home

“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” -William Butler Yeats

What is Inquiry Based Learning?


 * Inquiry Based Learning is hard to define because it is a multi-faceted approach.


 * All learning begins with the learner.


 * Keeping in mind that children are the starting point. Some things to remember:
 * 1) That children have an instinctive desire to find things out.
 * 2) Children have to communicate in some way to learn.
 * 3) In construction, their delight is making things (hands-on, a multi-media presentation, ect).
 * 4) Their gifts are in artistic expression, let them have a voice in their learning.


 * "The general idea is that students learn in greater depth when they are a central part of the process, and teachers can support them by creating an atmosphere in which the __child’s natural curiosity can lead to the acquisition and use of knowledge__. For the teacher this means __setting the scene__, developing thematic approaches which cross traditional curricular lines, and using a wide variety of assessment vehicles designed to determine what the student knows and how the student can use that knowledge to solve problems. This is **far removed** from traditional assessment vehicles which are generally designed to ascertain what a child does not know."

//Center for the advancement and study of international education//. (2010). Retrieved from http://www.casieonline.org/faqs/GoTFAQs.html#Inquiry

Project Based Learning Project learning is a dynamic approach to teaching in which students explore real-world problems and challenges. With this type of active and engaged learning, students are inspired to obtain a deeper knowledge of the subjects they're studying.

media type="custom" key="6374945" width="468" height="346"

3 Stages to Planning
 * 1) Identify Desired Results
 * What should students know or be able to do?

2. Determine Acceptable Evidence
 * How will the teacher know if students have achieved the desired outcomes and met the standards that have been set?

3. Plan Learning Experiences and Instruction
 * Define what knowledge, skills and procedures students will master.
 * Identify learning or teaching activities (scenarios).
 * List materials that will be needed.

5 E's Design questions and possibilities, and design and conduct a preliminary investigation. ||
 * Engage || The teacher or a curriculum task accesses the learners’ prior knowledge and helps them become engaged in a new concept through the use of short activities that promote curiosity and elicit prior knowledge. The activity should make connections between past and present learning experiences, expose prior conceptions, and organize students’ thinking toward the learning outcomes of current activities. ||
 * Explore || Exploration experiences provide students with a common base of activities within the current concepts and processes. Skills are identified and conceptual change is facilitated. Learners may complete lab activities that help them use prior knowledge to generate new ideas, explore
 * Explain || The explanation phase focuses students’ attention on a particular aspect of their engagement and exploration experiences and provides opportunities to demonstrate their conceptual understanding, process skills, or behaviors. This phase also provides opportunities for teachers to directly introduce a concept, process, or skill. Learners explain their understanding of the concept. An explanation from the teacher or the curriculum may guide them toward a deeper understanding, which is a critical part of this phase. ||
 * Elaborate || Teachers challenge and extend students’ conceptual understanding and skills. Through new experiences, the students develop deeper and broader understanding, more information, and adequate skills. Students apply their understanding of the concept by conducting additional activities. ||
 * Evaluate || The evaluation phase encourages students to assess their understanding and abilities and provides opportunities for teachers to evaluate student progress toward achieving the educational objectives. ||