Inquiry lab reflection

This week my the lab I had to present was inquiry based. It took me a while to come up with what I was going to do for this type of lab. Realizing that inquiry has multiple levels of difficulty for both the learners and the Teacher. This is because depending on different factors inquiry can either be somewhat structured by the teacher or it can be completely student driven. Either way you look at it however, it is the students who are posing the questions.

I personally found inquiry a hard concept to grasp, but I think with more and more practice I will be able to become better at it. I truly think inquiry is a great tool to get students to access their higher levels of thinking. Throughout school students are often spoon fed the information that they need. This does not lead to critical or individual thinking.

My lab was having the student score white-tailed deer antlers off of the Boone and Crockett scoring model. My idea was to just give them the worksheet and have them score the antlers based of the image on the score sheet. After they started I realized I should of included a demonstration showing them how to score the antlers because I had to interrupt the students once or twice because I noticed that they were doing it incorrectly. I recognized this as my opp.

For my gems:

• At the beginning of my lab I had them each choose a different animal that has antlers and look up information about them. I think it was good to show that there are other animals out there that have antlers rather than just white-tailed deer. 
• I feel as though my students enjoyed my lab because I had them doing a very hands on activity and it kept them occupied.

All in all I love the concept of inquiry and it makes me excited to see what student's come up with as they search for answers. Who knows maybe while they are researching something you propose they'll come up with something you never thought of/found. I can not wait to stretch my inquiry teaching techniques while I am out student teaching!