Inquiry Based Learning

Asking the Hard Questions Makes for Easy Learning

Three Relevant Connections to Student Teaching Experience

1. Building a Culture of Inquiry

I think it is important that while I am in my student teaching experience I create a culture where students feel safe asking questions. I believe this goes farther than simply telling students that they can ask any questions they have. Realistically, I want to be asking lots of questions myself to guide their learning and furthermore provide a verbal reward for asking questions about the content. 

      2.  Teaching Reflection

Reflection is a portion of the experiential learning model which states it's significance. For the most part, this reflection is done by asking questions to facilitate thinking. For example, a student could ask what just happened? Why did it happen? And how did it happen? Regardless, of the question or topic, I want to be a teacher that makes a student intentionally reflect on the content. 

      3. Creating Inquiry Based Activities

Creating activities that promote inquiry will be the key to success if I am striving for inquiry driven learning in my classroom. The readings suggest creating these activities ahead of time and with careful planning. It almost makes IBL out to be much more difficult than it really is. Furthermore, when creating these activities, the teacher plays a different role in the conversation which is pretty neat.

Two Connections to TeachAg Courses

1. AEE 311

In AEE 311 we learned that motivation increases with autonomy. When implementing inquiry based learning, students will hopefully gain more autonomy and be more motivated to learn the material.

      2. AEE 413 

In AEE 413 we talk about program planning and part of that planning is identifying key stakeholders in the community. For IBL, a teacher can be creating materials that include members of the community for an increased sense of relevancy generated by the learners. 

The Problem Solving Approach to Learning is My Solution!

What happened?

This past week in lab we took our problem solving approach out for a spin! My lesson was on using repair manuals and ordering parts from a catalogue. Most notably, I gave the students a scenario with a problem for them to solve. 

How does it relate to what I know about teaching and learning?

The problem solving approach is effective for mobilizing a student's interest in a subject. I think that's because the problem solving approach gives students autonomy over their own learning. Utilizing this approach to learning also makes the content more relevant to the learner which is essential for retention of information. 

What did I learn from the experience?

I learned that when given the proper resources, student's can solve problems outside of their knowledge realm. For example, ag mechanics and small gas engines isn't a strong content area for my classmates and I. Nevertheless, we were able to solve a problem using a scenario and the proper resources. 

How can I apply this as an Agriscience teacher?

I will apply this to my time as a teacher by utilizing the problem solving approach whenever possible!

Don't Worry... "I'm Still Learning."

 Reflecting Upon My First Unit Plan

Admittedly, I had no idea what I was doing when I submitted the my first unit plan into canvas. Nevertheless, I enjoyed playing teacher while I put the content into my template and essentially planned a unit for the very first time. This was an enjoyable task and it sparked the structured side of me that enjoys watching systems being created. Units turn into lessons, lessons turn into activities, activities turn into objectives. Or all of that backwards depending upon who you ask. 

I was a bit frustrated when I started this unit plan considering the fact that we have never created one in any class during my three years of AEE coursework. Thus, I had no reference of what to do. Understandably, there is no one way to make a unit plan and the elements of a unit and lesson are given to us in a rubric. I would compare these elements to the ingredients of a cake. If we gave our students all the ingredients to bake a cake and a recipe to follow, would they be able to bake it on their own? Depends. My personal feedback for my educators would be to incorporate a unit in their instruction where we have to create a lesson plan in class so we have a higher sense of efficacy when we reach the fall. 

Regardless, I enjoyed the challenge and the overall experience of creating a lesson plan. I'll just have to follow the rubric next time. 

Project Based Learning as a Vehicle for Success

Connections to Student Teaching

Project Based Learning is different from only having projects for the students at the end of a unit for them to apply what they learn. Project based learning is where the entire method of teaching and learning is centered around the students completing a project of their own. I don't quite understand how this can apply to all topics but I like the idea of using a project rather than an assessment. Of course, that project must be practical and applicable to a real world problem solving situation that students would find in their career field. 

That's my major beef with the typical school project we do. It's run of the mill and doesn't require the students to apply their knowledge in a new way. It is important that while I'm in student teaching, I make it a point to use projects that mimic the problem solving done in the current job market. 

Also, I think adding reflection to a project, even if it is used as an assessment, should be paired with a short reflection on what they created and/or learned while engaging in the coursework. This should likely happen in a brief manner but it would be beneficial to learn how teachers are currently doing this. 

Connections to Other AEE Courses

This content surely relates to what we learned in #AEE311 when we first talked about Kolb's theory of experiential learning. This theory is relevant  because it emphasizes the necessity for a student to reflect after making conceptualizations about an experience. A project allows a student to test any abstract conceptualizations they may have.

Triangulated Connection

On a similar but different note, here are a list of problem solving questions that can be used in an interview to enhance higher level thinking. I think the same thought process can be used for our students when assessing their knowledge in a formal or informal setting. https://hr.usu.edu/employment/resources/Behavior%20and%20Situation%20Based%20Interview%20Question%20Library.pdf