Some students are really good at “Playing School.” They come into class, behave the way they are supposed to, listen to me, and spit information right back to appear as if they get it. They are “playing school.” They have figured out how to come into my class and get by without doing much thinking.
Boy, did they fool me!
Now, don’t get me wrong, many students were truly understanding and performing at a high level, and these students dominated the classroom (probably all classrooms). I was not fooled by them. I was fooled by the individuals who appeared to be good students because they just sat there, took notes, did their tasks, and left. They were not asking questions, but were answering my questions. They were not digging deeper. They were no trouble. However, they were not growing as students in my classroom because the content was passive and not engaging to them. This passiveness enabled me to ignore them, but recently, I began to notice. A NGSS tornado, not a light bulb, went through my mind, and stirred things up. Students could no longer get by with just playing school in my classroom.
Simple regurgitation of facts for standardized testing is no longer enough; the Next Generation Science Standards require much more than that. They require students to learn and refine their science practices while deepening their knowledge of core ideas. These core ideas all start with a phenomenon that causes the students to ask, “why” --my favorite question. Instead of memorizing the elements of the periodic table, students are asking “why are the elements arranged as they are?” With the new NGSS, having curiosity is a must. I want my students to know that it is okay to ask why and that not knowing the answer provides the necessary motivation for investigation. I want students to use questions to drive their curiosity, to go where phenomena and evidence takes them, to challenge what they think in the world, and to see how science enriches their understanding. This makes their learning more authentic. Therefore, if and when they actually get to answer their own questions, they feel empowered and part of something bigger than themselves.
With the support of CTEPS, (Classroom Teachers Enacting Positive Solutions) I have been able to transform my classroom into a place where my students are excited about asking their own questions and seeking out answers as they dive into an inquiry based classroom. Inquiry based instruction builds scientific practices--from observation, to questions, to experimentation, to sources, to action. These practices, perfected over time, will engage students’ minds and build capacity as autonomous thinkers.
My students have realized, through inquiry, that learning is more natural than they thought because it piques in them a natural curiosity and desire to seek answers.
A great example of this natural curiosity was when my students walked into my classroom, and I had a picture of a dead body in a morgue on the flat screen TV. “Why are we looking at a dead body in chemistry class?” they asked. This got the attention of every student and the questions did not stop. Finally, my students worked through a lesson that I designed where students employed the knowledge they had learned about empirical and molecular formulas to work through a crime scene investigation to discover why the person on my TV was dead. “I can’t believe class is over!” “Can we do this tomorrow?” they said... It was almost as if they had forgotten they were in chemistry class, yet they were pairing their content knowledge with scientific practices to problem solve in a natural, authentic way.
Problem solving is an integral part of the inquiry process and a skill that is necessary in the 21st century and one that must be carefully developed to empower students. It is an injustice to students if we do not start providing them with opportunities to develop their scientific practices. As teachers, we want our students to take ownership of their learning and think for themselves, which is something inquiry does. By encouraging divergent thinking, inquiry produces multiple solutions which better enables us all to tackle today’s and tomorrow’s problems. If we get our students excited to problem solve in our classrooms, then we can show them how our community becomes the classroom and our students begin to problem solve for our community.
As a science teacher, I want other science teachers to see the benefits in creating inquiry based lessons that foster scientific practices. If teachers work together on creating opportunities for our students to think critically, problem solve, and learn on their own--all because the students started asking their own questions-- then we have created 21st century learners.
The inquiry process is not confined to science and can be used in all content areas. Is there a content area that doesn’t benefit from questioning, from seeking solutions, from communicating those conclusions? All learning starts with a “Why?” or a “How?” question in its most basic form. When our students have multiple opportunities throughout their school day to not only ask questions, but answer their own and then their peers’ questions, our students will be not only autonomous learners at their high school but autonomous citizens in our communities.
Although, I have felt that this process is messy and my classroom appears out of control, it’s not. When I use strategies that allow my students to think on their own, the dust begins to settle, there is a calm in my classroom, and my students are right at home in a natural state of curiosity...right where they need to be...not “playing school,” but actively engaged, eager to problem solve and think for themselves using feeding their curiosity.
Boy, did they fool me!
Now, don’t get me wrong, many students were truly understanding and performing at a high level, and these students dominated the classroom (probably all classrooms). I was not fooled by them. I was fooled by the individuals who appeared to be good students because they just sat there, took notes, did their tasks, and left. They were not asking questions, but were answering my questions. They were not digging deeper. They were no trouble. However, they were not growing as students in my classroom because the content was passive and not engaging to them. This passiveness enabled me to ignore them, but recently, I began to notice. A NGSS tornado, not a light bulb, went through my mind, and stirred things up. Students could no longer get by with just playing school in my classroom.
Simple regurgitation of facts for standardized testing is no longer enough; the Next Generation Science Standards require much more than that. They require students to learn and refine their science practices while deepening their knowledge of core ideas. These core ideas all start with a phenomenon that causes the students to ask, “why” --my favorite question. Instead of memorizing the elements of the periodic table, students are asking “why are the elements arranged as they are?” With the new NGSS, having curiosity is a must. I want my students to know that it is okay to ask why and that not knowing the answer provides the necessary motivation for investigation. I want students to use questions to drive their curiosity, to go where phenomena and evidence takes them, to challenge what they think in the world, and to see how science enriches their understanding. This makes their learning more authentic. Therefore, if and when they actually get to answer their own questions, they feel empowered and part of something bigger than themselves.
With the support of CTEPS, (Classroom Teachers Enacting Positive Solutions) I have been able to transform my classroom into a place where my students are excited about asking their own questions and seeking out answers as they dive into an inquiry based classroom. Inquiry based instruction builds scientific practices--from observation, to questions, to experimentation, to sources, to action. These practices, perfected over time, will engage students’ minds and build capacity as autonomous thinkers.
My students have realized, through inquiry, that learning is more natural than they thought because it piques in them a natural curiosity and desire to seek answers.
A great example of this natural curiosity was when my students walked into my classroom, and I had a picture of a dead body in a morgue on the flat screen TV. “Why are we looking at a dead body in chemistry class?” they asked. This got the attention of every student and the questions did not stop. Finally, my students worked through a lesson that I designed where students employed the knowledge they had learned about empirical and molecular formulas to work through a crime scene investigation to discover why the person on my TV was dead. “I can’t believe class is over!” “Can we do this tomorrow?” they said... It was almost as if they had forgotten they were in chemistry class, yet they were pairing their content knowledge with scientific practices to problem solve in a natural, authentic way.
Problem solving is an integral part of the inquiry process and a skill that is necessary in the 21st century and one that must be carefully developed to empower students. It is an injustice to students if we do not start providing them with opportunities to develop their scientific practices. As teachers, we want our students to take ownership of their learning and think for themselves, which is something inquiry does. By encouraging divergent thinking, inquiry produces multiple solutions which better enables us all to tackle today’s and tomorrow’s problems. If we get our students excited to problem solve in our classrooms, then we can show them how our community becomes the classroom and our students begin to problem solve for our community.
As a science teacher, I want other science teachers to see the benefits in creating inquiry based lessons that foster scientific practices. If teachers work together on creating opportunities for our students to think critically, problem solve, and learn on their own--all because the students started asking their own questions-- then we have created 21st century learners.
The inquiry process is not confined to science and can be used in all content areas. Is there a content area that doesn’t benefit from questioning, from seeking solutions, from communicating those conclusions? All learning starts with a “Why?” or a “How?” question in its most basic form. When our students have multiple opportunities throughout their school day to not only ask questions, but answer their own and then their peers’ questions, our students will be not only autonomous learners at their high school but autonomous citizens in our communities.
Although, I have felt that this process is messy and my classroom appears out of control, it’s not. When I use strategies that allow my students to think on their own, the dust begins to settle, there is a calm in my classroom, and my students are right at home in a natural state of curiosity...right where they need to be...not “playing school,” but actively engaged, eager to problem solve and think for themselves using feeding their curiosity.
Andrea New has been teaching chemistry for eleven years and is currently teaching at Boyle County High School. She earned her bachelor's degree in chemistry from Bellarmine University and her Master's degree in chemistry from University of Kentucky. She earned her second Masters of Arts in teaching from Eastern Kentucky University. She just completed her work to earn her National Board Certification this spring.