A Typical Five–Day ITET Workshop Agenda:
Day 1: Modes of Instruction
Many people claim that they know what Inquiry is until they actually participate in a Workshop. The Workshop clearly demonstrates that participating in ‘hands on’ activities does not necessarily mean it qualifies as Inquiry. At the Workshops, we will conduct four activities: presentations, cook book labs, guided Inquiry and open ended Inquiry, in order to examine their differences. Many Florida teachers have informed us that this Workshop has been the turning point in their understanding of the Inquiry method.
Day 2: Modeling Inquiry- How do we ask Questions
Good Inquiry requires that we teach students to ask themselves pertinent questions that will assist them come to an understanding or conclusion about the ‘subject matter’. These questions show them how to recognize relationships. In the Workshops, we will demonstrate to teachers how they should ask questions, while also how they should instruct students to ask questions.
Day 3: Inquiry in the face of Content
Over the past few years there has been an enormous emphasis placed on increasing the content knowledge of teachers in science and math classrooms. Therefore we must ask ourselves, how do we reconcile that fact with the need to teach Inquiry in the classroom? Inquiry is the method we use to help teachers attain a deeper content understanding thus enabling them to construct the learning process themselves. ITET will provide specific benchmarks for Florida teachers using the Inquiry pedagogy.
Day 4: Developing Inquiry Activities
Having learned Inquiry and how to conduct Inquiry activities in the classroom, the next step for teachers to learn is how to take existing text book labs and activities and modify them to be Inquiry based. The old Lao Tzu saying: “Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime,” is apt in this situation. We need teachers to be able to develop their own Inquiry activities so that they can continue to enhance their classroom teaching. Florida teachers will be encouraged to develop lessons based on Inquiry, to be used in the fall of 2008.
Day 5: Practicing Inquiry
In day five, teachers will develop Inquiry lessons and then practice what they have learned amongst their peers. These practice sessions are critical in assisting them to be comfortable teaching Inquiry in the classroom.
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