Inquiry+Based+Learning+in+the+21st+Century+Classroom

Inquiry-based Learning in the 21st Century Classroom The two complimentary goals of the transition into the 21st century classroom are increased student engagement and increased student learning. To further engage students and increase the likelihood of more learning taking place, 21st century classrooms will provide greater opportunity for students to make personal connections to their coursework and to follow specific topics of interest within the general course framework. Student exploration is the key to inquiry-based learning, a process by which students work with an initial set of information as prepared by the teacher and progress toward individual and/or small group research, synthesis, and presentation. Inquiry-based learning follows the thesis that students are indeed curious and eager to learn, but that they must be provided with freedom and responsibility in their learning process in order to be as productive and successful as possible. This entire process is guided by the teacher and enabled and enhanced by technological resources, especially the virtually limitless information available on the web, including the multimedia forms of accessing and presenting information that help differentiate instruction and excite students. In the 21st century classroom, students converse, watch, listen, laugh, ask, read, write, present, and reflect…//everyday.// To clarify, inquiry-based learning in the 21st century classroom is //not// a free-for-all in which students are completely left to their own devices. It is a scaffolded process during which the teacher makes many of the same decisions as in previous models of instruction: when to provide direct instruction, when to stop the class and re-teach a key point, when to guide students toward a piece of information or perspective that has been overlooked, etc. These decisions now also include how and when to allot time for student exploration of a strand of interest within the topic at hand and how to guide that exploratory process. The teacher must repeatedly assess and help progress the comprehension, collaboration, technological, research, processing, and presentation skills of their students. The teacher prepares initial lessons on content topics, as well as use of technological resources, internet researching, and presentation skills. The inquiry-based process may begin with the teacher taking students through initial class activities on a topic, then guiding the class in developing a list of potential research questions that can then be filtered, adjusted, and condensed before students begin the bulk of their independent and/or small group work. The teacher may also choose to present the students with requirements and rubrics related to their work as to guide them through their research, notes, and presentations. This might include several check-points at which the teacher assesses the students’ progress. The teacher may also choose to present students with a menu in terms of presentation options, likely ones that have been explored and reviewed during classroom lessons on new technology skills and resources. It all boils down to the classroom becoming a place where students are availed of more options and more responsibility and become more prepared to succeed in today’s technologically advanced, competitive world.
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