from yea/no questions, but rather encourage open ended question.
An interesting game(from the abovementioned site) "The Question Game" would be one I would like to try:

Try playing The Question Game with your kids. To start, two participants decide on a topic to question. One person starts with an open-ended question, then the other person responds with a related open-ended question. This goes back and forth as long as they can continue without making a statement or repeating a previous question.

For example, the topic might be an object in the room, such as a light bulb:

A: Why is it important to have light?

B: Where does light come from?

A: How does light help people?

B: Where is light used?

A: What would happen if there were no light?

Try asking a question and going around the room, each person asking a question based on the one before.