Hailey Arnold: Wilkes EDIM

 Upon completion of the seven units from this course, I feel far more comfortable using inquiry-based learning in my instruction than I did 7 weeks ago. With a complete IBL unit plan and website already created, I think it will be easy to incorporate it into my plans and instruction for next year.  I have also realized that I already use pieces of IBL in my instructions with the use of various Web 2.0 tools. I already use various presentation, video, and mobile tools to keep students engaged in their learning. I would like to do some more digging on Discovery Ed with the Science Techbooks to find some useful resources for my instruction. One thing I already use frequently is the educator SOS strategies.  I believe I am most likely to use teacher-guided inquiry in my classroom. Knowing the population of students that I work with, too much "open-endedness" would be intimidating and cause them to shut down. With structured inquiry, I can keep a close rein on student producti...

 Creating a full 5E lesson plan has made it easier to visualize how I can use inquiry-based learning in my classroom. While a lot of planning, searching, and organizing was required to put together the resources on my Google Site, it seems as though once everything is put together, it will be easy for students to follow and complete at their own pace.  As I teach more than one science course, I find myself thinking of ways that I could create a similar website for my Zoology class. I like the idea of having several days of plans available for students to see what is coming up in future classes.  Overall, I feel far more comfortable with IBL than I did at the beginning of this course. Being introduced to different parts of inquiry over time was more helpful than being overwhelmed with everything all at once. 

 As my understanding of inquiry based learning has evolved over the past few weeks, I now feel like I have a better comprehension of how to use IBL in my own classroom. By creating the unit plan, IBL seems more feasible since I have been able to apply it to my own content area in a manner I can use in the future.  I have also realized that I already use elements of IBL in my instruction in the form of different Web 2.0 tools. While reading my classmates' posts about presentation tools, video tools, mobile tools, and community tools, I have come to see that I already incorporate a lot of the ones mentioned in my instruction in various ways. This has changed my view of IBL and how I can use it in my classroom, considering I seem to already use it!