Here we go again! It’s been awhile since I took a course at Wilkes --- several months, in fact [the last one was with Dean Shareski in April 2015], so it’s taking me a while to get up to speed. Still, I am excited to be taking another class, especially since this is my last course but one in the program.
The conversations my peers & I shared this week about Inquiry-Based Learning (IBL) helped focus the topic. Many of us share the same questions & reactions. At first, I considered IBL as just another flavor of Project Based Learning. While I’m not able right now to discuss the finer points of how each differs, I do feel that I’m beginning to get the gestalt, if only in a non-thematic way.
One thing that I need to be aware of is not to let my disagreements with Dewey’s epistemology to completely color what he may have to teach me about classroom pedagogical techniques & strategies. His is an instrumental view of truth --- if it works, it’s true --- which has taken our culture down Alice’s rabbit hole. We have yet to emerge. But, that’s a discussion for another day.
There are several perhaps more immediate issues that I need to study if I’m to benefit fully from the course:
- What types of institutional & curricular changes need to be made so that teachers can implement IBL for 150+ students in different sections of the course.
- How do you overcome student resistance to IBL? Students know how “to do school;” most prefer direct instruction because that’s all they’ve ever known &/or because they’re focused on the grade instead of on learning.
- Is IBL appropriate for every learner in a college prep setting?
- What does an authentic assessment look like in IBL? Are quizzes, tests, essays, research papers, etc., completely verboten/
