This week we had the privilege of learning about inquiry-based learning in the classroom with Trevor Mckenzie. Inquiry-based learning has seemingly become the new trend in teaching styles in the past few years and while we have looked at the general idea, we haven’t fully dived in. Thankfully Trevor shed a whole new light on what practical inquiry-based learning looks like in a classroom and the way we can properly scaffold it.
This amazing visual shows what different levels of teacher involvement looks like in inquiry-based learning. I love the concept of swimming in a pool for releasing responsibility in inquiry-based learning. Each student has the opportunity to experience and contribute to inquiry-based learning at different levels, not limited by personal ability because of the teacher’s assistance.
This second graphic goes into even more detail about what part the teacher takes from structured to free inquiry. It shows exactly what areas the teacher begins to allocate responsibility and freedom to students.
This visual describes what we would see if we were to step into an inquiry-based classroom. During our lecture, Trevor asked us to identify a characteristic where we feel we excel and an area we would like to work on. I focus a lot on increasing student motivation and engagement. I enjoy trying to understand what drives students or why a student might be struggling to stay focused on a lesson. To move forward I want to understand what it means to solve the problems of tomorrow in the classrooms of today. I feel like that as educators we influence the minds and spirits of the future. I want to know more about what that looks like in a classroom.
Reference:
All Graphics are from https://www.trevormackenzie.com/exclusive-sketchnotes
I highly recommend clicking and looking at many other graphics available on his website!
