My entire work setting is a never ending inquiry cycle. Not only have we shifted to the NGSS and adapted the integrated model we have been provided no materials or curriculum to do this. The district curriculum is a text book that has been at the school longer than me (9 years) and only covers one third of our new 7th grade standards. We are expected to create our own curriculum/projects from scratch. Needless to say we are in a constant inquiry cycle of design, apply, evaluate, reflect and redesign for next time.
On a smaller scale I see the inquiry cycle manifest itself within my school day. I am constantly making adjustments to my lessons from period to period as I am going through them. I joke with my 7th period and tell them how lucky they are since I had 4 previous periods to work out the kinks. They often finish faster too, as I have streamed line things. Like Baggio says adults have a purpose for learning and are intrinsically motivated. The learning process and what we learning in these classes is helping me "bridge that gap". I want my students to learn with a purpose in mind, while providing them with a vehicle, tools and using the language they are comfortable with so they can access the knowledge they need. Taking this course is allowing me to continue to grow and adapt as a teacher. As the education landscape and the needs of the students is continuously changing, now at a faster rate than ever, we need to be open to change with it.
4 Comments
Amanda Olson
2/19/2018 08:49:04 am
I wrote my blog about the exact same thing, and feel as though the inquiry cycle constructs the very foundation for my work setting, and is very much apparent in my daily teaching as well. If I had multiple periods in a day, and taught the same lesson again to my students, I feel as though I would be taking part in the same cyclical action research you do on a daily basis. I think that is just so rewarding to be able to actually adjust a lesson and teach it again several times in a day, so that you can right then and there compare and contrast how your plan went in accordance to the adjustments you made for each class. By the end of the day, you could have potentially found an effective plan for how to approach a lesson/skill/activity/standard in your class, and I think that is amazing! This is the sixth year that I've taught, and for each of the first five years I changed grade levels and classrooms. This is the very first year that I have not changed grade levels, and I am finding so much joy and reward in being able to step past the initial familiarizing myself with the grade level standards, and now when I teach rather than it being my first time doing something I am able to finally do something again. This ability to do something again, has allowed me to make changes and implement action research on a whole new level, and I am so grateful! I can't wait to hopefully teach this grade for yet another year and see where I can truly take the lessons I am teaching, especially after infusing what I have learned throughout these courses.
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Rian
2/19/2018 02:58:45 pm
Firstly, I am so sorry that the state enacted the NGSS without viable curriculum, I cannot even imagine your daily workload. Second, I completely agree! My plan does get better, or more streamlined as I teach the lesson(s), but I had never thought of it as the inquiry cycle. Now that you point out that is what were are doing as teachers, I can see the connection.
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Marisabel Olguin
2/19/2018 08:37:21 pm
I couldn't agree more about working out the kinks. Before becoming a fourth grade teacher I taught two pre-k sessions a day and my afternoon lesson always went smoother than the morning groups. I guess I had a chance to see what didn't work and made sure I didn't make the same mistake. I guess we are all adapting to new or innovative ways to bride the gaps for ourselves as well as our students.
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Benjamin Scinto
2/20/2018 08:30:14 pm
Your statement about the education system changing at an exponential rate and our willingness to change with it is spot on, however, we, as institutions, are remarkably hesitant to make the substantive structural changes in both time and space, e.g., more teach collaborative time, competency based ed., etc. to support change and resort to continually relying on teacher good will and half-day PD. Now, I am no trail blazer and as guilty as the next, but that is because I/we are constantly weighing moves that meet dashboard accountability versus enacting measures that satisfy my ethical core.
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November 2018
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