Inquiry Based Learning: a not so smooth road to discovery…
Throughout the years, I have done many units I proudly thought were promoting Inquiry Based learning in my classroom. I came to an abrupt awakening when, while taking one of my Teacher-Librarianship courses, I realized that those amazing projects were more along the lines of “hunting and gathering information assignments.” “Bird Units,” as David Loertscher calls them, these not only invite students to cut and paste information but also encourage them to plagiarize. I could not have that in our class!
I previously thought that by just giving my students an opportunity to choose their own topic, I was promoting inquiry. Once they chose their topic, I would give them a nice list of questions to consider, and I would set a good number of resources at the rainbow table for them to use. Sigh…realizing that I was mistaken was a bitter pill to swallow for sure!
Inquiry is a student-centered approach where our students “learn by immersing themselves in their experiences…if they truly understand a concept and link it to other experiences, they find a sense of empowerment over their learning.” (Harper & O’Brien, 2012). Furthermore, Ruth Crick adds that inquiry “is anchored in personal interest, rather than didactic intent, and it begins with experimental knowing, rather than propositional knowledge, opinion or theory.” (Crick, 2009). So even though I was giving my students choices, I was still controlling what they were to do, it was not based on their personal interests. I now understand that this is the very reason why students were not as engaged as I hoped they would be, or they would simply get stuck and could not move on. They were just not interested or engaged!
What now then? What can I do to make sure my future units fall under the IBL category? How do I help my students be engaged and excited about their learning journey?
You know the old saying “you learn from your mistakes?” well that’s exactly what I need to do! Now that I am a little bit more informed on IBL and have personally experienced the learning/discovery process, I need to think deep, look within, and see why I decided to do what I did. What is it I fear the most about inquiry based learning? what challenges would I face when implementing it? how can I overcome those challenges? What strategies can I use to foster enjoyment of learning?
To make it easier to follow my thinking process, I will divide this blog into two sections. The first section will touch on some challenges I have or might experience when using IBL in the classroom or Library learning commons, and in the second section I will discuss some strategies I could use to foster enjoyment of learning.
Part 1: Challenges I have faced using inquiry based learning
Image credit here.
Looking back at the projects I have done in the past, I can pinpoint some of the challenges I faced while teaching inquiry. I am confident that with everything I have been learning so far, I can begin to overcome them. I know it won’t be easy but, in the end, it will be worth it. These challenges are: losing control, fear of taking risks, and allowing students to struggle.
1) Losing control:
Looking back, I now realize that one of the reasons why I have not decided to do more inquiry based learning projects in my classroom and library learning commons is because I have a hard time letting go of control.
I am a planner by nature, I find it comforting to know what comes next and thrive in a controlled and orderly environment. Looking back to my high school/university student life, I can see why I excelled in most of my courses while in school. 95% of the time I was given a syllabus and if I followed along and knew what was expected of me, I would get an A. Noticed how I said 95% of my courses though, not 100%? That’s because I had my first (and only up until recently) rude awakening when I decided to take a Macroeconomics course as an elective during my second year of university. This course required you to take what you learned and apply it to the world around you (now I understand that this was my first true encounter with inquiry based learning). I was to understand how supply and demand worked and had to be able to foresee what to do in the future based on the information I had at hand. Oh boy, I was not in control of this at all! I was so used to just learning the material and passing tests that this new concept of understanding and applying what I learned was foreign to me. I now see that this way of learning was what Harper and O’Brien call “teachers as the bearers of knowledge path.” (2012). I was so used to being a passive learner that I panicked when I was given what I now see as a golden opportunity to be more actively engaged in my learning. Crick tells us that “information itself is not enough” (2009), we need to know how to use it to further develop our understanding of it. As you can guess, I failed my first test. By the end of the course, I was still clueless and barely passed.
I guess you could say that this experience only reinforced my belief that everything will be ok if I am in control of the situation. Sadly, I have applied the same train of thought to my classroom. My inquiry units consisted of pre-planned and structured lessons where I would make sure students got all the relevant information I thought was needed. True inquiry is not like that at all. Inquiry based learning allows students to take control of their learning, they become the drivers in their own journeys. Teachers are no longer the experts but merely “meddlers in students’ learning: we pose questions, scenarios, and activities that require student interaction and involvement.” (Harper and O’Brien, 2009). I now realize that instead of helping my students I was limiting their ability to learn the skills they need to be successful.
But what can I do to take a step back?
I must remind myself that it’s ok to lose control if it means my students will be actively engaged in their learning. I need to remember that what interests me, is not necessarily the same thing that would spark curiosity in my students. I need to keep in mind that in an IBL classroom, I too become a learner and this in turn will help me understand my students’ journey better. Cassie Quigley was right when she said that “one of the greatest concerns for teachers in implementing inquiry based instruction is the fear of losing control.” (2011). Unless I, and a lot of other teachers around the world, address this fear, our students will continue to miss out.
As one of my classmates reminded me during our week 3 discussion, “stepping back does not necessarily mean stepping away. It means be there, with arms open to catch and direct, but don’t lead. Let our students lead. They will take themselves and you into places you never thought possible.” (Karin Dumont, 2022). I will keep reminding myself of this, thank you Karin for the great reminder!
2) Fear of taking risks:
Risk taking is not at the top of my list. When it comes to my teaching, I have always felt better and more confident, when I stay within the confinements of my safety zone. Having been an active learner in an inquiry project taught me that I really need to start taking risks. I also learned that I was way more engaged in my learning journey once I threw caution to the wind and started exploring outside the box.
Nowadays, we are surrounded by constant change. Gone are the days where we could slow down, assess the situation, create a plan, review the plan two or three times, and finally act. Judi Loertscher et al, tell us that our students are now facing a rapid-changing world and that “risk-taking (has now become) a fundamental survival skill.” (2011). Furthermore, Jean Donham states that “authentic inquiry requires risk-taking; it requires entering into the quest for answers to unanswered questions, exploring the unknown.” (Donham, 2010)
As educators, we need to be able to provide opportunities where students can take risks. Not the “do or die” type, but more of the “I have no idea what I’m doing but maybe if I do it this way, I will succeed" type of scenarios. Of course, to do that, we need to step back and give students choices and the chance to be more independent. Here we go again, back to issue number 1, losing control…sigh…it’s amazing how when reflecting, certain things keep popping up. Guess that just tells me I really need to work on getting over that fear!
Finally, Risk-taking also promotes curiosity, which is very important as it helps students develop “enthusiasm for lifelong learning.” (Moreillon et al, 2011). If students are not engaged, they will quickly lose interest and motivation.
So what do I do to overcome this?
I need to keep reminding myself that making mistakes and taking risks is ok. Students learn by observing so I need to model risk-taking and accepting the mistakes I make to help them see the benefits these skills have and this, in turn, will hep them in their own learning journey. Let’s remember that in this world and age, teachers as well as students are learning from one another and if we open our minds to change, we will certainly learn to move mountains!
3) Allowing students to struggle:
This is a big challenge not only for me but for many educators. Even as a parent, sometimes you feel the need to step in and help your children. I can honestly say that I wince just thinking about all the times I have stepped in to help my students by giving them the right answer!
As much as we think that helping them solves all their problems, not allowing our students to experience struggles will rob them of “real-life experiences that engender curiosity.” (Moreillon et al, 2011). On the contrary, teachers need to teach students to prepare themselves to “be wrong (or), they will never come up with anything original” (Robinson, 2009). Harper and O’Brien also tell us that “having the confidence to make mistakes is an important life skill. Through making mistakes, we figure out how to solve problems, how to evaluate what strategies work, and what no to do again. It is how we learn deeply and understand how to problem-solve.” (Harper and O’Brien, 2009). Mistakes also teach us that there are better ways to go about doing things and instead of throwing our hands in the air in defeat, we need to embrace them and learn from them.
So where do I go from here?
Having had the chance to sit back and reflect on why inquiry has not been as successful as I had wanted it to be in the past, has helped me understand my learning journey a bit better. One of the most important things I have learned since starting my teacher librarianship program has been to be humble and flexible. Things won’t always go my way and that is ok! My students do not need an expert at everything. They need someone who learns alongside them, someone who takes the time to truly know them (their interests as well as their strengths), a “cheerleader” who encourages them to think deep, take risks, and make mistakes. Will it be easy? Of course not, but it will be rewarding, nonetheless. Our students deserve our best selves, are you willing to jump in with me?
Part 2: Strategies to foster love of learning
Now that we have discussed some of the challenges I have encountered while implementing inquiry-based learning in my classroom and library learning commons, it is time to think about strategies we can use to foster love of learning.
Looking back on my childhood I can rarely recall times when I did not enjoy learning new things. I remember pestering my poor brother with questions all the time, from why is the sky blue to why do we have earthquakes in El Salvador, he always had an answer for me at the tip of his tongue. Now I can look back and laugh at some of them, clearly, we do not have earthquakes in El Salvador because there is a giant living up on the mountains who likes to skip rope from time to time! I must remember to thank my brother for never putting me down or telling me to stop with the silly questions. I don’t think his 10 year old self thought that he was instilling a love of learning in me, he enjoyed it just as much as I did, but more along the lines of showing his little sister how wise he was!
As I grew up, my love of learning continued. It was rare for me not to have a book nearby, and even now I still steal a few minutes every day to just sit down and read for 5 minutes. But what really foster that love of learning in me? I know my brother had a big part in that, so did some of my teachers growing up. But what strategies did they use? How is it that they kept my curiosity peaked all this time? How did they push me to keep going? These are some of the questions that keep popping in my head as I reflect on what strategies to use to help my own student community.
I came up with 4 strategies I think are good starting points to help my students love learning.
1) Build a community of learning
2) Make learning relevant to everyone
3) Getting to know our students
4) Fuelling interest by allowing students to be more actively involved and making learning fun.
Building a community of learners
image credit here
According to Judi Moreillon, success in fostering a love of learning comes from creating “a positive, safe, respectful, and responsive educational environment as it cultivates understanding and learning for all stakeholders – students, faculty, staff, community.” (Moreillon, et al, 2011). Students will be more willing to jump in and take risks if they know they will be supported the whole time, that mistakes are ok and that we all matter. Module 3 also points out that having a positive environment in our classrooms helps students expand their inquiry mindset as inquiry builds upon positive strategies for learning. “When employed by teachers, some of these strategies help to create and reinforce habits of mind that are effective in the inquiry context.” (UBC, 2022) Moreover, we need to keep in mind that “in inquiry teacher’s classrooms and in the school library learning commons, students are empowered in their learning and are free to take risks in a safe and inclusive environment.” (UBC, 2022)
But how can we foster this level of community? The first thing to remember is that it does not happen overnight. Every year we need to start off by reminding our students that we all matter, that there are no silly questions but the ones we never ask, that we are all learning (even the teachers! This is important so our students can relate to us too…we are not know-it-all superheroes, they need to see us as human beings who like them, learn new things every day), and that mistakes will only teach us new things. We need to create opportunities for students to make a mark in the classroom and become active participants in our “school community.”
Now, how do we know our classroom is a community? According to Christopher Locke, the perfect classroom is a “world where everyone (is) constantly learning, a world where what you wonder (is) more important than what you know, and curiosity counts for more than certain knowledge…a world created by people, for the people.” (Harper & O’Brien, 2012). In other words, our classroom is a place of discovery and wonder, where everyone is encouraged to pursue their interests, take risks, and make mistakes. We must keep in mind that students learn better when they feel valued and a sense of belonging. As teachers, we have been given a beautiful gift (the power to touch lives) and it is up to us to exploit it and create a world full of empathy, respect, wonder and love of learning.
I encourage you to reflect and think about what is it that you want your classroom community to be like?
Make learning relevant for everyone
pho25 quotes that show why education is important
Photo credit here
Have you ever encountered a task that you absolutely detest? How did it make you feel? I know for me; I was not a big fan of macroeconomics so when I took it in university, I regretted it right away. It felt like an eternity going through the motions of finishing it and I kept asking myself “why am I doing this?!”. By the end of it, not only was I grumpy, but I was also mentally and physically exhausted. Now imagine how our students must feel when they encounter these tasks!
I know that there are times we can’t get around to doing certain things but what can we do to get through them? I am a big believer of the saying “the only thing you can control is how YOU react to a situation.” But how can we teach our students to do this? Judith Harackiewicz and Chris Hillman suggest that “for most of us, whether we find something interesting is largely a matter of whether we find it personally valuable.” (O’Keefe, 2014) So we need to help our students see how things can be relevant and valuable in their lives.
Furthermore, allowing our students to explore their interests freely will give them a sense of ownership, autonomy, and purpose. They feel like they have taken the wheel in their learning journey, they choose which stops to visit and which to bypass, and this in turn will make them feel more eager to learn. In her article “Solving Problems that count,” Maloney tells us that “human beings are (only) motivated by autonomy, mastery, and purpose.” (Maloney, 2010) Doing this will help students be more excited about their learning. there have been many studies done throughout the years that have proven that learning is enhanced when students are allowed to explore topics they are truly interested in.
As teachers, we need to encourage our students to explore their interests and gently nudge them in the right direction by asking the right questions. We can also help them by encouraging them to tap into their prior knowledge, read books and use their imagination. Having a wide variety of materials in our classroom to help students explore their interest is vital in helping them not only creating their reading identity, but also their learning identity. Let’s not forget that everything we see around us was created because someone imagine it! think about it for a second, will you?
Getting to know our students
“If we never take the time to claim each of our students as unique and powerful players in the classroom, we do ourselves, and them, an incredible disservice.” Jennifer Harper
In order to make learning fun in our classroom we need to first get to know our audience. Teachers need to take a step back and observe our students: what do they do for fun, what do they like, who do they play with, what type of books do they seek out the most in our classroom libraries, even something as simple as their favourite colour or food can open up a doorway into their lives. If you really think about it, is like when your child gets invited to a birthday party, what is the first thing you ask your child? What do they know about their friend and what kind of things they like; you want to make sure you buy a present you know the kid will enjoy and appreciate. We can apply the same analogy to our classrooms. In order to get students interested in learning and exploring, we need to ask ourselves what it is they like and make sure our classroom has it. If a child likes trains, why not have some books about trains and maybe even a train set in our centres area. Someone likes plants, why not bring a plant from home, and allow students to take care of it. We need to remember that passions are what drive and motivate us, by understanding our students’ passions we can help create units and tasks that will make them excited about learning. Harper and O’Brien state that “truly knowing our students, their interests and strengths, helps create a classroom of learners.” (2012). This relationship is called relational teaching. According to this school of thought, teacher and student build a “working alliance,” the teacher becomes a guide instead of the leader and aids students through their learning journey, helping them become active participants instead of passive learners.
Getting to know our students will not only help us teachers create a fun learning environment, but it will also help students develop their social-emotional well-being because “strong relationships between students, their teachers, and their classmates can provide young people with a framework for what successful personal interactions look like, as well as an emotional and social foundation that can foster academic excellence.” (Oliverian, 2019). However, just like we want to know what gets them excited, we also need to know what makes them anxious and stressed, this will help us create a safe learning environment for all our students. Remember that communication is key! Talk to your students, step back and pay attention, our students deserve it.
Fuelling interest by allowing students to be more actively involved and making learning fun
“Study without desire spoils the memory, and it retains nothing that it takes in.”
Leonardo Da Vinci
Remember that old Chinese Proverb about learning? “I hear and I forget, I see and I remember, I do and I understand.” This is so very true in our classrooms. How many times have we stood there and talk only to see the blank stares our students are giving us? I even remember being a student like that myself! It reminds me of Charlie Brown every time he hears his teacher talks.
photo credit here.
But how can we engage students and make boring things fun? Like the proverb says, we need to allow students to literally dive into learning. having a lot of hands on activities help students put what they are learning into practice. One of my favourite things to do in the classroom and SLLC is to incorporate play-based centres. These are things that allow students to explore, experiment, and learn in a fun way. Makerspace areas are always a hit as students get free-reign in what it is they want to create. Furthermore, allowing to display their creations will also create a sense of ownership and will allow them to explain to others their creations.
Another thing we can do to foster interest is to allow students to create their own goals. Harper and O’Brien suggest that “setting goals is an obvious step in creating motivated students. If we set our own goals, we will immediately become completely engaged and work toward achieving that goal.” (Harper & O’Brien, 2012)
Risk-taking is also an important skill to incorporate in our classrooms. “Creating a classroom infused with student-driven learning demands that students be willing to take risks daily, hourly, and sometimes every minute. A motivated and engaged student will welcome the opportunity to take a risk.” (Harper & O’Brien, 2012) If we want students to take risks, they must first feel motivated and engaged. However, as teachers we need to keep in mind that not everything goes according to plan, we need to teach our students what Harper calls “Emotional Buoyancy;” this is the ability to deal with difficult setbacks in our lives. We do not want our students to give up when they first encounter a crossroad, but to trudge on and keep trying until they succeed again! Teaching them how to deal with struggles will allow them to take ownership of their learning and, in the end, will make them feel more empowered and proud of their learning journey.
Phew, once again, that is a lot to take in! let me know if you have any other ideas or strategies that will help me foster a love of learning in my classroom and Library learning commons!
Until next time,
The Duchess of Bookington
References:
• Crick, R. D. (2009). Inquiry‐based learning: reconciling the personal with the public in a democratic and archaeological pedagogy. The Curriculum Journal, 20(1), 73–92. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585170902764021
• Donham, J. (2010). Deep learning through concept-based inquiry (Links to an external site.). School Library Monthly 27(1): 8-11.
• Gaiman, N., & Riddell, C. (2018, September 6). Neil Gaiman and Chris Riddell on why we need libraries – an essay in pictures. The Guardian; The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/books/gallery/2018/sep/06/neil-gaiman-and-chris-riddell-on-why-we-need-libraries-an-essay-in-pictures.
• Harper, Jennifer and O'Brien, Kathryn. (2012). How to put students in the driver's seat (Links to an external site.). In Student-Driven Learning: Small, medium and big steps to engage and empower students. Markham, ON: Pembroke Publishers.
• Husieff, Leigh (2022). LLED 469: Module 3. University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC.
• Loertscher, D. V., Koechlin, C., & Zwann, S. (2005). Ban those bird units : 15 models for teaching and learning in information-rich and technology-rich environments.
• Maloney, D. H. (2010). Solving problems that count. (Links to an external site.) Educational Leadership 68(1): 55-58.
• Moreillon, J., Luhtala, M. & Russo, C. T. (2001). Learning that sticks: Engaged educators + engaged learners (Links to an external site.). School Library Monthly 28(1): 17-20.
• MS. (2021, November 19). 22 Overcoming Challenges Quotes To Make You A Strong Person. Find Motivation. https://findmotivation.org/overcoming-challenges-makes-you-a-strong-person-quotes/
• Oliverian School. (n.d.). Www.oliverianschool.org. Retrieved September 26, 2022, from https://www.oliverianschool.org/why-students-need-relational-learning/#:~:text=At%20its%20core%2C%20relational%20learning
• Quigley, C., Marshall, J., Deaton, C., Cook, M., & Padilla, M. (2011). Challenges to Inquiry Teaching and Suggestions for How to Meet Them. Science Educator, 20(1). https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/eugene_pubs/46/
• Robinson, Ken (2009). The Element: How Finding your Passion Changes Everything. New York, NY: Viking Adult)
