Inquiry Lab Reflection
My lab this week was based off of inquiry based learning technique. This lab was very fun to create and complete but it was also quite challenging. Inquiry is all about knowing your students. You must know them to be able to challenge them and understand where they are at. It is also difficult to find a balance of helping your students but also allowing them to learn independence and have a say in their own learning.
In my lab, I did a lesson that made the students be able to identify their apple. They did this activity 3 times. The first time the students were instructed to find their apple without any way to identify it. The second time they had to take notes, give them to their partner and then attempt to find their partners apple. The final time, they needed to be 100% sure it was there apple. They needed to do this by taking detailed notes, drawing pictures, and anything else they could think of. The point of this lab was to have the students figure out that being detailed and elaborate is beneficial. Also that taking notes is a helpful skill. This was an introduction lesson to help the kids with giving reasons when livestock judging as well as understanding this skill. I would also use this lesson in a leadership class.
I thought my lab went very well. I thought this lab was a great activity for the students. It not only gave them opportunity to work together in a group but it also helped with problem solving skills and it was an active, out of the seat lesson. Reflecting on this lesson, I believe I was much more confident than in other lessons I taught at the beginning of the semester. I think this is due to getting more comfortable teaching. I think a major part is also being more passionate about the subject or lesson. Some lessons are a lot more entertaining to teach and that does make it easier to get really into them. We need to realize though even in lessons we don't "like" as much, we as teachers need to never show it. We need to make the students realize and feel the importance of all lessons from lectures to field trips to labs!
In my lab, I did a lesson that made the students be able to identify their apple. They did this activity 3 times. The first time the students were instructed to find their apple without any way to identify it. The second time they had to take notes, give them to their partner and then attempt to find their partners apple. The final time, they needed to be 100% sure it was there apple. They needed to do this by taking detailed notes, drawing pictures, and anything else they could think of. The point of this lab was to have the students figure out that being detailed and elaborate is beneficial. Also that taking notes is a helpful skill. This was an introduction lesson to help the kids with giving reasons when livestock judging as well as understanding this skill. I would also use this lesson in a leadership class.
I thought my lab went very well. I thought this lab was a great activity for the students. It not only gave them opportunity to work together in a group but it also helped with problem solving skills and it was an active, out of the seat lesson. Reflecting on this lesson, I believe I was much more confident than in other lessons I taught at the beginning of the semester. I think this is due to getting more comfortable teaching. I think a major part is also being more passionate about the subject or lesson. Some lessons are a lot more entertaining to teach and that does make it easier to get really into them. We need to realize though even in lessons we don't "like" as much, we as teachers need to never show it. We need to make the students realize and feel the importance of all lessons from lectures to field trips to labs!
Brooke, your lab activity was a great way to combine the principles of inquiry with the principles of livestock judging. Making students feel that all learning activities are important and piquing their curiosity and interest are key, and using inquiry is a good way to do this. Even though your lab went well, what were some things that you would improve on or do differently next time you did this with your students?
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