Inquiry based instruction is an approach that utilizes the scientific method to capitalize on natural curiosity in our students. It is about the process of discovering new knowledge without a teacher to tell you what to memorize or do. It is an empowering process for both the student and the teacher as they are edified by increasing their capacities to obtain knowledge from their own experiences with the world.
As I can't write everything I have learned about inquiry based instruction in this blog, I will write about something that I was having a difficult time wrapping my head around and that is breaking the culture of working for a grade. As I have written about previously, we know that we work in a "system" whether we like it or not. We have to assess learning and students need a grade to show how well they "understand" the material so that they can put it on their transcripts and get into a good university. But with that system, students aren't motivated by learning new and interesting things about the world, they aren't interested in discovery, they simply want to know what will be on the test so that they can get an A. I had been thinking about just telling the students that as long as they work hard they will get an A, but I felt that that left a lot of subjectivity in the assessment process.
In the article, "Inquiry-based instruction: How is it utilized" that was published in the Journal of Agricultural Education, the researcher used focus groups to better understand teacher experiences with inquiry based learning. A comment from one of the members of a focus group mentioned that although there are usually many right answers, the students are assessed not on whether or not they get the right answer, but how well they justify the conclusions that they draw from the data that they collect. I think that that takes some of the anxiety out of the the process and helps students to focus on learning instead of the grade. This really hit home with me and I am excited to be able to experiment with this approach.
I believe that agricultural education is in a unique position to provide inquiry based instruction in the context of agriculture. I think that it is imperative that we share out what we are doing to ensure that others recognize that we are not just training farmers, but that we are engaging our students in deeper levels of cognition in many different subjects that include, but are not limited to mathematics, science, reading, and writing.
Thoron, A.C., Myers, B.E., & Abrams, K. (2011). Inquiry-based instruction: How is it utilized
accepted, and assessed in schools with national agriscience teacher ambassadors? Journal of
Agriculture Education, 52(1), 96-106. DOI: 10.5032/jae.2011.01096
I totally agree with you on the culture of doing it for the grade. I want to try to break that too- but by the time they get to us, this is harder to break. I think if we set it as an expectation right away that might help- 'this is success in this class' versus a B is success in this class.
ReplyDeleteI really like how IBI is focused on the process of learning rather than specific, predetermined outcomes. Success is determined by the effort students put into their own learning and ultimately is assessed by their ability to justify their conclusions that they draw from the collected data.
DeleteGreat job as usual Michael! The question that I have is, How do we spark interest in students that show no previous interest in that certain area?
ReplyDeleteYeah that is going to be a challenge. I feel like some students will prefer learning through this approach, but still others won't care, especially if it is a subject that they don't really care about.
DeleteThat is one of the limitations of the system. We can't realistically engage all students in all subjects all the time.
Michael, great photo depicting inquiry based instruction. I also wish that there was another way of education in the US to make it better. But unfortunately, I do not know what that answer is.
ReplyDeleteThis semester, I am trying a new grading system based on mastery instead of "grades". I am using a four point scale with the following definitions. 4= I can do this/ show I understand this perfectly. 3.5= I can do this/ show I understand this but I need to be more careful. 3= I can do this/ show I understand this satisfactory. 2= I can almost do this/ show I understand this, but I am struggling. 1= I need to work on doing this/ showing this. I do not understand.
ReplyDeleteThis has helped me get away from feeling bad when I give a student anything below an 80% on an assignment. I teach CASE curriculum and before, I would just give them a percentage grade based on completion and staying on task during the lab. I was struggling grading them based on understanding. Now, I teach my students that the lab activity is how they are going to learn and I use some type of assessment to evaluate that understanding. Sometimes it's the end of lesson Check for Understanding. Sometimes it's the Conclusion Questions in the lab. Sometimes it's a project. I have to be more mindful on what I'm grading and I don't grade every single thing we do. Even though I use 1-4 scale, their grades still come out on the letter grade scale in their report cards but now I'm ok that I have way more C's than before and students are too. This is the first semester I've found that more students have marked "strongly agree" in my end of class survey question- Was the grade you earned in this class a fair reflection of how much you know?
Anyway- hope that rabbit trail will help!
@MrsAgTeacher
Jaysa thank you for your response, it is great to hear from an ag teacher who is currently teaching!
DeleteI have heard of the proficiency assessment, which sounds like what you are doing with the 4 point scale and I like that idea a lot.
Do you feel like your students love learning? How do you motivate those who don't show a lot of interest?
Thanks again!
Jaysa thank you for your response, it is great to hear from an ag teacher who is currently teaching!
DeleteI have heard of the proficiency assessment, which sounds like what you are doing with the 4 point scale and I like that idea a lot.
Do you feel like your students love learning? How do you motivate those who don't show a lot of interest?
Thanks again!
Well said, Michael! Inquiry is not easy, but it is so rewarding in the long run! Best of luck in your journey!!
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