This week on his blog, Richard Byrne, presents an hour long PD on
inquiry-based learning. His focus is initially centered around what
inquiry-based learning is and what it is not. As a 7th grade science
teacher, inquiry-based learning is no stranger to my room or my
instructional tool kit. This video did help me take a step back and look
at how I implement this in my room and really look at the qualities of
inquiry-based learning that Richard Byrne mentions and being able to
refine these.
inquiry-based learning. His focus is initially centered around what
inquiry-based learning is and what it is not. As a 7th grade science
teacher, inquiry-based learning is no stranger to my room or my
instructional tool kit. This video did help me take a step back and look
at how I implement this in my room and really look at the qualities of
inquiry-based learning that Richard Byrne mentions and being able to
refine these.
Richard Byrne mentions 4 qualities that teachers of inquiry based
learning should possess: leader, monitor, facilitator and evaluator. In
inquiry-based learning, students often jump into it with a huge concept
and end up getting lost because teachers do not facilitate and mentor
throughout the learning as they should. The main issue students
struggle with is evaluating their explanations with evidence. Students
find many examples online and students should work towards being
able to evaluate what they find based on evidence. In order to facilitate
this, teachers should be intentional with the critical component of
inquiry-based learning. This critical component, which is also challenging
to students is comparison. Students often end their research once they
believe they have answered the gist of the question or have found adequate
data to support their reasoning. Instead, students should continue to compare
their findings to others. In order to facilitate students, teachers can ask
open-ended questions that will require students to go back and revise their
work.
learning should possess: leader, monitor, facilitator and evaluator. In
inquiry-based learning, students often jump into it with a huge concept
and end up getting lost because teachers do not facilitate and mentor
throughout the learning as they should. The main issue students
struggle with is evaluating their explanations with evidence. Students
find many examples online and students should work towards being
able to evaluate what they find based on evidence. In order to facilitate
this, teachers should be intentional with the critical component of
inquiry-based learning. This critical component, which is also challenging
to students is comparison. Students often end their research once they
believe they have answered the gist of the question or have found adequate
data to support their reasoning. Instead, students should continue to compare
their findings to others. In order to facilitate students, teachers can ask
open-ended questions that will require students to go back and revise their
work.
The main issue addressed in this webinar is TIME. Do we push students to
finish by a deadline or just let them work at their own pace? Are they
focused or are they not meeting the deadline because they’re off task? If they
are off task, then why? Is the assignment confusing or do they just need a
break? How long do we let students struggle until we help them? This is a
personal struggle for me and inquiry-based learning. I have some students
who excel at the task and need very little, if any, assistance from me. Then, I
have others who need me to walk them through every step and when I do
this it is not inquiry-based.
finish by a deadline or just let them work at their own pace? Are they
focused or are they not meeting the deadline because they’re off task? If they
are off task, then why? Is the assignment confusing or do they just need a
break? How long do we let students struggle until we help them? This is a
personal struggle for me and inquiry-based learning. I have some students
who excel at the task and need very little, if any, assistance from me. Then, I
have others who need me to walk them through every step and when I do
this it is not inquiry-based.
This post mentions Explore Labs. These are inquiry-based labs designed
for middle school students. This resource was developed based on
re-engaging middle school students and their interest in real-world
problems? This is a free resource that includes many modules that teachers
can implement into their classroom as inquiry-based. These modules include
videos, interactions, and classroom investigations that support content
process and skills in order to bring these real-life situations into a classroom.
for middle school students. This resource was developed based on
re-engaging middle school students and their interest in real-world
problems? This is a free resource that includes many modules that teachers
can implement into their classroom as inquiry-based. These modules include
videos, interactions, and classroom investigations that support content
process and skills in order to bring these real-life situations into a classroom.
I LOVE grade cam and the time it saves! My students love the immediate feedback. It prompts them to immediately ask for help or clarification, or another opportunity to complete the work. This fits well with my view of assessments as living documents and not an end all. The way I have implemented grade cam is to print off the bubbles and assign to students. Then I laminate them and students use expo markers. This allows them to be used very quickly, or even on the spot during a teachable moment!
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