Inquiry is a process through which students better engage with content, learn important 21st century skills, have more autonomy over the ways in which they learn, and build upon the ideas of others. When teachers use inquiry in schools, students not only learn the material assigned in the curriculum, but they also learn the methods through which questions are answered, new ideas explored, and insights developed. Teachers can design the inquiry process deliberated from beginning to end, they can involve students in the design process, or they can provide students with the leeway to design their own inquiry. Regardless, students interact with why concepts are related by carrying out and sharing about investigations. When students can determine why is something is true on their own, without the teacher just lecturing it to them, they retain the information better because they understand the ‘why’ and not just the ‘what.’
Through the past few weeks I have learned that inquiry can be used to clarify misconceptions by helping students to gain a conceptual knowledge about the content from the bottom up so to speak. They work through the steps that show them why something is the way it is, such as determining what elements of short stories are essential by reading short stories and connecting the similarities. I additionally learned that students can develop their metacognition through inquiry because they often make their own choices about how to research or what connections to make, and then they have to communication those ideas clearly to others. They also come up with questions they want to answer, and if figure out the best ways to answer those questions. If they don’t reflect on the opinions they come up with based on their inquiry, then they could make faulty assumptions without realizing it.
The new insights about inquiry that I have learned throughout this course is how important using interactive web-based resources are to engage students. These types of resources are especially important when the teacher wants students to learn skills such as collaboration, communication, problem solving, and synthesis. When students learn the steps to understand a new type of technology, they will be better equipped to deal with any new technology they must use in the future.
One big change in my thinking about inquiry, other than the opportunities to use inquiry in an English class instead of science classes alone, is how useful formative assessments and enough summative assessments used for formative assessments are to improve student learning. Because inquiry is a process that students take part in over time to learn the material, the teacher needs to check in with the students throughout the learning process in order to provide feedback about their work and ideas. Asking clarifying questions, providing written feedback, and sharing verbal comments about the skills, projects, and ideas that students spend their time on helps them learn just as much as reading an informational article or watching a video.
While reflecting on all of these ideas in my own classroom, I can use inquiry for the nonfiction and writing units as well as some literature units. Students can investigate what persuasion is and how it can or should be used, appropriate methods of communication depending on the audience and situation, what makes stories so powerful, and how literature can promote empathy. I simply need to allow the students the time and space to interact and play around with the content in controlled ways so that they can figure out the answers to these and other questions without me simply lecturing the material. Students are more active in the process and thus are more engaged in their learning. When the students are engaged and interested, school and learning are more fun for the teachers and the students!
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