How can I use a rubric to effectively promote self-directed learning during inquiry-based teaching? Where the research took place My initial proposal was based on my Practicum Four Year 4-8 class. However, I had moved to a new school with a new group of Year 5-6 learners for Practicum 5. After meeting with my AT and discussing the class’ inexperience with inquiry learning, I decided to modify the unit from being pure inquiry to a teacher-directed inquiry unit. The difference was I chose the big idea rather than the students, the students would answer only one subsidiary question, the whole class worked collaboratively with the teacher, and there would be more explicit teaching of inquiry skills.
What I did
Prior to Prac 5
Met with AT to gather information on the student’s abilities, prior experience, strengths, needs, routines, and discuss my self study
Planned a teacher-directed inquiry unit to operate over the full four week time frame
The goals for the first week of the inquiry into Spiders were to introduce the inquiry, create relevance by connecting to the student’s prior knowledge and experiences, and saturate the students with information in a variety of formats so that they became mini-experts.
I kept a reflective journal to critically reflect on my teaching and learning experiences in each phase of the inquiry.
My study question is
How can I use a rubric to effectively promote self-directed learning during inquiry-based teaching?Where the research took place
My initial proposal was based on my Practicum Four Year 4-8 class. However, I had moved to a new school with a new group of Year 5-6 learners for Practicum 5. After meeting with my AT and discussing the class’ inexperience with inquiry learning, I decided to modify the unit from being pure inquiry to a teacher-directed inquiry unit. The difference was I chose the big idea rather than the students, the students would answer only one subsidiary question, the whole class worked collaboratively with the teacher, and there would be more explicit teaching of inquiry skills.
What I did
Prior to Prac 5- Met with AT to gather information on the student’s abilities, prior experience, strengths, needs, routines, and discuss my self study
- Planned a teacher-directed inquiry unit to operate over the full four week time frame
Inquiry_Unit_Spiders.pdf
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Week 1- The pre-test was administered, results evaluated and the data used to inform my pedagogy
KWL_Chart.pdf
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- 182 KB
- Hooking phase
- The goals for the first week of the inquiry into Spiders were to introduce the inquiry, create relevance by connecting to the student’s prior knowledge and experiences, and saturate the students with information in a variety of formats so that they became mini-experts.
- I kept a reflective journal to critically reflect on my teaching and learning experiences in each phase of the inquiry.
Week 2Week 3
- Gathering phase
- The goals were to plan, research, explore and interpret elements of our chosen learning focus and to answer the subsidiary question.
- The ‘Collecting the Information and Resources’ dimension of the assessment rubric was discussed to highlight the progression of skill
- Change in pedagogy from collaborative inquiry to direct explanation and demonstration in a whole class instructional context
- Introduced a graphic organiser for students to keep track of their sources and information while researching
NoteTakingtoNoteMakingSheet.pdf
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- 39 KB
Week 4