Inquiry-Based Learning - Coursework Example

Running Head: INQUIRY BASED-LEARNING Inquiry-Based Learning: An Assessment Inquiry-Based Learning: An Assessment The naturally inquisitive nature of early childhood is a perfect match for inquiry-based learning methods. To be able to channel this innate curiosity into effective inquiry in the educational process is the goal of this system of participatory teaching. Inquiry-based learning is an approach to education that more fully involves the student in the search not for just facts, but for understanding and interrelationships. Joe Exline, an inquiry-based workshop author, sums it up as the following, "Inquiry implies involvement that leads to understanding. Furthermore, involvement in learning implies possessing skills and attitudes that permit you to seek resolutions to questions and issues while you construct new knowledge" (Concept, 2007). This method of teaching mirrors the Socratic method in that it begins by asking questions instead of merely presenting memorize-able facts and standard answers. It is this enhancement of the process that turns all the data we get into useful information, the difference between knowledge and intelligence. Succinctly put: Inquiry learning is student and problem-based and is both the final product and the starting point for further study. With an inquiry based approach consider learning as a circle. Learning begins with what students know. They take time to ask questions and then gain new perspectives by making observations, synthesizing information and drawing conclusions. They attend to differences, share what was learned, plan new inquiries after reflecting, and then take thoughtful new actions (Best, 2007) In this system, teachers act as facilitators and guides, helping students to make sense of the information that they are given. Inquiry-based learning also encourages the student to critically think about the information and make judgments based on their experience as well as the facts provided by others. This method of teaching actively engages the student in the pursuit of knowledge. Instead of merely being a passive note taker and detached observer, inquiry learning allows the student to become part of the experience of learning. It also allows the students a more active control over their environment and allows them to chose differing methods of exploration and understanding. “Student motivation and self-esteem increases with the control over their learning. Learning becomes fun" (Best, 2007). It is also more of a non-linear teaching method that requires more thought and participation than the traditional direct-line lecture method of question and answers. An example of an early childhood approach to this type of learning could be the following: Similar to brainstorming techniques an "Exploration Center" could be set up as a box full of various objects and materials. The students are asked to look through the pile and pick out a few pieces, record their observations and/or questions about the objects and also the process of finding them. They can record this either though notes or a drawing or both. This would be followed by time sharing with the class what they have discovered (Best, 2007). The point here is not necessarily to be literally correct with what they have found or observed, but being actively engaged in the learning experience of inquiry and developing a technique for exploring their world. This process begins to lay down patterns in the mind for future use when researching more complex subjects. The learner is able to apply the skills used in processing, categorizing, observing and evaluating to all subjects in a similar fashion. Therefore, instead of simply recalling facts the student is able to evaluate them, compare them to past experience and project that information into future probabilities. This type of thinking is what inquiry-based learning establishes and promotes in the student. It also can allow students to actively understand important items in their own lives, as this fifth grade classroom in the San Miguel School in Providence, RI discovered: For three weeks students put aside their textbooks, surveyed what they knew about pizza, raised questions about this topic, explored books and magazines, and interviewed a waitress at the local pizzeria. In addition, they searched the Web, actually made 16 pizzas in the school kitchen, sold the fruits of their labors, donated the profits to an anti-hunger organization, and wrote letters to their senator urging him to support anti-hunger legislation (Oehlkers & Ruple, 2007). In this example not only can one see how actively engaged the student is and the amount of knowledge that is gained, but how that experience becomes wider and wider until it reaches out to touch the world. There have been several positive indications in the research between the results of inquiry-based learning as opposed to the traditional educational system of education: Research shows that the amount of student learning that occurs in a classroom is directly proportional to the quality and quantity of student involvement in the educational program (Cooper and Prescott 1989). Yet research studies indicate that teachers typically dominate classroom conversation, consuming nearly 70% of classroom time. Inquiry-based instructional approaches reverse this trend, placing students at the helm of the learning process and teachers in the role of learning facilitator, coach, and modeler (Middle School, 2007) The indications and the common sense implied here is that this model is certainly an important tool in a well-rounded educational program. But should it be the only tool? Some of the detractors of this technique are worried that the students will be carried off into unproductive lines of inquiry, or worse, have too much fun to learn anything (Concept, 2007). In some sense there is certainly validation to these statements. A program that is all inquiry-based learning would eventually circumvent the achievement of a complete and comprehensive education. While inquiry-based learning is an important part of the educational environment of the learner, it is only one part. Effective inquiry led by directed instruction incorporating a well-rounded program is certainly a more realistic approach. In their research paper, An Effective, Research-Based Instructional Approach to Meet the Needs of All Students: Direct Instruction, the authors state: The push by federal and state mandates, such as the "No Child Left Behind" Act and the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) have increased the amount of teaching and learning required of educators and students. As a result, administrators are continuously searching for and utilizing instructional approaches that are research-based, have a proven record of effectiveness and efficacy, and are able to meet the increasingly diverse academic needs of the general education population. (Hill & MacMillan, 2004) Inquiry-based learning along with traditional and current research-based programs are all needed to create an educational model that is at once a base of information and a springboard for creativity and intelligence. The authors of the above paper present a model (see Appendix A) that is a snapshot of what just such an approach could look like. Education of the mind, as in exercise and diet for the body, needs to be well balanced in order to give the most benefit. Inquiry-based learning should be used to increase creativity and connectivity to the world and to the facts that are being presented in the classroom. But there is also a need for the more traditional presentation of those facts and figures. With the use of traditional workbooks, textbooks and lectures and by incorporating other research-based models as well as computer technology and the Internet among other tools, the student can absorb and comprehend all the information necessary to understand the world and more importantly him or her self. References Best Practices: Instructions Strategies and Techniques (2007) Retrieved September 12, 2007, from Web Based Learning Resource Development. Web site: http://wblrd.sk.ca/ Concept to Classroom. (2007) Retrieved September 12, 2007 from Thirteen WNET New York Web Site: http://www.thirteen.org/ Hill, J.& MacMillan, B.(2004) An effective, research-based instructional approach to meet the needs of all students: direct instruction. Retrieved September 13, 2007 fromEducation Resources Information Center. Web Site:http://www.eric.ed.gov/ Middle school endorsement program. (2007) Retrieved September 12, 2007 from Northeastern Illinois University, Chicago. Web Site: http://www.neiu.edu/ Oehlkers, W. & Ruple, H. (2007) Inquiry into action: a model for learning. Reading Today, Jun/Jul2007, Vol. 24 Issue 6, p40 Appendix A Read More