When I first began this inquiry project, I only wanted to focus on free online courses that offered professional development. I felt like I needed to use something that was structured like a typical course because I learn better that way. After struggling to work on my inquiry project for a few weeks, I decided I needed a new approach. Continue reading Something New
Finally! I’ve made some progress on my inquiry project this week! Success! Continue reading Progress!
This week’s topic was super interesting! It was also relevant to my partner project, as we’re creating a digital escape room! Discussing it as a group in class would’ve been great, but we ran out of time. Although we only touched on digital escape rooms a little during this class, I found seeing an example of a digital escape room in class helpful.Â
It was also great to try a digital escape room out from a student’s point of view, especially using it as a tool for review, which is what my partner and I are planning on creating! Until I viewed Rich’s digital escape room, I had planned to only create an escape room on Google Forms. After viewing Rich’s escape room, I think I want to try to create a “room” component for my digital escape room on Google Slides!Â
This week we worked on 3D printing using Tinkercad! Following along with Rich’s tutorial made creating a keychain a lot less intimidating than it seemed at first! Rich also introduced us to Thingiverse! This website has readymade models to import into Tinkercad, which I think would be useful for implementing in a K-12 classroom!Â
As a future English Language Arts teacher, I think a great use of this would be to include it in a novel study, especially at a middle school level. Students could use a 3D printer to create a few artifacts that are important to a character, and then explain their significance. We had a similar component, minus the technological aspect, for a book report assignment when I was in grade six. I think incorporating 3D design and printing would be an interesting way to help them build new skills while engaging with text!Â
This week we had the opportunity to participate in an EdCamp! I’d never heard of EdCamps before this class, and I was really interested to see what they looked like! Instead of a typical conference where presenters give lectures, EdCamps are more participant-centred. For our EdCamp, we had a list of possible themes, and then chose between the top four topics. While we were allowed to move between groups, my group stayed the same throughout the discussion.Â
In my group, we talked about the use of storytelling in the classroom. As a future English Language Arts teacher, I’m obviously interested in this topic! I also wondered how colleagues with different teachable areas would approach this theme. During our discussion, we agreed that storytelling could be incorporated into all disciplines. Taking the opportunity to tell a story can make a personal connection with the students, as well as motivate them to be more engaged in class.Â
Giving students the opportunity to tell a story can also empower them! One link I shared with my group was for the Victoria Storytellers’ Guild. They not only provide storytellers who will speak to classes, but provide resources on how to tell a story. This could be helpful for encouraging storytelling in the classroom among students!Â
We had the privilege of a guest speaker coming in to talk to us last week. Jeff Hopkins is a former school superintendent and the founder of the Pacific School of Innovation and Inquiry. We took a (virtual) tour of PSII, and then had a question and answers section with Jeff Hopkins. Students at PSII learn through inquiry projects as opposed to traditional methods, which affords students more choice than in a typical classroom. Another interesting aspect of PSII’s model is that students are not given percentages or letter grades, but are assessed based on a model that the school created.Â
Inquiry based projects give students the opportunity to customize their learning. By being given the power to choose, students feel empowered, take risks, and learn to take responsibility for themselves. Students are also more engaged, due to being able to choose subject matter that interests them! One thing that gives me pause, though, is that learning is completely based on inquiry projects. Many of our education courses have stressed the importance of giving different kinds of assignments and instruction, to both engage students as well as support the different ways students learn. I wonder if only having students learn using inquiry projects can hurt them in some way.Â
Jeff Hopkins mentioned during our question and answers session that many of his former students would share their university experience with him, and they felt that university was boring. Learning via inquiry projects became the norm for them, and deviating from that left them not feeling challenged in their courses. While this could show how well they’re prepared for university, as many students struggle to acclimatize to university, this does not ensure they’re prepared for success. Boredom in the classroom can translate into apathy towards what they’re studying, as well as low marks. For many students, academic performance determines whether or not they receive scholarships or the ability to participate in work study. This leads us to the question: is there too much of a good thing?Â
Inquiry based projects give students the opportunity to customize their learning. By being given the power to choose, students feel empowered, take risks, and learn to take responsibility for themselves. Students are also more engaged, due to being able to choose subject matter that interests them! One thing that gives me pause, though, is that learning is completely based on inquiry projects. Many of our education courses have stressed the importance of giving different kinds of assignments and instruction, to both engage students as well as support the different ways students learn. I wonder if only having students learn using inquiry projects can hurt them in some way.Â
Jeff Hopkins mentioned during our question and answers session that many of his former students would share their university experience with him, and they felt that university was boring. Learning via inquiry projects became the norm for them, and deviating from that left them not feeling challenged in their courses. While this could show how well they’re prepared for university, as many students struggle to acclimatize to university, this does not ensure they’re prepared for success. Boredom in the classroom can translate into apathy towards what they’re studying, as well as low marks. For many students, academic performance determines whether or not they receive scholarships or the ability to participate in work study. This leads us to the question: is there too much of a good thing?Â