In this past week, we were lucky enough to have Trever Mackenzie, a High School teacher and an author, who came in as a guest speaker and opened our minds to student inquiry-based learning. He highlighted miss conceptions around inquiry-based learning as well as shining a light on why and how it came to have its place in the classroom.
Inquiry based learning misconceptions:
An inquiry is always a free inquiry: However, there are many different types of inquiry-based learning approaches that some teachers might not know they are already using as a way of teaching. There are 4 main types of inquiry-based learning: structured inquiry, controlled inquiry, guided inquiry, free inquiry. As a lifeguard/swim instructor, this image is the perfect way for me to understand inquiry-based learning better.
Inquiry-based classrooms are “free for all”: However, as seen in the image below there are different types of inquiries based on what the teacher decides and it’s not like the teacher just walks out of the room.
Trevor also had us go into break out rooms and discuss the characteristic of an inquiry:
I first heard of inquiry-based learning the last term on my Wednesday visits where one of our big assignments was to do an inquiry on something to do with our Wednesday visits. I choose to do mine on ways that teachers can create an ADHD inclusive classroom. Furthermore, during one of my conversations with a learning support teacher, who argued that inquiry-based learning can be a great strategy for students who suffer from ADHD to learn.