I feel my understanding of inquiry-based learning is constantly changing and developing as the weeks progress. I really enjoyed this week’s readings and discussions. I appreciated having the opportunity to start applying all that I’ve learned by creating a lesson plan and developing ways to incorporate web 2.0 tools into the 5E model. Overall, this was a fun week for me!
This week started with the Backward Design Model. Wiggins and McTighe created the design framework, Understanding By Design, which focuses on educators asking ourselves what students should know, understand, or be able to do at the end of the lesson or unit of study (Topic A: Understanding Backward Design, 2020). Learning about this model was a good reminder that I need to be intentional about what I want my students to learn and be able to do before I start any instruction.
As mentioned above, this week I also learned about the 5E’s of inquiry – engagement, exploration, explanation, elaboration, and evaluation (Topic B: The 5E – An Instructional Model, 2020). All of these phases involve the engagement of students in their own learning, which is an important part of an inquiry-based learning environment – students are at the center of their learning. Through the creation of a lesson plan using the 5E model, I was able to practice Backward Design. I tried my best to get students engaged in meaningful learning for each phase of the 5E’s.
Lastly, this week ended with web 2.0 tools and how they can be used to enhance formative assessments. As I noted last week, I have been using web 2.0 tools in my own classes for some time now and it is a topic that I feel very comfortable with. This week provided me with the opportunity to better see how web 2.0 tools can enhance learning and inquiry. I learned this week that I need to show my students the best web 2.0 tools they can use to answer questions.
After this week, I feel I have a better grasp on how to foster inquiry-based learning in the classroom through lessons and web 2.0 tools. Now that I’ve created an inquiry-based lesson and used web 2.0 tools to assess learning, the questions I still have are:
1. Does inquiry learning work well if the lesson needs to be split over a few days?
2. What does grading look like in an inquiry-based learning environment?
References
Wilkes University (2020). Unit 6, Topic A: Understanding Backward Design. In EDIM 513: Inquiry Based Learning: Spring 2020 [Course content]. Retrieved from
Wilkes University (2020). Unit 6, Topic B: The 5E – An Instructional Model. In EDIM 513: Inquiry Based Learning: Spring 2020 [Course content]. Retrieved from
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