Transitioning from Knowledge to Synthesis - Reflection

Throughout this course I have learned a great deal about web literacy and a plethora of strategies for online inquiry-based learning in the classroom. As a Physical Education teacher I have found it enlightening and quite a bit challenging to incorporate technology into my classroom. I have come to find that inquiry based learning gives my students and I a chance to learn about a variety of topics that are engaging that we might not know a lot about. The most striking revelation that I had about teaching new literacy skills to my students as a result of this course, was that it could be done in so many different ways. I would have never thought in my subject area students would be able to apply so many literacy skills that they might need for the future.

Moving forward, I can see myself using this type of approach more frequently in my classroom. Now that I have had a chance to brainstorm some ideas of how I can use an inquiry-based approach to learning, and I’ve created a unit in which students would be able to apply technology, literacy, and inquiry learning skills, I can better visualize how feasible it is to teach my students using this type of approach. I already give my students opportunities to interact with one another, but I strongly feel that this way of teaching gives students the chance to collaborate with others and gives them the flexibility needed to learn at their own pace. I also feel that students are more engaged because they are learning about information that they have questions to, instead of learning what the teacher wants them to learn. Lastly, inquiry-based learning aligns with my philosophy of teaching and learning which is based on a student-centered approach.

One professional development goal that I would like to pursue that builds upon my learning in this course and develops my own information literacy or technology skills is to teach at least one technology related, inquiry-based unit per year, starting next year. This course has given me a variety of tools to use in my classroom and has opened up my thoughts about how subject matter can be taught. The bonus about teaching an inquiry-based unit every year is that it gives me the chance to learn with my students. I don’t know everything there is to know and by completing this type of project with my students will allow me to grow with my students. I’d start off this type of unit on a smaller scale and gradually (throughout the years) refine how I’d teach the unit. I think I’d also probably be more broad in nature, giving my students more choices (what type of research they do, who/ what they do it on). I’d also only try this type of project with fifth graders and if things went well, I might try it with fourth graders. My hope would be that my students would be able to develop their information literacy skills while working on their technology skills, and each year I’d be able to have my students use a different way to learn the same basic literacy/ technology skills (i.e. through wiki, blogging, glogster, powerpoint, voicethread).


David Chiarella