易胜博官网

Before young children set foot in a classroom, much of what they learn is the result of their own curiosity and unstructured exploration. During their toddler years, many learn the word 鈥渨hy鈥� 鈥� and discover its ability to both amplify their understanding of the world around them and drive adults crazy. Once children enter grade school, however, their naturally inquisitive natures are often circumscribed by a curriculum rooted in systematic lesson-learning and fact memorization.

With the help of 易胜博官网 Cooperative Extension, teachers in 易胜博官网 are learning an alternative teaching method that aims to bring excitement and wide-eyed wonder 鈥� and a more successful approach to learning 鈥� to the classroom.

Inquiry-based learning is a student-driven method that encourages exploration of the world through questioning, observing, investigating, testing and discussing results. Using a curriculum developed by Exploratorium鈥檚 , youth and family field specialists Sarah Grosvenor and Claes Thelemarck, and Lara Gengarelly, Extension associate professor and specialist for science education and outreach, are teaching an ongoing series of courses on inquiry for K-12 educators.

This past June, the team held 鈥淚nquiry Teaching Methods: Grounding STEM Education Programs in Science Practices鈥� at the Children鈥檚 Museum of 易胜博官网听in Dover. Over seven weeks, 17 teachers learned the fundamentals of inquiry-based instruction and how to implement Next Generation Science Standards practices into their existing curriculums, including how to ask investigable questions, plan an investigation听and communicate results. As a part of the course, the teachers taught a lesson in their classrooms that incorporated inquiry components and specific science practices, during which Grosvenor, Thelemarck and Gengarelly provided classroom observation and support. They spent the last class sharing and discussing their experiences.听

鈥淚 like that the inquiry method allows students to ask and answer their own questions,鈥� says Allison Friend-Gray, who teaches fifth grade science at Dover Middle School in Dover. 鈥淚t helps raise student engagement and interest in science. After the first time we did an inquiry, one of my students raised her hand to spontaneously announced that she 鈥榣oved doing science this way.鈥欌��

鈥淲hen my students were able to dig in to what they were doing, they came up with deeper level questions then I could have even imagined [and] they were confident and had fun,鈥� says Griffin. 鈥淚t wasn't just a boring experience where they followed a sheet of paper that told them everything they needed to do.鈥�

For Friend-Gray鈥檚 classroom inquiry project, she asked students to observe and formulate questions about pond snails and fish. She reported that getting away from an overly scripted teaching approach elicited a great response from her students, whose questions included, 鈥淒o fish get lonely?鈥� and 鈥淲hy do snails use shells as their homes?鈥�

First-year teacher Heather Griffin, who teaches second grade at Chamberlain Street School in Rochester, decided to use a somewhat unique inquiry-starter to grab her students鈥� interest. She set a large jar with a few raisins floating in Mountain Dew on her desk. It鈥檚 pond water and pond lice, she explained. Then, Griffin drank the 鈥渨ater鈥� and ate the 鈥渓ice.鈥� The rouse worked its magic: Her students were repulsed, but hooked. From there, they went on to explore why some objects sink and some float, make various predictions and test theories.

鈥淭he changes I noticed in my students were pretty significant ones,鈥� says Griffin. 鈥淟ike many teachers, I have very different ability levels in my classroom. I have students who can't read and students who are reading at a fourth grade level. Giving them very little direction and having them come up with their own questions and experiments made a world of difference.鈥�

The success of the inquiry method isn鈥檛 confined to grade school. Jennifer Larrabee, a preschool teacher at Storybook Hollow Early Learning Program, found the approach fired-up her class of 3听year olds.

鈥淸The inquiry method] made me realize how much more I could get from them and how much deeper I could push our learning and investigations,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t helped me to dig a little deeper and give a little less information and instead let them figure it out 鈥� because they can!鈥�

Due to demand, Grosvenor, Thelemarck and Gengarelly are planning more multi-class inquiry method courses for educators that align with national recommendations for professional learning. One of the most valuable features of the courses, notes Gengarelly, is the opportunity teachers are given to practice what they听learn听with the support of their peers and the Extension team.

鈥淕iven that we work with them for seven sessions 鈥� approximately 25 hours total 鈥� we really start to see a transformation in the teachers鈥� instructional approach mid-way through the course,鈥� observes Gengarelly. 鈥淭hese kind of results are typically difficult to achieve in a one-day workshop.鈥�

Giving participants the opportunity to apply what they鈥檝e learned in their own classrooms, then share and discuss the impacts on their students, has been key to the overall success of the course 鈥� and a feature the Extension team added to the Institute for Inquiry鈥檚 curriculum.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 when teachers have their 鈥榓h-ha鈥� moments,鈥� Grosvenor explains.

鈥淲hen my students were able to dig in to what they were doing, they came up with deeper level questions then I could have even imagined [and] they were confident and had fun,鈥� says Griffin. 鈥淚t wasn't just a boring experience where they followed a sheet of paper that told them everything they needed to do.鈥�

And that鈥檚 a win for students and teachers alike.