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INQUIRY-BASED LEARNING: IT’S A PROBLEM-BASED WORLD

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QUESTIONS TO PONDER

  • What percentage of the time in your life is there one, correct answer to a situation?
  • How often do you find yourself completing a written test to show the solution to a problem?

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IT’S A PROBLEM-BASED WORLD

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ADVANTAGES OF INQUIRY-BASED LEARNING

  • Nurtures student passion and talents
  • Empower student voice and honor student choice
  • Foster curiosity and a love of learning
  • Solves real-world problems
  • Teaches grit, perseverance, and self-direction
  • Develops strong research skills
  • Trains student to ask questions in seeking to understand (MacKenzie, 2017)

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Ask

Investigate

Create

Discuss

Reflect

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Inquiry Learning

Project-Based Learning

Problem-Based Learning

Case-Based Learning

Collaborative Learning

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STEPS OF PRBL

Present the problem

List what is known

Develop problem statement

List what is needed

List actions, solutions, and a hypothesis

Present and support the solution

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PRESENT THE PROBLEM

  • You are hosting a birthday party. You have invited 6 guests. Your mom plans to order two large pizzas, each cut into 8 slices. She also has made a cake that is 8 inches in diameter. Taking what you have learned about fractions, make a guest list of real people you know and decide what is the fairest way to divide up the pizza and how big a piece of cake should each of the guests receive? Your answers should be in fractions. Be ready to explain your decisions.

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LIST WHAT IS KNOWN

  • 6 guests have been invited
  • Food includes 2 pizzas and an 8-inch cake
  • Divide the food amongst the people at the party
  • Answers should be in fractions
  • You are hosting the party so you need to be sure to include yourself in the count

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DEVELOP A PROBLEM SOLUTION

  • Figure out how to divide two large pizzas and one 8-inch cake amongst the 7 guests that you have invited to your birthday party.

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LIST WHAT IS NEEDED/ASK QUESTIONS

  • Questions that can be answered:
    • Who is being invited to the party?
    • Can you divide an 8-inch cake evenly into 7 pieces?
    • Would it be better to cut the cake into squares or triangles?
    • Do any of the guests have dietary restrictions?
    • Do any of the guests tend to eat more or less than others?
    • What will the toppings on the pizzas be?
    • How many pieces of pizza are there total?
    • Does food need to be distributed evenly?
    • Are mom and dad included in the number of people eating?

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QUESTION THAT CANNOT BE ANSWERED

  • What sorts of presents will people bring?
  • Why doesn’t mom just order another pizza?
  • Could we take someone off of the guest list?
  • Can we cut the pieces of pizza into smaller pieces of pizza?
  • Can I change the flavor of the cake?
  • Can I use decimals instead of fractions?

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LIST ACTIONS AND HYPOTHESIS

  • Who is being invited to the party?
    • Action: make a guest list
  • Can you divide an 8-inch cake evenly into 7 pieces?
    • Action: must figure out if this is possible
  • Would it be better to cut the cake into squares or triangles?
    • Hypothesis: try it both ways and see which way distributes better
  • Do any of the guests have dietary restrictions?
    • Action: check members of the guest list
  • Do any of the guests tend to eat more or less than others?
    • Action: check guest list for ages and appetites
  • What will my topping on the pizza be?
    • Hypothesis: which topping will more people like or not like?
  • How many pieces of pizza are there total?
    • Solution: 16
  • Does food need to be distributed evenly?
    • Solution: no, some may eat more or less depending on their age and appetite
  • Are mom and dad included in the number of people eating?
    • Hypothesis: try the equations with them included and not to see which works best

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PRESENT THE SOLUTION

Represent your solution in the form of pie charts that demonstrate the fractions used.

 

Enact your party live, providing the food, discussing how you are distributing the food, and why you have chosen to do it this way.

 

Form a debate with another group where you both try to persuade an impartial third-party why your solution is better than the others’.

 

Film a YouTube video where you capture your thought process of the answers you developed and why you felt they were the best ones possible.

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BIG HAIRY PROBLEM

  • Does not have a definitive right or wrong answer
  • Has potential to break off into all sorts of other problems
  • Can be taken on from many different angles and perspectives
  • Is researchable
  • Cannot be solved easily if at all

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  • What if the single person is a loved one of yours?
  • What if the five people are members of a hate group?
  • What if the single person is a small child and the five people are all elderly?
  • What if you knew the single person would one day cure cancer?
  • What if the five people are asking you to direct the car toward them?

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AUTHENTIC AUDIENCE

Students in the same class

Students in other classes in the school

Family members

Connecting with classes from other schools/states/ countries

Participating in a national program

Connecting with the web through student created blogs, websites, and videos

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Math

 

ELA

Science

Social Studies

Arts

  • Architects
  • Engineers
  • Financial planners
  • Mathema-ticians
  • Statisticians

 

  • Authors
  • Critics
  • Editors
  • Journalists
  • Technical writers
  • Biologists
  • College professors
  • Doctors
  • Ecologists
  • Researchers
  • Business-people
  • Economists
  • Historians
  • Lawyers
  • Politicians
  • Actors
  • Artists
  • Film directors
  • Graphic designers
  • Musicians

 

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HOW SOME THINK IT WORKS

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EFFECTIVE FEEDBACK

  • Goal referenced: feedback guides students to their goal
  • Actionable: Students should be able to do something with the feedback
  • User-friendly: should be in language clear to the student
  • Tangible and transparent: feedback should be clear
  • Timely: shouldn’t have to wait a while to receive it, the more immediate the better
  • On-going: teacher is giving feedback throughout the learning process, not just at the end
  • Consistent: students shouldn’t hear one thing and then something contradictory the next time (Wiggins, 2013)

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MEDDLER IN THE MIDDLE QUESTIONS

  • What if…?
  • Have you considered ___________ perspective?
  • Tell me more about…
  • How might things be different if…?
  • What would have to change in order for…?
  • How would you justify…?
  • What are you assuming that you probably shouldn’t?
  • How would it work if you changed…?
  • What is the connection between…?
  • How do you decide…?
  • How does that compare to…?
  • What do you suppose the motivation was?
  • What question would you ask?
  • What about yourself might influence your decision?
  • Why is this the best solution?

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STICKY �FEEDBACK

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What would happen if you did step four first?

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Watch out for run-on sentences

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Have you considered making it out of plastic instead of wood?

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POWER OF REFLECTION

Generating ideas and goals

Exploring, risk-taking, problem-solving

Reflection on these experiences

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QUESTION FOR YOURSELF

  • You need to educate 28 kids, all with different levels of skills, intelligence, maturity, and motivation.
  • How do you engage them and get them ready for the state test?

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REMEMBER…

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3 things I have learned from today’s session

2 questions I still have

1 challenge I face

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Thank you for attending and enjoy the rest of your summer