In these 169 tech-centric situations, you get an overview of the tech topics most important to your teaching as well as practical strategies to address most classroom tech situations, how to scaffold these to learning, and where they provide the subtext to daily tech-infused education.
Today’s tip: Tips for the Inquiry-based Teacher
So how do you create the inquiry-based classroom? Here’s advice from a few of my e-friend teachers:
- Ask open-ended questions and be open-minded about conclusions. Avoid ‘yes’ and ‘no’ questions.
- Provide hands-on experiences. Instead of a how-to lecture, let students explore and ask questions to help them reach a goal they’re excited about.
- Use groups to foster learning. These can be physical classroom groups or virtual ones created with Google Hangouts or by sharing Google documents with classmates.
- Encourage self-paced learning. Be open to the student who learns less but deeper as much as the student who learns a wider breadth. Make it easy to spiral back to review topics already covered as well as forward to find out more on a fascinating topic (even if it is typically not available at the student’s grade level).
- Differentiate instruction. Everyone learns in their own way. Conventional wisdom is that the majority learns a ‘certain’ way, but that leaves out a large number of students. Find out their best way and integrate that into your teaching.
- Look for evidence of learning in unusual places. It may be from the child with his/her hand up, but it may also be from the learner who teaches mom how to use email.
- Understand “assessment” comes in many shapes. It may be a summative quiz, a formative simulation, a rubric, or a game that requires knowledge to succeed. It may be anecdotal or peer-to-peer. Whatever the approach, it must show students are transferring knowledge from class to life is a legitimate assessment.
- Be flexible. Class won’t always (probably never) go as your mind’s eye saw it. That’s OK. Learn with students. Observe their progress and adapt to their path.
- Give up the idea that teaching requires control. Refer to #8 — be flexible.
- Facilitate student learning in a way that works for them. Trust that they will come up with the questions required to reach the Big Ideas and answer Essential Questions.
For more, read “11 Ways to be an Inquiry-based Teacher” and “11 Ways to Make an Inquiry-based Classroom”.
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“The content presented in this blog are the result of creative imagination and not intended for use, reproduction, or incorporation into any artificial intelligence training or machine learning systems without prior written consent from the author.”
Jacqui Murray has been teaching K-18 technology for 30 years. She is the editor/author of over a hundred tech ed resources including a K-12 technology curriculum, K-8 keyboard curriculum, K-8 Digital Citizenship curriculum. She is an adjunct professor in tech ed, Master Teacher, freelance journalist on tech ed topics, and author of the tech thrillers, To Hunt a Sub and Twenty-four Days. You can find her resources at Structured Learning.
