When we think of the traditional
classroom, we see students sitting in rows, or pairs, facing the front of the
class to listen to the teacher. However, a very prevalent topic in all my
education classes this semester seems to be changing the traditional approach
to teaching. This has been a very teacher centred approach for learning, with
the teacher being the all-knowledgeable head of the class, directing where the
learning goes and how it’s done. However, what we know is that not only are there
are many types of learners, but there are many types of instruction that are
far better suited to actually enabling learning. One of the problems with the
traditional classroom is that it really does not foster deeper learning;
through sitting and listening to a teacher, being told the one “right answer”
students are just memorizing, and not actually seeing the true point behind
what they are learning. However, if we give meaning to lessons, allow the
students to actually explore the why instead of just the what (or facts),
lessons become relevant and applicable: students actually learn something.
So what is another approach than
the traditional classroom, and what type of learning does it foster? My class
on higher order thinking in science and mathematics discusses this type of
thinking, called HOT (higher order thinking) skills. Instead of just surface
knowledge, facts that are memorized and regurgitated, it focuses on higher
level skills, such as being able to problem solve, and transfer our knowledge
into real world applications. And the way to foster these skills is not to
simply sit and listen to what the teacher has to say; students need to be
engaged and actually involved in order to come to their own conclusions. So, a
different approach to the classroom is necessary, that allows students to
actually involve themselves in the process and not be passive listeners; one of
these options is called inquiry-based learning. In an inquiry based learning
environment higher order thinking skills are fostered, as it intends to allow
students to bring out their prior learning, in order to further their
understanding on a topic. It allows students to ask the “why” questions, and
not just take simple facts at face value. In a classroom with inquiry-based
learning students are able to build on their ideas, as well as others, to come
to conclusions. An important part of this type of classroom though, is that not
only do they get this knowledge, but they actually further it through composing
arguments and presentations to back up what they have found. This is a quite
different process than the typical classroom, which in my opinion gives
students a reason to want to be involved: because they are actually coming up
with something, trying to prove their own knowledge.
Now, as many people would not be
used to this type of instruction, it is important to know the different
components that could be used in a lesson. In the article ““The Relationship of
Teacher-Facilitated, Inquiry-Based Instruction to Student Higher-Order
Thinking”, the steps of a good inquiry based lesson are defined. These steps
are: engage (start with prior learning), explore (investigation of concept),
explain (unite new and old learning), and extend (apply to new situations)
(Marshall & Horton, 2011). This study further investigates the effect of
time spent on each portion, as well as how the approach to each portion affects
time that students spend on HOT skills. What was found was that when lessons
allowed students to explore concepts before a full explanation (which they were
also involved in), they were more likely to be involved in higher level
thinking processes. Further, it was found that the more time that was dedicated
to exploration, the more time students spent learning in the higher cognitive
skills (such as verify, justify, develop and formulate), as exploration
provided opportunities for them to develop their own ideas (Marshall &
Horton, 2011).
Now, if you read my last blog
post you already know how I feel about the school system becoming more and more
dedicated simply to achieving marks. I think in a model such as inquiry-based
teaching we can start to shift to a classroom that is actually more about
learning, and the process of learning, than the final product. If you are
allowed to explore ideas, and actually find out facts on your own, you don’t have
to simply take what your teacher is saying to be the final answer; you can make
your own conclusions, and have a knowledge base that is actually applicable to
you. I think that this is a really important shift, especially as a common
struggle of high school students is figuring out what they actually want to do
once high school is over. If we become less focused on marks, and instead on
the process of learning and allowing students to direct lessons based on what
they feel is important, maybe the learning will mean something and students can
figure out what they want to do. Now I was lucky. I knew what I wanted to do,
because even though my classes were taught in the traditional sense, I knew
what I liked. Not everyone is that lucky, and a school system where students aren’t
actually involved doesn’t help this.
I know that this might be a
difficult shift, and it’s probably more difficult to run a classroom like this than
a more lecture based one, but there are options and resources. Technology keeps
coming up again and again, so I’ll end this blog post with an idea to combine
technology with the inquiry-based approach. There are many options out there,
but an interesting one to allow students to direct their projects that I found
is an app called ShowMe. In this app students can research what they would
like, find videos on topics from not just their teacher, but other teachers and
students from the community as well. This way, they are opening up the
classroom to more than just one idea. Finally using this app, students can
create a lesson, or a presentation using both voice recording and drawings to
explain what they are talking about. In doing so, they become the director of
their own learning. Now, this might not be the best option for every class, and
it most certainly isn’t the only option out there, but I will leave you with
this video I found made by a student teaching us about the water cycle. When we
change the classroom to involve students in their own learning, we can see them
become as knowledgeable as teachers-and be able to teach what they have learned.
