This week, I began my journey of discovering Inquiry-Based Learning with an online course though Wilkes University. Before beginning this course, I knew nothing for certain about inquiry-based learning. Judging from the name and my own background knowledge, I assumed it involved a learning style where students are motivated by their curiosity about a subject of their choice. The ‘inquiry’ is the question they are striving to answer. If that wasn’t right, then I knew nothing.
Through our readings and research this week, I have developed a base knowledge of inquiry-based learning and have confirmed refined my previous assumptions. Inquiry-Based learning is centered around stoking students’ natural curiosity and transforming them into their own vehicles for discovery. A fantastic definition of inquiry-based learning is provided from the readings this week: “Inquiry-based learning, if front-loaded well, generates such excitement in students that neurons begin to fire, curiosity is triggered, and they can’t wait to become experts in answering their own questions” (Wolpert-Gowron, 2016).
The idea of inquiry-based education is very exciting. I have always dreamed of a class that takes control of their learning, that values class time, and has a strong desire to gain as much education as possible. Motivation (or lack thereof) has always been an issue in eighth grade classrooms, and other classrooms as well. I am most familiar with the struggle in eighth grade as that is the grade I teach. I truly believe that if students could understand why learning is important, there would be next to no behavior or attendance concerns in the classroom. Students would become discerning consumers of education in the same way they are discerning consumers of footwear. I can see the promised land, but I don’t know how to get there. Perhaps inquiry-based learning is the way?
My burning questions all revolve around application. How can I use inquiry-based learning to inspire, motivate, and encourage learning and learners in my eighth grade language arts classroom? Apathy is a killer in my classroom right now; it’s shocking to me how many students get intimidated by a five-page story and quit, or just refuse to read the story, and then act shocked when they fail the quiz. How can inquiry-based learning help propel these students forward? I also want to know if curriculum based on inquiry will even be supported in my urban, Title 1 school. I may be forced to rely on tried-and-true methods of instruction before doing something risky. How would I square meeting content standards with student-focused activities? My school expects at least two grades per week. How can I do that with an inquiry-based learning style? Will inquiry-based learning conform to fit my school, or the other way around? If I wanted to use inquiry-based learning in my classroom, I would need as much information as possible to sell my administrators and colleagues. I think it is possible, and it’s what is going on in the back of my mind for the next six weeks of this class (and beyond).
References
Wolpert-Gowron, H. (2016, August 11). What the heck is inquiry-based learning? Retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/what-heck-inquiry-based-learning-heather-wolpert-gawron
Mr. Baughman’s Musings 