Organizing units around inquiry that sparks debate and inquisitiveness is the main point of this chapter. Students are more engaged when they are given a purpose for reading and learning. Initiating lessons using this approach gives students focus and allows them to act as scientists or researchers in their search for answers. A broader understanding is more likely achieved if the questions are framed in such a way that students can pull from various resources and visit other related areas surrounding the subject matter in order to make appropriate connections. Finally, competence is achieved when students develop ideas that closely resemble those of an expert.
In the classroom I use various methods of introducing lessons. In my experience, I have found that inquiry-based lessons are often effective for engaging students and making content matter to them. I love when they enter debates on issues and challenge each other. I try to guide the discussion only so far as to keep them on track and interject with questions that ask them to delve further. Students love to make things personal. Assessment for understanding is wide open, too. Students can research organizations and write letters, pamphlets or brochures, make proposals, give a persuasive argument, design and give a presentation, etc. Keeping assessment positive is also essential in order to use this method successfully. Students hate to fail, and shut down when they do, so keeping positive is a must.
In my Practical Living class with 7th graders, I opened a lesson on decision making by asking the students, “How would you persuade a city council that money would be best spent by building a particular facility?” They were given several facilities to choose from and a list of criteria. They began a classroom debate regarding the different buildings (recreation center, park, playground, library, et al) and challenged each other on their choices. I had to redirect several times, asking for instance, “How do you think these decisions are made in government?” They got in groups and assigned roles to each other. They kept a log of the work done for each day. They used their laptops to do research and some groups actually did extra work at home (this was big for this group). Often times during group work they had to be redirected to focus on the issues because many of them became more concerned with the pictures and making the final product “look pretty.” However, in the end, they had learned much more than just the concept of decision making (many of them using the PACED chart), including working as a team, communicating effectively, opportunity cost, and some of the intricacies of government budgeting and planning. Their competency was determined based on their contributions within the group as stated in their own personal log (believe me, students will tell on each other), daily participation, accurate information, research, planning, and the final presentation. The bottom line is, the students were engaged, learned beyond the scope of what was asked of them, owned this project, and matured as citizens, while I enjoyed watching them learn.
