I uncovered the practice of inquiry based learning during graduate research for how effectively STEM learning improved student performance on standardized assessments. What I discovered was a strange idea that many students learn more when they don’t hate the process of learning. That said, inquiry based learning is not all fun. As one of the videos pointed out, the students are engaged, but they do struggle. The real idea is that students own their learning when they decide what study. High school students are still inquisitive and they still can learn things they want to know. The problem is finding topics or questions that direct them to finding answers to questions that are suitable for the content and desired level of learning. This is the first point at which I really struggle. It is hard to develop these ideas or topics. They can’t be too rigid or static because every year’s cohort, every class period, every collaborative group, will have different ideas and different questions about what they think is important to learn. Focusing students inquiry without hampering curiosity is proving to be a tough balance to strike.
The resources were clear that inquiry based learning can occur in varying levels of structure to suit the level of responsibility the students are able to shoulder. Ninth grade students should require much more structure at the first attempt at an inquiry-based lesson. I attempted one very open lesson using new computer software early in the year with disastrous results. I am now trying to guide students through a research project that will serve for an non-traditional instructional unit for our snow days. I feel like the resources reinforce what I know about inquiry- based instruction. They also challenge me to develop effective practices and units to use in my classrooms.