Blog 6 What is Inquiry based learning.....?

This question (in my mind) will never have a definitive answer. My reasoning is because we are trying to develop a new culture from an old one. The new culture is a group of students who are questioning the reason why they are going through the motions of school and why they are learning the topics chosen for them. These predetermined topics are our basics for knowledge and it is our job as teachers in the 21st century to change the student culture from robots who are simply repeating over and over and over and over...... to robots who have intelligence and think for themselves. They may know how to make a wooden car that goes fast but what if by asking a simple question they begin to question how to make it lighter, how to make it stronger, or how to make it go without spending any energy. So, in my attempt to answer what is inquiry based learning it is not an answer but my explanation of a concept. Asking a question that will snowball a group of students to begin to wonder, ponder, and openly discuss a topic and seek the truth and knowledge needed based on desire. The desire to want to know rather than the desire to do what they are told.



WHEWWWW...... Wouldn't it be great if we had a magic question for all kids rather than having to find that question for each one? It is there. For most boys it is....here take this thingamagig apart and tell me how it works....At least I know that is when I am learning at my best. Experience of a situation that I created not someone else created for me. I like where http://teachinquiry.com/index/Introduction.html tells us that"inquiry starts with teachers as engaged learners and researchers with the foundational belief that the topics they teach are rich, living and generous places for wonder and exploration." This is true for most of us...we just have not found a magic potion to get kids to buy in. I think that once a single student buys in with the inquiry base it will attract others because the excitement is contagious!

 As far as the planning for the mini lessons is concerned, I hope I am not alone in the fact that I keep thinking A HA! I have it only to bail out and think of something else to work towards. I would like to have the mini lessons ease the students into the inquiry limelight. (and me as well) To make sure that it is authentic we will identify a standard (or the standard if I am using this as a template for all future lessons) so that we can identify what it is that we are aimed at. Once we have decided on the standard we can begin the next step. Knowing that it is social studies I would like to focus on one of the Georgia standards on water that I am familiar with.  For instance -

SS7G10 The student will discuss environmental issues across Southern and Eastern Asia.

a. Describe the causes and effects of pollution on the Yangtze and Ganges Rivers.

b.Describe the causes and effects of air pollution and flooding in India and China. 

I feel like I can create a question that will spark an evolution in the classroom. I would start with something along the lines of what could happen to someone who drank water directly from the Yangtze or Ganges river?  OR Would you be willing to take a drink out of the Yangtze or Ganges river?  I would then follow up with a why or why not, is there something about the river that may make it undesirable?  This will then open up the discover of religion in India and importance of clean water in those regions of the world, along with possibly a student coming forth with a why don't we do something about cleaning it up question. This in itself will help to drive the deeper knowledge and I do not think I will have to push for it. I think the curiosity would be there. As far as technology is concerned I would make sure that students have a lesson on appropriate sources. I would like to curate a few websites to make sure that they are on track for the accurate details and not someone's journal from a visit that may have been disgusted. Although I would have been disgusted I think that concern would be a better angle for the inquiry.   The third mini lesson I want to include would be an ethical based learning to make sure that when we present our findings from the inquiry, we are are doing so in a manner that is not a negative blog from someone visiting but more of a nurturing presentation to help others realize that this is the lifeline for these countries and they need help but do not even realize for the most part. 

 

 

I must admit I am struggling a little bit but I think I am headed in the right direction. I want the students to be active in the research and engaged but don't want to aim so high that I am disappointed in the outcome!

 

 

Post #5 Mindset

My goals in the first week were to hone my skills of Inquiry based learning and to become better at Infographics. This is something that was really targeted for me this week. When it comes to the infographs I can see were the growth mindset needs to come into play for me. If I get frustrated while trying to create the infograph it will not be productive at all. I love the sense that the challenge for learning should be portrayed as exciting by the teacher. Carol Dweck is very encouraging in her interview. She tells us that we must be challenged to keep those neurons firing. It makes sense to me that if we are not challenged we are not improving our brain power.   Eduardo Briceno also touches on the need for challenges as he discusses Josh Waitzken, he was a chess genius and decided to become a genius at another field, Mixed Martial Arts. By creating opportunities to fail and experience he credits this to his ability to becoming a world champion. Pretty impressive. Briceno keeps mentioning that a growth mindset can change the way people act and behave in the presence of a challenge or when things become difficult. He also states that it will change a confidence in someone, for example fixed mindset brains are concerned with how others look at them and those with growth mindset do not. This could  change a child for life.
     Based on what I have learned about a growth mindset it is really not changing my goals but enhancing them. I know as I struggle to create my infograph I will have moments where I would like to stop. Although, if I embrace this challenge I will become better at the infographs and inquiry learning. I am going to do my best to recognize that the growth mindset in the creation of the graph will help me in the long run. Briceno tells us to listen to our fixed mindset when it says I can't do it and to add YET! As continued education students I am certain that most of us would fall into the growth mindset category or we would have stopped with our undergraduate studies. However, I do believe that we have both types of mindset at one time. We may take on certain tasks with fixed and others with a growth mindset.
            The creation of essential questions is something that I think we all do in education without being deliberate. This article "Learners Should Be Developing Their Own Essential Questions", is suggesting we be deliberate. As a teacher in social studies I open up a lesson with the unpacking of standards. Once we have identified what we need to be able to do and the things we need to know in order to do it, I ask the kids what sorts of questions we are going to be looking for. This is very similar except I do it as a whole class. After reading the article, I think that each child should have some time that is not influenced by others to hash out the question that they may ask to seek the information. It makes sense to me and I also think that this will help my inquiry based learning. Those questions are what creates the foundation and peaks the interest of the students. "Questioning comes naturally to children and seems to become a lost art and skill as people age." This is something that I remind myself with my 4 year old daughter as she plays 20 questions with me. Most that are "Why?" We have to be conscious of the inquiry and use it to direct students learning. I am really hoping that this will help me to direct my students in the future.

#4 LET IT GO!

      Oh man, I will never forget that first time I learned to ride a bike. My dad talked me through the mechanics of the bike and how it worked probably 100 times. I had it all figured out. Thank goodness for the training wheels or I would have more injuries than Evel Knievel!  However, the training wheels had to disappear at sometime and that day I am sure my dad found out it was hard to let go. This relationship is a teacher/student learning experience. Students are filled with information on how to do things and where to find answers but the teacher does not know what the result is until they allow students to fail and discover.  If the student fails, then the teacher should reassess what needs to be learned. This is the data that Chris Lehman in his webinar talks about as driving the curriculum. His whole purpose behind the discussion is to promote inquiry based learning and I love that he says "it is not about us it is about the kids." Anytime we find something that interests us we are more likely to be involved and dig deeper. I also think that his outlook on "we want kids to understand how they think and how they learn" is important to the growth of any student. This will allow them to harness the power of thought and knowledge because they can then design the study skills that are customized for themselves. I think that it would be wonderful for every student, no matter the age, to have a personalized education plan that fits them perfect and who better to figure that out than the student. No one knows you better than yourself!
      "It is not about control, it is about support." This statement from Lehmann is a huge obstacle for any adult who is responsible for a classroom full of students to overcome. When I heard this I gave a sigh of relief because this is exactly what I want. I want to be able to facilitate and mediate rather than lecture. I love to talk about the things that I  am interested in but I also like to listen to others talk about the same topics. I have tried in the past to layout the end for students and tell them to fill in the meat of the subject so we can have an educated discussion as a review. My hardest part was hooking the kids. I think my tactics for questioning are what is lacking.
     During the webinar I love that they addressed technology, the use of the cloud and how some schools lack the technology to succeed. This is such a disservice to the students, they are missing out on a large part of the 21st century and must be given the access to technology and the internet. " the world is changing and education needs to remain relevant." this is something that is at the heart of all educators and any blockers of this philosophy need to be pushed to the side in order to make education environments current.
      Assessment became a great discussion among the participants and it is very eye opening to consider an education world with no pass or fail assessments. I agree students are over assessed.   There is no reason that a test should be used to measure passing or failing a course. However, there must be a way to determine growth and learning. That is why I like the ideas involved in inquiry based and project based learning. It is time for me to be better at letting go once the knowledge needed to explore are established.

Reflective Searching

   

    The always exciting task of weeding through the internet to find valuable and credible information is becoming harder everyday because of the massive amounts of information we share. I think that I am a pretty good “information detective”, aka searcher. I like to have a challenge of trying to find something on the internet because I am certain it is all there. In the past there are things that others can’t find and even though I will spend an hour searching I feel like I can find if it is there. As a teacher and a prospective teacher librarian it is important to be able to curate resources to help my students stay streamlined during different projects and research. I like the beginning of, Joyce Valenza’s article, (http://www.schoollibrarymonthly.com/articles/Valenza2012-v29n1p20.html) where she says “Digital curators can prevent oversaturation by filtering and diverting the onslaught and by directing what is worth sharing into more gentle and continuous streams..” This is exactly where I get my motivation to curate for students. It makes sure they are not overwhelmed by fluff when looking for meaningful support. The other quote I like from the same source is, “Librarians can synchronize communities.” This is a huge statement and so important to notice, a curator could provide a whole community the information they need to accomplish a project and providing them with the same information can cause them to all be on the same page. The same information causes a harmonious mesh of knowledge amongst different people!? WOW!  Absolutely, I believe this to be true because any group of people who monitor the same news outlet, will begin to have the same beliefs and the same underlying opinions as the others who monitor that outlet. If librarians are curating for a school community wouldn’t it be awesome if all of the information that was disseminated was homogenous? Then all of the faculty would cruise through different articles or resources and share with their peers causing a jigsaw mix of information that all correlates.   I almost feel as though the search for information on the internet is a game. A hide and seek at times that becomes frustrating which makes it even more intense for me to find it. We are not all a part of the Google Generation. There are still people who do not know how to ask questions to Google to help be more efficient in their jobs. For instance, over half of my students do not realize they can talk to their phone and ask google very specific questions, to which they will be provided an answer. I use Google for timers, clocks, and sometimes math problems (I am not very good at math). One of the largest commonalities between my students and I, is that we are very dependent on Google. Most people have seen the question “who did we ask before Google?” I know the answer because I have been around long enough to see the transition into the Google age. Teachers, books, magazines, and people were our outlet for useless trivia and important questions. The beauty of curation is that it allows you to create a filter bubble in a sense. It provides parameters for other users and keeps them within a certain set of boundaries. This takes me back to the “synchronizes communities” statement. This curation when shared with a community allows the users to roam within the safe haven that has been created. Thus, creating a common knowledge base on a certain topic to which all would become familiar with just by reading, and talking with one another about the subject. On Beth’s Blog (http://www.bethkanter.org/content-curation-101/#sthash.ja79VSw2.dpuf ) she tells us,”content curator cherry picks the best content that is important and relevant to share with their community.” This is the creation of a type of filter bubble.

Resource overview

  The four resources shown in our folder are:

• Oxford English Dictionary -Birthday Word
• PLN and Twitter Resource Wiki
• Wordpress
• Edublogs

These are all method for the sharing  of information. Information takes place in different formats and each of these allows a different format. The first, Oxford English Dictionary, is one where a person could go to find information on the meaning, pronunciation, origin, and examples of how to use a word in the English language. The PLN and Twitter wiki, is a place where someone new to PLN's or Twitter can go for a lesson of how to use each platform. The PLN is a place where someone could keep large amounts of networking in one easy to use and easy to navigate site. Twitter is social networking at its best, I think it is best because it limits you to the amount of unnecessary banter that can sometimes become part of the social world. Wordpress is a hosting website, that will allow you to create a site or a blog for presentation of different types information delivery. You can find any topic that a person has decided to use as a platform. Last, is Edublogs, I am least familiar with this but from exploring it seems to be a blog site that is based on education to allow for easy access to other education subjects. Keeping things in a close topic allows for easy navigation and discovery.

     I think that there is one large connection between these links, information. They all are delivery systems with one common theme. Using these resources will allow me to explore in any easy way the inquiry learning that I am hoping to master soon. The use of inquiry based learning is one that I see a value in but I need to become more versed in the creation of lessons for it.  

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog for #Frit7234!

   I am interested to see what this summer has to hold for me and my family. We are moving from Georgia to the beautiful state of Maine. My wife is ready to return home and most of our preparations are done. We will be packing up the moving trucks on May 30th and rolling out the next day hoping to arrive in South Portland on June 1st. We have been planning this move for a while and it is a good thing because my mother in law suffered a stroke about a month and a half ago. The timing for us could not be better, this way we can go and help take care of things for her parents. We have two adorable kids a soon to be 4 year old girl and her 10 month old little brother. Life has been crazy the past 3 years with new babies, me earning my masters in Instructional Technology along with our normal duties of our jobs. I look forward to this summer semester and what it will bring.

   Two goals for me this semester are, to improve on my inquiry based learning that I have begun this year and to become better at Infographics. I love Infographics but have not been very efficient at creating them.

Although I have begun my professional learning with my home school, I am still in the infant stages of creating lessons and using it often. I am hoping that this class will allow me to become proficient with the use of inquiry based learning or at least help me increase my abilities to create with it.