Reflecting on Inquiry-Based Instruction

According to Alberta Learning, "Inquiry-based learning is a process where students are involved in their learning, formulate questions, investigate widely and then build new understandings, meanings and knowledge" (2004). Inquiry-based instruction develops interest and critical thinking skills within students. Through inquiry-based instruction, they learn how to independently solve problems and develop processes to critical thinking. Although the process is different to individuals, Alberta Learning had this helpful picture (to the right) of the steps within the process.

Reflecting on the process is in the center because it is critical to the model and should be used within every step. The planning phase is usually what gets students interested. They are introduced to the issue and start to feel optimistic about solving the puzzle introduced to them. Retrieving is an important step for the teacher to interact with a guide student learning because this step can cause frustration within students. The retrieving stage involves students thinking about the information they do have and searching for the information they need. Students can develop frustrations when they run into obstacles with not enough or too much research. The processing phase involves focusing the inquiry and determining what research is necessary for the topic.

The creating phase is important because students take the knowledge they ave learned and now put it into their own words and their own format. The sharing phase is the chance students get to share what they learned with a specific audience (peers, community, etc.). I see this phase as a way to put the students in a teacher role. They get to present what they learned which will only help in their learning process. They say you learn best when you have to teach it! Finally, evaluating is essential for students to develop understanding and critique of the process. They should be able to articulate what they did and how it was important. All these steps are a great foundation to start inquiry-based instruction in any subject, but there are many ways to accomplish inquiry-based instruction!

I think this process is essential to encourage within students so they can develop independence and problem solving skills. Like I said, this process can be used in any subject and I think Agricultural Education can implement inquiry-based instruction easily. My first instinct is to implement this inquiry-based instruction process by assigning a research paper on a controversial topic like GMO's. I could also see myself assigning a presentation for students to present research on what variables impact an ecosystem. Students could also present findings to middle school classes or fair events on the research they found on animal diseases. The possibilities are endless in how inquiry-based instruction can be implemented in agricultural education! 

Check out the below resource on inquiry-based instruction!


Reference:

Alberta Learning. (2004) Focus on inquiry: a teacher?s guide to implementing inquiry-based learning. Retrieved from https://education.alberta.ca/media/313361/focusoninquiry.pdf