Inquiring about Inquiry Based Instruction

Inquiry Based Instruction (IBI) is a very interesting approach to student learning. IBI uses questions and "inquiry" to drive student's curiosity toward experimental learning.

For this lab, our cohort had more preparation towards understanding how to incorporate IBI into our classrooms. We began our adventure by participating in teacher workshops at National FFA Convention. It was a great resource to gain, however, they seemed to incorporate more of a laboratory theme instead of a true inquiry.

True inquiry to me, means that the student is self reliant through the entire process of learning. If this is true, a teacher should not be present for any part of the experimental learning. The process begins by having the student form and present the question. From here, the student gathers evidence to either support or refute their hypothesis. Students will then explain their evidence and connect it to other resources/ experiments. Following student connections, students communicate their findings and connections for others outside of the experiment to gain understanding.

For most instructors, understanding where to start is possibly the hardest part. Why? Starting the instruction without giving the students too much information so they may be able to form a question is hard. You want the students to be guided down a path but they should be able to walk it alone.

At first, I did not know what techniques to use to do this until I saw it happen in real life. After learning about IBI and then seeing it used, I could pick out the parts and understand what I needed to do.

I felt comfortable with this technique for my lab because it does not really matter what the students do with the procedures, as long as they are getting the results that the teacher was looking for. My lesson was on inhibiting growth of microorganisms in order to preserve food. I started out with the word "inhibit", I asked the class what it meant. Then I handed out different beverages that had some of the inhibitors I wanted to test. I asked them what was the common ingredient between the beverages. They almost all picked up on Sodium Benzoate after some discussion. From here, I handed out the different things to test. Immediately the class began to test it. HOWEVER!, they did not use the procedures I was looking for. This made me nervous, but it worked (fortunately).

I feel that this lab was possibly my best lab, however, I know that I still need to improve on my clarity. At times, it seemed like as if I was on a totally different planet than the students. I feel that my techniques are beginning to pull together rather than float out in space. I feel like I just need to clear up my approach.