Inquiry Based Instruction: Take One

Last week in #AEE412 lab we were tasked to grab a lab-aids kit and write an inquiry based lesson using at least one thing from the box. This was quite a challenging task but it went really well! I'd like to focus on the gems and opps of the experience!

Gems

• My peers gave me great feedback! I taught my lab on Monday and was glad to hear their encouraging words. Shoutout to Michala Khulman as she told me that I sounded like a "real teacher" as I spoke to the class. This made my day!
• Secondly I was having quite the rough morning. I was able to overcome the things from outside of class that were weighing on my mind and still show enthusiasm, encouragement, and positivity.

Opps

• I did not feel that I was as prepared for this week. I had noticed a few things during my lesson that I would have liked to reorganize if I do it again. I wrote these things on my lesson plan in hopes of changing it in the future. 
• I sometimes felt as if I just wasn't doing anything. This will surely go away with practice. I look forward to the time that I won't feel as if I am a helicopter just hovering over the students as they learn. 

Overall it went very well! I look forward to utilizing more IBI instruction in my classroom to effectively question students and push them to dive deeper into learning!

#AEE412 Sunday Reflections 6: Problems to Solve

We have recently spent a lot of time getting to know the problem-solving approaches (forked-road, possibilities factors, situations to be improved, effect/cause).  In this week's readings we learned about problem based learning and how it evokes a higher level of thinking. This is magical for teachers because learning about problem solving and problem based methods provides a path on which students pick up 21st century skills! 21st century skills are essential in creating functional and successful adults. You can find 21st century skills in the image below.

Now, as I read and learned about involving students with an applicable problem that they will want to solve I am drawn back to inquiry based instruction. I am incredibly excited to learn more about inquiry-based as I feel that my knowledge on this method has been slowly increasing. I have applied to the Inquiry-Based Pre-Service teacher workshop at this year's National FFA Convention and am anxiously awaiting a response to see if I was accepted as a participant. I really do believe that
inquiry helps students to retain information longer and at a deeper level. It is said that students will learn what they do. If your class makes students memorize content then they will learn how to memorize. So by providing opportunities for students to utilize resources to solve real-world problems they will be able to do the same thing any time they encounter a problem. Project-based learning allows for this authentic process to take place. I can remember learning the scientific method and how to critically think about hypotheses and experiments and why these tests even mattered.

As teachers who strive for nothing less than the best, wouldn't inquiry be something that we would jump on board with without hesitation? I would believe so and therefore I can't wait to master it!

Check out this video below where a teacher from Bolder, Colorado shares his experience with inquiry based learning. It provides a good example that could be utilized in a wildlife or environmental classroom!

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References:

Kirkley, J. (2003). Principles for teaching problem solving. Retrieved from

http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.117.8503&rep=rep1&type=pdf

Larmer, J. & Mergendoller, J.R. (2010). The main course, not dessert: How are students reaching 21st century goals? With 21stcentury project based learning. Retrieved from http://bie.org/object/document/main_course_not_dessert

Larmer, J. & Mergendoller, J.R. (2010). 8 essentials for project-based learning. Retrieved from http://www.sbcss.k12.ca.us/attachments/article/1058/8_Essentials_article_small_file_size_Oct2012version.pdf

Phipps, L.J., Osborn, E.W., Dyer, J.E., & Ball, A.L. (2008) Handbook on agricultural education in public schools, 1st Edition. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.

(2015, August 18). Retrieved October 01, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbqPaKTsDIU

#AEE412 Lab 2- Interest Approach

This week in lab I demonstrated an interest approach. It was the first day of a new unit titled "Dairy Nutrition and Management" and I think that it went just fine! I wanted to get students to think about why cows can eat grass, which was the lesson title.

After bell-work I had all students close their eyes as I explained a scenario that they were told to imagine. It is similar to as follows: "You watched some of the school's wrestling matches this season and you thought that joining the team would look like a bunch of fun! Coach tells you that you need to gain some weight by next season. You'd better start working on that now! So I brought a snack. Open your eyes!" While their eyes were closed I took a leaf (or flake as some people prefer to call it) of hay and placed it on the front table. I then stood and looked at them as I waited for reactions.

Here is what they said:

• "Sorry Ms. Becker, but I am NOT eating that."
• "Can we at least have some milk to make it easier to eat?"
• "Ew. I don't want to eat that."
• "Nope. No way."

These were the reactions that I was expecting. So I then guided the students into another direction by asking. "Besides it not tasting good, why else wouldn't it be good to eat in this scenario? Would it help us gain weight?"

I feel that this interest approach went well, what followed after could have been stronger. I was trying to lecture/discuss some content with students in order to get them into a hands-on dissection. This might have actually been better if I had more than ten minutes so that I could see the class play out but all-in-all it was successful. Remember, there is always room for improvement!