Inquiry Learning and a Mini-Lesson

Create a definition of inquiry learning that is meaningful and personal. Easier said than done! Brainstorming the mini-lesson came naturally, since I'm constantly developing lessons on the go as things change. But, coming up with a definition for inquiry learning took a good bit of effort! So, here is the definition I created, feel free to skip over it and just check out my graphic.

Inquiry learning is based on the idea that students need to be in control of their own learning. Students need to to ask questions and develop their own knowledge. Without knowledge, students cannot learn effectively and will be forced to regurgitate pointless information. The difference between meaningful learning and rote memorization is the concept of knowledge. Knowledge is knowing something in a context that allows you to apply it to the world around you. As teachers, we should be able to create an environment that promotes creativity and understanding for different learner types. Students crave understanding, whether they know it or not and they are constantly searching for answers. We as teachers should be able to help them ask those questions and find the answers for themselves. If that requires that we use technology and let the kids do their own thing, so be it. Students should be able to use the world around the, one filled with technology, to find answers on their own. Too often are students given what they want without having to work for it. How are children going to learn anything if they don't have to provide any effort or work in order to get the answers to their questions? In today's world, students are surrounded by technology and should be allowed to use that technology to obtain the answers for their burning questions. Teachers should be able to provide the student with the tools and guide them, as a map would, to their destination.

My full graphic cloud

In order to make this mini-lesson work for my class, I am going to go with something that I will be covering following the CRCT. I love teaching my poetry unit and the students have loved it each year. My poetry unit is always very involved, so the students have a say and can control an aspect of their learning. This allows them to ask questions and discover things they didn't know they wanted to know.

-Authenticity is one of the most important in my mind. If a student doesn't have an authentic connection or care about the topic. What good is going over the material going to do? The student will simply toss the information from their brain when it is no longer applicable--usually after the test. In order to keep the lesson authentic, I want to incorporate music. What better way to get through to the youth than through music?!

-Deep Understanding follows authenticity as it should. How do you make sure the students have a deep understanding of the concepts? Make it applicable and then make it interesting and hands-on. Keep the students involved in their own learning! Through the use of music, figurative language, and imagery, the students should have no problems keeping up and locking this information deep in their knowledge banks.

-Performances of Understanding comes in the form of group-work for my students. They love to challenge each other and see who can win or be better than the others. Well, whatever works, right? I can pit the students against each other when it comes to poetry. They all want to be rappers on the side anyway. So, why not have a requirement of certain poetic elements: form, figurative language, imagery, rhyme scheme, rhythm, etc. Then, have the students judge the work of their peers.

-Assessment can be done in the form of peer or teacher based rubrics. I will probably attempt to combine the two: have a percentage come from the peers (who are often times more harsh than I), a percentage come from a self-assessment, and then finish with my own assessment of their understanding.

-Technology can be incorporated by using YouTube, Podcasts, and music software. The students can create videos to go with their poems, slideshows with the lyrics, or a presentation using twitter or instagram feeds.

-Connecting with experts can be done using interviews with authors, poets, and local musicians. The more likely of the group is the local musicians.

-Success isn't guaranteed, but it never is. The students need to know that they won't always succeed, but that to fail is to come that much closer to succeeding. In order to get this point across, I will need to establish a rule regarding the appropriate presentation of materials for school.

-Ethical citizenship will come into play when the students have to prove that they did not "steal" someone else's lyrics or poetry and present it as their own. They will need to cite sources, provide evidence, and be able to guide others to their muses.

A look back...not too far back, though.

Turns out, I have not been able to keep up with my learning goals as I had originally intended. I have found that the responsibilities of being a teacher are getting in the way of my graduate work. That is not to say that my responsibilities as a teacher are inconvenient, but it is difficult to make time for everything going on. Because of my lack of available time: I have not kept up with my Feedly as intended, I have not completed assignments on time, and now my time spent planning for teaching is suffering. On the other hand, I have been able to keep up with my PLN and expand my Professional Network. My PLN is staying updated and looks better and better everyday! My network of professionals and organizations is growing and I am pulling more resources and ideas from it every day! Sadly, I feel that I may not be as prepared for the responsibilities assigned to me as I originally thought. This is my fourth semester of graduate school and it has been my most difficult; which is really disappointing because I actually enjoy the topics and materials more this semester than the past 2 semesters. But, with the extreme situations going on at my school, I am having to prioritize and my studies are suffering. As often seems to be the case with this class, my feelings go right along with the assignments.

I am having to develop my own growth mindset because of the challenges I am facing. Do I decide to sacrifice one area for another? Yes. Does that mean I completely abandon one and focus fully on the other, essentially giving up? No! I am challenging myself to do better and learn more. Though my graduate work is suffering, my attempts and ideas in the classroom are getting better. I am able to be a more creative teacher and provide the students with new challenges. But, as I said above, my time to plan these things is lacking. As such, they don't always have a smooth take-off and landing. Making these mistakes in both my school and my schooling is discouraging, but they allow me to learn more about myself and my abilities. It is quite the eye-opener. So, to anyone reading, keep the faith. In order to grow and become better, we have to struggle, trip, and fall before we can pick ourselves back up and be better than we were. Learn your limitations and push them to the brink. Be a better person than you were yesterday!

An additional note. I think I need to add a new goal just to make things even more complicated. I need to make a point to spend a few minutes each day working on my goals for this class. I have attempted to make time for my personal goals, my teaching goals, my life goals, but I need to add a time-slot for this class as well. Here's hoping.

On Letting Go

Not only is my title a favorite song title of mine, it is quite appropriate for this week's discussion and reflection. Dr. Wiggins' article could not have come to me at a more convenient time. My school is attempting to shy away from the lecture model--or at least, they want us to stop using it--and I have been selected as the perfect candidate for testing. It would seem that I am the most open-minded educator at my school and am therefore the best option for trying out new methods of teaching. I just finished some LDC training, I'm attempting to incorporate the Khan Academy in my math class, and I've been signed up for this FIP thing that is catching on.

But, back to Dr. Wiggins: his blog talks about taking the responsibility off the teacher and letting the students practice useful methods of learning. In one of my other classes, I am developing my Key Assessment based on this exact concept. I want students to take responsibility for their learning so that the time spent in class can be problem solving and real-world application. In life, bosses and supervisors are not going to walk you through a problem, they expect you to be independent. So, why should we continue to baby students all the way through the 12th grade? We are not helping them by doing so, we are, in fact, hindering their ability to judge their own limits and preventing them for learning how to discover!

I have come across a similar method as described in Dr. Wiggins' blog regarding how students should approach learning. He reference autonomy and the ability to make decisions based on prior experiences. I recently acquired a motorcycle and my license. Well, the manual describes a method for crash avoidance called SEE: Seek, Evaluate, Execute. You have to seek out potential threats, evaluate your movements and those of the people around you, and execute a plan to avoid any negative situations. Well, based on your prior knowledge and experiences--wrecks, tickets, being on the other side of the road--you can use that knowledge to make an assessment. Then, when you have made it through the situation alive, you can reflect on how it went and what you could have done differently. It is no different in the classroom. You have to figure out what the teacher was trying to say, decide how to use it, and then see if it works.

As teachers we need to think more from the students side--if we can. They need to be prepared for this high-stakes test and they need to be prepared for life. However, the students and teachers are all so comfortable with the traditional lecture method, that stepping outside of this box is a bit messy. The students flounder, the teacher doesn't know what to do to help the students by not directly helping the students, the administration is unhappy because they cannot see immediate results when and where they want them. This is supposed to be a gradual thing. Students will not be ready to take matters into their own hands after a day, a week, a month, or maybe even a year! But, the more often the students are able to practice the independent, non-guided method, the more effective it will become later on. We all want the classroom of the future, but we want it given to us without having to do the work--just like our students. Well, it's time to commit to the cause. Do the research, learn the methods, share the experience, and get on with letting go.