Summary INTERMEDIATE PHASE TEACHING AND LEARNING Learning unit 4

LEARNING UNIT 4:
Theme 1
LO 1: Identify appropriate teaching strategies to achieve specific learning outcomes

LO 2: Apply appropriate teaching strategies when planning

LO 3: Create motivating learning environments

LO 4: Critically reflect on the effectiveness

LO 5: Evaluate the effectiveness of lessons

Inquiry as a teaching strategy
LO 1: Identify appropriate teaching strategies to achieve specific learning outcomes

Features of structured inquiry

 Form of research that employed for short period or extensive project
 May engage in the process individually, in groups or co-operative teams
 Level & type of teacher guidance provided depends on experience & complexity of the
question they are investigating
 Driving force of the strategy is learners’ instinctive desire to ask questions and learn

Systematic process:

1. Compelling question is posed for students
2. Students undertake an investigation to find the answer
3. Develop new ideas (creative phase)
4. Encouraged to share their learning experiences & new understandings of others
5. Critically reflect on the research question

3 general approaches to research that have the potential to be useful for teaching strategies:

1. Research based on finding; interpreting & using info that has been produced by someone
else
2. Based on gathering, interpreting & using info that did not exist before the research was
conducted
3. Based on some form of experimentation




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, Reasons for using inquiry

 Encourages learners to ask questions, investigate, discover & create answers for themselves
 Strive for more than superficial understanding & to view learning as something more than
remembering info
 Helps learners to progress from what they already understand to what they need to
understand Challenge, engage, motivate & extend all learners
 Encourages critical thinking
 Provide meaningful context for learners to use & develop their communication skills
 Help learners develop their organisational & time management skills
 Experience at working the way adults work
 Understand the nature of a field of study
 Teach students how to make use of the sources of info
 Provides teachers an opportunity to stand back & observe learners & reflect on their
learning styles
 Planning for inquiry reminds teachers of their primary role to help students learn how to
think
 Fun & motivating way to learn
 Effective way of getting parents involved

Issues to consider

 Time consuming
 Does not result in the learning you hoped for
 Not all will enjoy learning this way
 Learners who have poor learning skills will be disadvantaged
 Learners with poor writing skills will be disadvantaged
 Learners can find it frustrating
 Requires a lot of self-direction
 Efforts to focus learners may frustrate them
 Unless they have skills to interpret the data they gather, they may learn very little
 Inquiry tasks can become unmanageable
 Learners will see it as a project to be completed with minimal effort

Use inquiry if:

 Learners are self-motivated & learn with minimal assistance
 You want to encourage learners to take a deep approach to learning
 You want learners to learn how to enjoy learning
 You want to encourage learners to be independent thinkers
 You want learning to be driven by curiosity

Do not use inquiry if

 Lack basic skills to work independently or in small groups
 Learners have very poor literacy skills
 Do not have access to the equipment or info they need to produce data
 You cannot allow learners sufficient time to complete the research task



LO 2: APPLY APPROPRIATE TEACHING STRATEGIES WHEN PLANNING


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