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Reflective Statement
Artifact: Inquiry-Based Lesson Plan
Professional STANDARD 1- Content Knowledge
The competent teacher understands the central concepts, methods
of inquiry, andstructures of the discipline s and creates learning
experiences that make the content
meaningful to all students.
1B. understands the processes of inquiry central to the
discipline.
1H. engages students in generating and testing knowledge
according to the process of
inquiry and standards of evidence of the discipline.
1. Fully state the standard in bold text. Then write a paragraph
explaining your knowledge andunderstanding of the standardput the
standard into your own words.
This standard is about how I, as an instructor, must understand
how to facilitate inquiry amongst
the students in my classroom. Not only that, but I understand
the ways in which that can best be
accomplished so that the content being taught in class is
meaningful, relatable, and interesting for
the students. I should be able to ask questions of the students
to help them further their
understanding of the concepts being addressed in class. I should
know how to plan questions to
ask the students during class that will help them to take their
learning to the next level.
2. Explain how the artifact you chose demonstrates your
understanding and application of thestandard.
The artifact that I chose for this standard is a lesson plan
that myself and two other classmates
formed using an inquiry based strategy. In this lesson, we
taught the students about investigating
ourselves and how digestion works in our bodies. In this science
activity, we had hands-on
activities that helped the students to understand the concept,
but first we asked the students
questions about what they already knew of digestion. As they
responded, we wrote their ideas
on the board. Through their answers, we directed them to the
answerthe process that breaks
down our food. The lesson itself was directed through questions
that were asked of the
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students. These were questions that began with what they already
knew, and developed into
questions that challenged them and encouraged taking their
learning to the next level. As we did
that, we were meeting the standard by generating and testing the
students knowledge through
inquiry and in turn it furthered the students understanding. As
we asked the questions about
digestion, we had the students eat a graham cracker, so they
could try to track the food as they
ate it to predict what would happen next in the process of
digestion. With this part of the lesson,
we were making the learning meaningful to the students. I
realized through this lesson how
much students can learn on their own with just the prompting of
a question. In the future, I will
recognize the importance of inquiry in the classroom to push the
students to a new level of
understanding, and will know how to effectively apply it to my
teaching.
3. A If the artifact has been used in your practice, reflect on
how your teaching will change inthe future to further meet the
standard.
B If the artifact has not been used in your practice, i.e., a
class assignment, reflect upon how
your teaching will be impacted by the assignment.
This artifact has been used in my practice. We developed the
lesson plan and then took it to a
second grade classroom to teach. I remember teaching this as my
first inquiry-based lesson, and
I was shocked at how willing the students were to be engaged in
the lesson, and to grapple with
their thoughts. Not only were the students completely engaged in
the lesson about digestion, but
they were excited to learn more about it. They wanted to
continue asking and learning while
remaining both attentive and participatory. They talked with one
another, and asked one another
questions as they tried new activities and ironed out their own
understanding of the process of
digestion. I learned so much from the students learning in this
lesson. I remember thinking to
myself after teaching this lesson that I would always use
inquiry-based learning in my science
lessons because it really does fuel the students learning, and
it puts the learning into their own
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hands. They get to answer their own questions, and work together
as a class to develop new
predictions and ideas. As an educator, I need to be sure that I
am implementing this type of
teaching and learning into my classroom, and using it
effectively to encourage the learning of my
students.
4. Conclude with a paragraph discussing how you are more
prepared to Teach and Learn in aDiverse Society as a result of
satisfactorily meeting the standard.
When using inquiry based teaching and learning strategies in the
classroom, I do feel more
prepared to teach and learn in a diverse society. As I think
about my current 6th
grade placement,
there are students from all different socio economic situations,
races, religions, and learning
levels. Having an inquiry based strategy will bring unity among
the group. Asking questions of
the entire group and having them listen to one anothers
responses my help the students to
challenge one another. The students who ask higher-level
questions will help the more timid
students to be more engaged. The students can ask one another
for clarity rather than always
asking the teacher. This helps me because as an educator, I want
to create an environment of
safety and honesty in my classroom as well as an environment of
community. This will
definitely assist in creating a community of my classroom, and
it prepares me to know how to
address and lead a classroom of students at a range of learning
levels and with a wide range of
backgrounds.
