Inquiry based learning (IBL) is a wonderful model of teaching. It promotes students' natural curiosity about the world around them and gives them a chance to find answers to questions they have about the world and their environment. It works naturally for the sciences as it promotes the very foundation of science: the Scientific Method. For anyone that doesn't know what is, the Scientific Method consists of a question about something (anything!), that going through the method, the person is trying to solve. Once you have a question, you can make a prediction about the answer and design an experiment that could prove whether your prediction is true or not. If true, great! you now know the answer. If not, then you can go back and change your prediction again & again until you find the answer.
Cincera (2014) states that even though Czech students do well in international testing of scientific knowledge, they do not perform well in applying this knowledge in the real world. For this reason, the non-profit "Sdruzeni TEREZA" designed and coordinated an Inquiry based learning program called GLOBE in the Czech Republic. Cincera (2014) found that both teachers and students enjoyed the IBL program and both felt that the lessons were not demanding for the pupils however teachers felt that the preparation for their lessons was quite demanding. Overall this study found that the IBL program increased the understanding of the "research cycle" (Scientific Method) and how scientists work. In essence, they learned it better by doing. It was none other than, John Dewey, who felt that this is the way that learning should happen.
I can definitely see why this program worked in the Czech Republic. I have found in my own education that I have often learned best by doing or by teaching the idea to someone else. Actually, just yesterday, I had a midterm for a class I'm taking called "Stream Ecology". This is an interesting class as it has a field component in it where the class went out to a stream near the university and we learned actual techniques that scientists employ in their research with streams. We did various water chemistry tests, caught and sorted through benthic invertebrates and measured wetted perimeteres and bankfull heights etc. Usually in the sciences, when we have a field component or a lab component in a lab, there is usually some sort of a write up associated with it that must be handed in for marks. For this class, there was no write up, the professor simply wanted us to learn the techniques so that we could apply them later in our lives as scientists. The funny thing is that while I was writing the midterm for that class yesterday, I found that answers to questions about things that we did in the field came naturally to me, whereas questions about things we had to learn about through lecture, I wasn't 100% sure about and had to think about again before answering. I think usually in the sciences, even with field and lab components, because of the write up and marks associated with the activity, students are too busy trying not to mess up and lose marks that it becomes harder to learn about the very thing they are doing. They focus on marks too much and lose sight of the important stuff.
In my experience, Inquiry based learning is an amazing way to learn. I have taken a few field courses in university and I think I have learned (deep/transformative learning) so much more out in the field than while sitting in lecture trying to write down notes. One of these field courses was in Colorado, in the Rocky Mountains, at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory or RMBL (check out their website) for short.
For this two week field course, we would hike to various places around the biological laboratory while learning various techniques and information about the flora and fauna of the area. In the last few days of the course, we got to design, and implement our own research study. Mountains provide quite a unique opportunity for learning about the effects of Climate Change and so a good chunk of the course was also about learning just that. This is because mountains provide a good place for latitudinal studies that can be conducted in a small place, as the height increase simulates latitude very well. This field course allowed me to design and implement my own study and gave me a chance to answer a question I always had as well as learn things through experience. It also helped that there were leading experts from across the United States of America and Canada present at this laboratory. Many times we were learning techniques from them and could have our questions answered by some of the most knowledgeable people for that topic.
A good comparative to my experiences in found is Dr. Susan Drake's book, "Interweaving Curriculum and Classroom Assessment" (2014), in chapter 4 when she mentions the Mountain Project. This is a disciplinary inquiry project that a Grade 11 science class was involved in where students designed testable research questions based on their observations and carried them out. The teachers reported that in this project, the students had been engaged, took risks and asked thoughtful questions; all things required for transformative learning!
I think when we make learning engaging, hands on, and for the purpose of learning (not assessment), we can really get students to start making connections and start applying the things they have already learned and are learning to their lives and to the world. I believe the inquiry based learning model is a great way to do this.
Sort of a side note, but while hiking in the rocky mountains, I discovered my favourite animal: the Pika. You can learn more about these amazing creatures in this short clip (starring none other than Sir David Attenborough) :
Cincera, J. (2014). To Think Like a Scientist : an Experience from the Czech Primary School Inquiry-Based Learning Programme. New Educational Review, 36(2), 118-130.
Drake, S. M., Reid, J. L., & Kolohon, W. (2014). Interweaving curriculum and classroom assessment: engaging the 21st century learner. Don Mills, Ontario: Oxford University Press.
Cincera (2014) states that even though Czech students do well in international testing of scientific knowledge, they do not perform well in applying this knowledge in the real world. For this reason, the non-profit "Sdruzeni TEREZA" designed and coordinated an Inquiry based learning program called GLOBE in the Czech Republic. Cincera (2014) found that both teachers and students enjoyed the IBL program and both felt that the lessons were not demanding for the pupils however teachers felt that the preparation for their lessons was quite demanding. Overall this study found that the IBL program increased the understanding of the "research cycle" (Scientific Method) and how scientists work. In essence, they learned it better by doing. It was none other than, John Dewey, who felt that this is the way that learning should happen.
I can definitely see why this program worked in the Czech Republic. I have found in my own education that I have often learned best by doing or by teaching the idea to someone else. Actually, just yesterday, I had a midterm for a class I'm taking called "Stream Ecology". This is an interesting class as it has a field component in it where the class went out to a stream near the university and we learned actual techniques that scientists employ in their research with streams. We did various water chemistry tests, caught and sorted through benthic invertebrates and measured wetted perimeteres and bankfull heights etc. Usually in the sciences, when we have a field component or a lab component in a lab, there is usually some sort of a write up associated with it that must be handed in for marks. For this class, there was no write up, the professor simply wanted us to learn the techniques so that we could apply them later in our lives as scientists. The funny thing is that while I was writing the midterm for that class yesterday, I found that answers to questions about things that we did in the field came naturally to me, whereas questions about things we had to learn about through lecture, I wasn't 100% sure about and had to think about again before answering. I think usually in the sciences, even with field and lab components, because of the write up and marks associated with the activity, students are too busy trying not to mess up and lose marks that it becomes harder to learn about the very thing they are doing. They focus on marks too much and lose sight of the important stuff.
In my experience, Inquiry based learning is an amazing way to learn. I have taken a few field courses in university and I think I have learned (deep/transformative learning) so much more out in the field than while sitting in lecture trying to write down notes. One of these field courses was in Colorado, in the Rocky Mountains, at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory or RMBL (check out their website) for short.
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| Some pictures of my classroom. |
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| Bumblebee sampling |
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| A marmot! |
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| Marmot sampling- we caught a baby marmot! |
A good comparative to my experiences in found is Dr. Susan Drake's book, "Interweaving Curriculum and Classroom Assessment" (2014), in chapter 4 when she mentions the Mountain Project. This is a disciplinary inquiry project that a Grade 11 science class was involved in where students designed testable research questions based on their observations and carried them out. The teachers reported that in this project, the students had been engaged, took risks and asked thoughtful questions; all things required for transformative learning!
I think when we make learning engaging, hands on, and for the purpose of learning (not assessment), we can really get students to start making connections and start applying the things they have already learned and are learning to their lives and to the world. I believe the inquiry based learning model is a great way to do this.
Sort of a side note, but while hiking in the rocky mountains, I discovered my favourite animal: the Pika. You can learn more about these amazing creatures in this short clip (starring none other than Sir David Attenborough) :
Cincera, J. (2014). To Think Like a Scientist : an Experience from the Czech Primary School Inquiry-Based Learning Programme. New Educational Review, 36(2), 118-130.
Drake, S. M., Reid, J. L., & Kolohon, W. (2014). Interweaving curriculum and classroom assessment: engaging the 21st century learner. Don Mills, Ontario: Oxford University Press.
