As I look back at my own journey throughout this semester I think I have only just begun to realize the full potential of inquiry learning and its place in 21st century learning. Compared to my initial posts, my first reflection, and the journey I have been on I think I have come a long way in my understanding of inquiry learning but also admit that there is still a long way for me to go. I hope to continue to grow in this area as a teacher and help others to understand the value in incorporating inquiry learning.
In my very new position as a Junior School Teacher Librarian, I have so far been struggling with the incorporation of inquiry learning. I believe this to be for two reasons:
- I am learning the ropes of a new job and all that comes with managing a library.
- I am finding some resistance to incorporating inquiry learning from the other teachers and therefore collaboration between myself and the classroom teachers has been strained.
With time and persistence however, I hope to be able to incorporate more inquiry learning strategies into my practice, and encourage the other staff at the school do to so as well. I feel that the teaching staff is currently frightened that I am aiming to increase their workload, rather than reduce it through collaborative planning and incorporating multiple teaching strands into one unit. I hope to be able to show them the benefits of inquiry learning through my own practices and support.
I have become particularly fond of Kulhthau’s Information Search Process (ISP) and plan to use it in my quest to bring inquiry learning to my school. I hope that the steps set forth in the ISP help me to put together a systematic approach to incorporate inquiry learning and present it to the teaching staff. I truly believe that for me to encourage and support the staff in their first inquiry learning adventure, I need to have a firmer grasp of the strategies and advantages.
As this now marks the end of my time in LCN616, my guided inquiry learning experience is at an end. I will now need to undertake my own personal, student-directed inquiry to further my understanding of inquiry learning and best practice strategies. Although this is a little daunting to me, I am excited to see what I can discover, learn, and reflect upon.
Inquiry Learning 