With all that is happening recently, many of our students will have SO many questions . I am hoping that educators do not judge students by their questions, not unless they (educators) have facilitated the process or art of asking the right questions.Creating an inquiry mindset is essential for students to deepen their learning. In order to achieve this, students (and teachers) could explore how to use the Question Formulation Technique by the Right Question Institute (https://rightquestion.org/) which offers free resources and advice.
In practice what this looks like in the classroom is having students focus on a provocation (tied to their learning) and then write or ask as many questions as they can. The students then categorise their questions into close and open-ended questions. They are then instructed to change all open questions into closed questions and vice versa. After that, they are asked to choose three questions, and these are then shared firstly with the entire class. Students engage in discussions, and any unanswered questions are submitted to the teacher anonymously. Another method is the use of ‘exit cards’. At the end of a lesson using Post It notes, students only write a one-sentence statement that shares either something they are still unsure of, something they have found interesting or any question about what they have learned.
We need inquiry-based learning so that students graduate with skills for integrated learning at the highest levels, with abilities for cross cultural collaboration, and with the intellectual acumen to solve problems we cannot imagine today. The challenge here is one of pedagogy and understanding which content or teaching method will be most suitable for a student (Eisner 1994).
A learner-centered environment which is necessary for inquiry denotes a classroom where the instruction is culturally-sensitive and diagnostic teaching is taking place. Culturally-sensitive instruction takes into account a student’s background and experiences and incorporates them in the student’s learning.
Thus, the student is reading stories in which the character is of their similar cultural background and the student can better identify with the character. Diagnostic teaching involves teachers being aware of their students’ understanding and misconceptions about a problem that they are addressing. This can be accomplished by actively observing and questioning students and helping to guide their thinking as they encounter misconceptions.
When looking at inquiry and at its core a learner centered approach, one needs to consider assessment options. Here assessment for learning (Bennett, 2011) for me is the silver bullet in a teachers’ arsenal, and I make extensive and everyday use of (mostly) digitally supported assessments.
My focus is always seeking ways to enhance engagement, measure specific aspects of learning and gathering data. In doing so, I have been able to have a much better understanding of which students need to be stretched and which may need further differentiation or explanations. Formative assessment informs not only me, but also the students themselves on how to improve (Brookhart, 2017) and ultimately reflect on their own learning (Wiggins,1999). I have, over the years, focused extensively on alternative and formative assessments. I have found that by having a strong inquiry base paired with continuous assessment for learning, that students perform exceedingly well in high stakes summative/national examinations.
Bennett, R. E. (2011). Formative assessment: A Critical review. Assessment in Education:
Brookhart, S. M. (2017). How to give effective feedback to your students
Eisner, Elliot W. (1994). The educational imagination : on the design and evaluation of school programs. New York : Toronto : New York :Macmillan ; Maxwell Macmillan Canada ; Maxwell Macmillan International
Wiggins, G. P. (1999). Assessing student performance: Exploring the purpose and limits of testing. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers