This week, we put our knowledge of Inquiry-Based Instruction to the test by leading an IBI lab. In my lesson, I had the students build an irrigation system using a variety of materials that included Play Dough, pasta, straws, tongs, toothpicks and tape to name a few. After the two groups build their systems, we tested them to see how well they preformed, and used that as a springboard to discuss characteristics of an effective irrigation system.
Some "gems" that I think my lesson had was that it was very interactive. There were a ton of materials for the students to work with, and they were free to use whatever they wanted, however they chose. This lesson also gave students the freedom to think, design, and work with each system whoever they chose. There was no mandate on how the irrigation system needed to be built, or how the materials needed to be utilized, which really took on an inquiry conceptualization.
Some "opps" I felt my lesson had would be to connect the irrigation activity to an academic standard/ objective. I needed to sharpen up the connection between the activity and the actual scientific objectives associated with learning about irrigation.
I also got a
tweet from Lisa and Olivia for my lab!
Ryan, great incorporation of creativity and design into your IBI lesson! These help to enhance the STEM concept and merge different subject/content areas with ag. Which AFNR Career Cluster standard do you think would best tie into this lesson? Did you look into NGSS too?
ReplyDeleteRyan, this is a really cool idea for an IBI lesson! SO FUN! I'm with you; one of the biggest challenges with IBI is intentional questioning and contextual sets! Looking forward to seeing how you incorporate these more in the future and learning with you!
ReplyDelete