Inq-Curious

This week we were required to read a chapter in our text focused on Inquiry-Based learning and Interdisciplinary models. Inquiry-based learning is used to promote student problem-solving in the real world. ­­Projects in this discipline emphasize critical thinking, focusing in and thinking like an ‘expert’ on an area.  It has been described that this type of learning ‘liberates’ students from educational ‘constraints’ by giving them the freedom to explore and express ideas within a subject discipline.

While reading the different project examples that fall under this type of learning like the ‘Cigar Box’ Project used in a grade 6-7 history classroom, or the ‘Mountain’ Project created for grade 11 students to better understand the climate zones, transference of energy, and biomes. I couldn’t help but immediately think of the assignment we will soon be involved with: Genus Hour.

Genus Hour is a way for students to be the ‘experts’ in their own field, whatever interests them. As long as the project has a main focus or question to be answered requiring research and richer and deeper understanding of the subject, students are solely motivated by themselves… well that’s the hope.  

This type of projects allows students to be active participants in their learning, posing and pursuing their own questions, which is what student-centered inquiry learning is all about.

This type of project and teaching ideas get me excited and energized to implement them into m own classroom in the future, but then I think about whether or not I would enjoy this project as a student?

Although all the right ideas are there, a project completely run by and for the student, if this was assigned to me in high school I know I would feel uneasy and anxious about it. I was the student to read the rubric before reading the activity, consciously thinking about where I can lose marks and where the teacher is looking to give them. But with this type of project, that’s not exactly the case.

Only one class in my high school career do I look back and truly think I was motivated for it. It was grade 12 English and it was summer school, and I was not excited about either. Our teacher decided to give us a culminating final project that we were free to work on whenever we wanted, as long as it was completed by the end of our ‘term’. He gave no rubric and little written instruction; we just knew that we were to make a 10 minute presentation answering the question, “What makes a classic, a classic?” Obviously linking our ideas to course material was suggested but we were given full reigns on where we wanted to go with the presentation.

Although this did not result in my best mark in high school, it did get me motivated. The project was more for me, and developing my ideas rather than simply elaborating on the teachers. I remember feeling proud of my work; it was a reflection of me and my ideas instead of a mirror of my teacher.

I think that’s what Inquiry learning is about, although it may not be the most efficient or even give the students their best mark, its more about their thinking process rather than the results.