A Penny for your thoughts.. My IBI experience

For those of you that are blanking on what IBI stands for: Inquiry Based Instruction. It is basically allowing students to be responsible for their own learning by identifying a problem, determining their own hypotheses and procedures, collecting data, and sharing their evidence and findings. It can be very difficult to facilitate (in my opinion) but can have great rewards for students. Students tend to be used to a lot of guidance and inquiry encourages critical thinking and independent students.

This week I attempted to present an inquiry based instruction. I struggled with the planning process which wasn't surprising to me. I struggled to plan for a problems-based lesson (which is similar) so I expected to be challenged by inquiry. The main difference between problems-based and inquiry is generally that problems-based has an actual solution that the teacher expects students to arrive at while inquiry has less guidance and the teacher may not be sure where students will go with the activity.

For my IBI I wanted to introduce an animal science class to an Industry Standards, Breed Improvements, and Selection unit. My lesson was designed to put students in a certain way of thinking. My lesson didn't directly relate to animal science, but I wanted the students to be in the mindset that they had to observe and analyze what is around them. In a nutshell the lesson involved an ancient artifact (actually just a penny). Students had to analyze the artifacts given water, pipettes, petri dishes, dictionary, and worksheets along the way when student momentum seemed to slow. Students made observations of the penny (learning things along the way they never knew before) and what assumptions could be made about this mysterious civilization based on what is seen.

I used this to introduce this particular unit because I wanted the students to understand how little they have observed about an item we probably see every day. Students didn't realize the Lincoln memorial was on the penny or that there was latin on the coin. After observations and hypotheses about the civilization were shared, we got into the nitty gritty of why this is important. With some probing, the students (my awesome cohort members sitting in on my lab!) were able to articulate how important it is to make observations and determine what they mean in the animal industry. Students will have to think what industry standards are in place and why. For instance, What makes an Angus cow different from a Simmental? Students will have to think about differences that exist in the industry and what those differences mean to that animal. We briefly discussed breed improvements as well. An example was, Holstein cattle have great milk production in quantity while Jerseys are ideal for butter fat. How are these breeds improved over time and how can we improve them in the future? It is also important for students to enhance their observational skills for the selection section of the unit. Students recognized the importance of observing selection on a micro level saying, "You would select goats with a certain body confirmation to ensure they and their offspring are healthy and aesthetically pleasing, since looking nice and producing effectively is ideal."

I would say that as a first time instructor using inquiry that it went really well! I'm excited to use it while student teaching at Wellsboro. My "students" (classmates) responded well to the lab. I think that I gave enough instruction to guide them, but didn't give away answers or let them struggle to the point of frustration. I also let them think on their own before giving them worksheets to help their thinking process. This is the first week that I was told I had great energy!! So I thought the lab went well and then I was told I brought more enthusiasm this time which really made me feel like I'm improving. I can't wait to try out this lesson and many more with Wellsboro students!