I have always taught in an Engineering & Technology classroom mostly at the high school level. I think Engineering classrooms are excellent examples of Inquiry Learning in practice. To me, Inquiry Learning is teachers and students engaged in project-based learning, utilizing problem-solving strategies and real-world questioning to synthesize and communicate information. It allows students to test hypotheses in a challenging environment without the risk of failure.
The first thing that really hits home with me about Inquiry Learning is that it should be engaging for both students and teachers. In older models of teaching the emphasis on engagement is a student focus. But in our Implementing Inquiry reading it is discussed that "teacher interest and curiosity about a topic will increase the teacher's investment and provide a model of engagement for students." How can we expect our students to get interested in a topic when we are providing all sorts of clues to them that we are not interested in it ourselves? By doing this, we have possibly lost their interest in a subject before we have even begun our lesson. It reminds me of coming through my undergraduate work and always being reminded by my professors that, "your students are always watching you." In most cases, this was in reference to how you handled yourself in a situation or how you treated other people. We were reminded to always be a good example of those things because our students would be watching and possibly taking their queue's from us. I think it's time we add "interest in subject matter" to this conversation as well.
In the article "What the Heck is Inquiry-Based Learning?" author Heather Wolpert-Gawron says, "Inquiry-based learning is more than asking a student what he or she wants to know. It’s about triggering curiosity. And activating a student’s curiosity is, I would argue, a far more important and complex goal than the objective of mere information delivery." To me, this perfectly sums up what we are trying to accomplish through Inquiry Learning. The focus should no longer be on how we disseminate information. The focus should be on how we use our resources to trigger to curiosity and interest. By generating genuine curiosity and interest in the subject matter, genuine learning can occur.
Thinking of an Engineering classroom, I also really appreciate Tina Barseghian's article "Creating Classrooms We Need: 8 Ways Into Inquiry Learning". In her article she discusses "Embracing Failure" and the difference between "blameworthy" and "praiseworthy" failure. If we are encouraging our students to step out on the ledge of these new learning practices with us, we need to make sure they understand that they won't always be successful on their first attempt. And if that happens, that isn't a failure, that's an opportunity to gain knowledge and experience at a deeper level. This point related to Inquiry Learning I think is vital to the whole process.
Mini Lessons
Certification Area: Technology Education
Standards: Georgia Department of Education: STEM Cluster
Focus Standard: STEM-FET-1
Lesson 1: Ethical Use of Information
Students will research a given Engineering problem. Once students have time to formulate their answers they will be asked to look through a curated list of resources regarding the ethical use of information. Students will be asked to review their answers to see if they have been done correctly. Students will be asked to rewrite answers to credit all information and ideas to their respective owners. Students will learn about researching real-world examples and giving credit to owners of the original work. Students will use technology to research answers to real-world Engineering design scenarios. Students will share their experience with a partner and discuss with each other their findings both on their research answers but also how to cite information.
Lesson 2: Resume Writing
Students will study the importance of resume writing and understand its importance in job search process. Students will use a variety of technology resources to learn about how to write a well-formatted resume. Students will have the ability to research an actual job opening posting in an area of interest to them to focus their assignment work on. Students will produce a finished resume for their job posting, one that they could follow for future use. Students will be assessed on their final resume.
Lesson 3: Interviewing
Students will study the importance of Interviewing and understand its importance in the job search process. Students will use a variety of technology resources to learn about how to properly prepare for an interview, what to expect in an interview, and how to conduct themselves in an interview. Students will be paired with partners and will take turns participating in mock-interviews. Students will be assessed on a final mock interview with the teacher.
My technology resources for these lessons will allow for extension because they will be resources that are real-world tools used for career planning and job searching. It will expose students to resources they can use outside the classroom and in future use as they prepare to write resumes and go on job interviews in real life. Career planning is a field that also requires keeping up with current trends and understanding what is being looked for. There are a lot of misunderstood pieces about the job searching process. These lessons and my use of technology will be something that students can use regardless of career field and can be a skill they use in life many, many years down the road.
Barseghian, T. (2013, March 11). Creating Classrooms We Need: 8 Ways Into Inquiry Learning. Retrieved June 7, 2017, from https://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2013/03/11/creating-classrooms-we-need-8-ways-into-inquiry-learning/
Implementing Inquiry M5 Resource
Wolpert-Gawron, H. (2016, August 11). What the Heck Is Inquiry-Based Learning? Retrieved June 7, 2017, from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/what-heck-inquiry-based-learning-heather-wolpert-gawron
