Jigsaw Article

My article was entitled, “ Where Do You Want to go Today? Inquiry Based Learning and Technology Integration” by Owens, Hester and Teale. This was a great article because it focused on the importance of inquiry based learning for students, and how students should be encouraged to ask questions, given resources to help answer their questions and provided with examples of ways to present their findings in a way that will be meaningful to themselves and others.

Something important that I got out of this article was the importance of inquiry based learning not only for the students, but for teachers as well. As teachers we do not, nor do we need to pretend that we know everything. Teachers are lifelong learners, and through inquiry based learning projects students can teach the teachers something they might not have known before. This article gave examples of a classroom where each student formulated a question based on a topic of interest and through various outlets of technology and other resources (internet, PowerPoint, people, libraries, digital cameras, scanners, etc.) researched and answered their question and then constructed a meaningful way to use their information. Using what they learned, or putting it into action, was important because it gives meaning and purpose to their initial question. This displays the importance for students to ask questions, conduct experiments, interview people etc. because there is always something to be done with the answers they find. Students will benefit by learning something new and in turn, the classroom community will be enriched as students share their findings. I believe this also fosters intrinsic motivation because the students will likely be more excited to research a topic of their own interest to answer a question they have, over a question their teacher assigns them that the student might find no interest in. Inquiry based learning makes learning more meaningful so students can view it as something they want to do, rather than an obligation.

I remember in my eighth grade science class getting the opportunity to conduct a three-week scientific experiment on any topic we wanted to and the sheer fact that I could pick anything I wanted know more about was the reason I enjoyed the project so much. I was never a huge science fan growing up, but I do remember how much I enjoyed that project because I was in control of what I learned, and it was my privilege to teach my class more about my topic. I would like to see more inquiry based learning take place in my field placement, but so far I have really only seen teaching right out of the textbook. I think there could be far more meaningful learning taking place in my field placement if the students were encouraged to ask more questions and find answers using technology and the other resources the school has to offer.