The Keys to Teaching Inquiry

INQUIRY- question based lesson

• ability to ask questions and find methods of finding the answers
• ex-webquest, QR codes
• start with the questions then give task of what to find out

"Discover learning" moves away from questions and moves towards discovering instead
Socrates taught his students to always ask questions and that there are no ending to questions


What is in the bag?

• Give the bag 5 seconds to see what is in the bag
• dog toy
• baby rattle

Now we have to categorize the answers in the bag:

• squeaky objects 
• soft objects 
• rattle objects
• toys 

What is a hypothesis?

• Tentative explanation of what the problem might be

Devise a method to obtain information of what would be in the bag to see if your hypothesis is supported:

• Weigh it
• Open it

Test each method and you will have 2 predictions of what to expect:

• Correct hypothesis
• Wrong hypothesis
• Then restate the hypothesis
• If the hypothesis is supported and you did such and such method then what would you predict would happen? (if then statement)

Implement the method and it will not PROVE but SUPPORT the hypothesis
A well-started hypothesis often can generate more than ONE TEST
The more test results that match the prediction the GREATER the SUPPORT for the HYPOTHESIS
HYPOTHESIS is NOT a guess but a tentative explantation
If the hypothesis is VAILD  then such and such should happen or be observed as a result of some actions due to the hypothesis.
Why this activity?

• To engage in inquiry
• Hands on activity
• Different process on how to teach

Principle concept:
Scientific knowledge is fundamentally uncertain
1. Science is uncertain because it is a human activity
2. Science explanations seem less certain when they are based on indirect information
3. Scientific uncertainty can be reduced through collaboration
 4. Scientific argumentation is based on justified evidence


STEPS OF INQUIRY
1. Formulate a question/problem
2. Make predictions (expected results if hypothesis is correct, expected results if hypothesis is wrong)
3. Design steps to investigate the problem to generate data that will allow you to evaluate the hypothesis. test the hypothesis
4. Draw a conclusion and communicate the results

INQUIRY NEVER ENDS IT IS AN ENDLESS PROCESS OR A CYCLE

Celebration of Learning

Today was our last day of fieldwork with the 4th graders so we had a celebration of learning. Like we did on our first day of fieldwork with the pre-assessment, we had a post-assessment.
We wanted to see how well we taught the students and what they learned based on what they didn't know at the beginning of our time together. Each group added 3 questions to the google forms page so the students could have a variety of questions to answer. We did this post-assessment on the iPads which the students loved. The students finished the post-assessment fairly quickly which was good because it shows that they actually learned a lot. I haven't checked the results yet but I would imagine they are good because all the students were really engaged throughout all the lessons. After the post-assessment we prepared a Kahoot for the students of different questions from each lesson that each group taught. One problem we had with the Kahoot was that the students were only allowed to pick nicknames rather than their actual names. The students actually loved this idea so it ended up working out in the end. After this we presented the students with a certificate of learning for completing the unit plan on the sensory garden. 


Each teacher read aloud 2 students name and they came to the front of the room to receive their certificate. The students were really happy with this because they were being recognized for all their knowledge and hard work. Dr. Smirnova asked the students to tell us what they thought about us being teachers and how we are progressing in becoming the best teachers we can be. Some of their responses that I loved were "they kept us quiet throughout the lessons which is very hard to do" "the lessons were really fun and we learned a lot from them" My favorite comment was that they like how we dressed!! We then told the students what they did for us as teachers. This class was really interactive and willing to answer all of our questions which I loved because it made the time more authentic rather than having the students not be into the lesson. They all asked great questions which showed they were really paying attention. I'm sad this time with the 4th graders is over because they were a great class but I know I'll be able to see them once the sensory garden begins to take shape. What I learned from this fieldwork experience was how well students work together in groups and how engaged they are when they're learning about something they like. Another thing I learned was that multiple checks for understanding is key throughout the lessons because it lets you as the teacher know what students do know and don't know and what you have to go back and reteach.

Overall I had a great experience and I'm excited to learn more about teaching before I student teach next semester!!

Group 4 Meets the Worms

Today was the last day of teaching the 4th graders. Since we had a snow day last Thursday group 4 was unable to teach their lesson, so it got moved to this week. This means our time with the 4th graders gets extended an extra day! 

Group 4 presented their inquiry lesson and it was really interesting. They started out by reviewing the classroom rules and had the students read them aloud. The teachers also reminded the students that they were playing the teacher vs class game and that there would be a prize at the end of the class, which the students again loved. The teachers took turns reviewing with the students about their direct instruction lesson. What I liked about this was that the teachers had the students read the definition or the answer to the questions aloud together. This is a great way to get students remembering the facts because repetition and thinking aloud is key! After reviewing the teachers moved into the scientific method and how it will relate to their experience today. When the teachers asked the students what they knew about the scientific method, they knew a lot which was really great to see because it shows they were paying attention to all the other groups. The students did great in coming up with their own hypothesis and explaining that it is put into an “if then” statement. The teachers explained to the students that they will be using a WebQuest to discover the answer to the problem created by the teachers. To introduce the problem the teachers made up a story about Gary the Goblin which I thought was such a cute and engaging idea. The students loved it!! What they had to do was help Gary find a fertile place to live based on the soil and other components they learned about worms in the direct instruction lesson. The teachers divided the classroom into 4 stations and at each station the students had to figure out the answer to the problem using clues provided at that station. One of the stations was a “meet and greet” with the worms.

I thought this was really cool because the teachers went out and bought real worms to bring in! The students loved this and many of them were carrying the worms around in their hand throughout the different stations. This made the experience very authentic and worth while. The teachers were very helpful to the students throughout the stations. They were going around to everyone and making sure that they were on task and answered any questions the students had. At the end of the station time they were asked to fill out the sheet about how they would help Gary the Goblin based on what they just found out. For the independent practice students were asked the write a letter to Gary the Goblin about why their hypothesis was correct or incorrect and why based on their evidence. I thought this lesson was really great and well thought out and planned by the teachers! The students seemed to really enjoy it and were engaged throughout both lessons. On Thursday we will be having a celebration of learning with the 4th graders which means we will see them for the final time. I’m excited to see how that class goes!

Group 4 Teaches About Life Cycles

This week group 4 is teaching the 4th grade. Group 4 consists of Olivia, Tara, and James. Their topic was the life cycle and worms.

For Tara and James this is their first time teaching a full class so I was looking forward to seeing them teach! They started their direct instruction lesson by going over the class rules. I like how they asked the students to repeat the rules so it stuck with them. Next the teachers explained the teacher vs class game and the students were very excited to play it once again. What I thought was funny was that the students asked if the teachers had prizes for them because my group gave them prizes when they won. Next the teachers explained that they had the thumbs up and thumbs down popsicles and the students were to use them to show how well they understood the lesson. After explaining this the teachers explained what a life cycle was and went through the different types of them such as the plant and flower life cycle. Every time the teachers wanted the students to write something down on their note sheet, they had a worm on the board that they named Walter. I thought this was such a cute idea and the students really loved it. I liked how organized the teachers were. They handed out folders that had the students note sheets and independent practice worksheet. The teachers kept asking students questions throughout the lesson to check for their understanding and I thought that was really great. They explained what worms are and how they use their compost for nutrients. The check for understanding that I really loved was the “what worms DO eat what worms DONT eat” chart.
The teachers asked the students to come to the board and place the food the teachers printed out under the correct column. This was a great way to get students involved and got them to critically think. I wish the teachers checked with the whole class after a student placed their answer. It’s important to make sure everyone in the class is on the same page because if not you know you have to go back and reteach. For the guided practice the students were asked to come to the board and match the word with the correct definition. Here the teachers could have asked the students to use their thumbs up and down popsicles to see if they agree. The independent practice consisted of a worksheet where the students had to fill in the stages of the plant and worm life cycle. At the end of the lesson Dr. Smirnova’s husband came in to talk to the students about gardening which I thought was really cool!! The students seemed to really enjoy this lesson and the teachers were really confident and knew all the information they were teaching. The powerpoint was very colorful and engaging.

All the teachers should be very proud and I’m excited for their inquiry on Thursday!

Inquiry Through Skype

Today my group and I taught our inquiry lesson. We were really excited because we knew it was going to be great but we were still very confused about what was going to happen. I was at school until 8 the previous night working on our powerpoint and written lesson with my group. We met in the morning to practice our slides. We didn’t know how the Skype was going to work or if the students were going to have questions so just in case we made a backup plan! When we walked into the class we began our lesson by reviewing the class rules and teaching the students what a mystery was. What the students had to do was ask yes or no questions to the other class to determine what biome they were from then they had to figure out the state. I explained to the students that not even we know where they are from, only Dr. Smirnova does. Dr. Smirnova then connected with her friend from a different state on Skype and the students began asking questions. The other class guessed our correct biome first, so our class had to continue asking questions. Eventually our class guessed their biome and not long after they narrowed it down to 2 states and one of them was actually correct! So our class then guessed if it was Kansas and they were correct! All the students were so proud that they guessed it first. So the other class continued to ask questions until they came up with New York. Both classes then continued to ask each other questions about what animals they have, the type of weather, if there are any wildfires, and even asked about pollution! Since the other class was in 6th grade they could only Skype for 30 minutes because thats how long their class periods were. The students really loved this Skype and were very enthusiastic when asking questions. I was so impressed by the questions they were asking!

After the Skype was over, we told the students we had a garden activity for them. We asked the students to create their own garden and they had to put in plants and animals that corresponded to their biome. We provided websites for them to get their birds and flower ideas from. They had fun with this too, so we were really happy about that! After the students finished their garden, we asked them to share 2 things that they put in their garden. The things they put in them were really amazing. Some of the birds I haven’t even heard of so I was really impressed!! For our independent practice we had the students write a tweet to the mystery Skype class about what they learned about Kansas. The students wrote very good tweets and were extremely quiet while doing this which was great. At the end we thanked the students for their hard work and critical thinking throughout both of our lessons. We gave them a prize again for winning the teacher vs class game so they were all really excited!
 Overall the experience I had teaching this semester was a lot better than last semester. Both lessons were engaging and the students seemed to really enjoy both of them. This time around it was easier to make the lessons because I had the background from social studies methods!

Everyone in my group was great to work with and I’m really glad we had such a great outcome. Now the next time I’ll be teaching a full class will be when I student teach next semester, so that’s really exciting but also scary!!!