This week Michael took a different approach in how we ran our zoom class. Instead of informing and educating us on resources and technological aspects of learning he placed into Ed Camp sessions. We had the freedom to create and choose our own topics of interest that were related to education which was really great. I chose to join a group that talked about the effectiveness of inquiry based learning. I thought this was a very interesting and relevant topic because of all the inquiry assignments were are completing in our classes currently. I noticed that when I was talking to the other students before this class about the inquiry projects they said that they have never done a project on inquiry before. Many of them has said “in my 12 years of schooling I have never heard of the term inquiry used in the classroom”.

Personally I did two inquiry project in grades 6 for science and 7 for a social studies lesson but have had no experience with it other than that. So then the question arose, why are we suddenly doing so many inquiry projects now when we had never done them in grade school? We talked about how the freedom of this type of learning is almost to the point where there are not enough structural guidelines to keep moving forward. Traditionally school is where the teachers gives the students clear instructions and expectations and the students work within these boundaries, but with inquiry this all goes out the window. Many of us said we prefer the more instructional approach to learning so that the kids know exactly what is expected of them and always feel that their learning is being supported  by their teacher. However, inquiry is great in that it allows students to delve into what they think is important, relevant and interesting. Thich is extremely important because it means the students are venturing out on their own and exploring topics that really entice them. We also talked about how inquiry may be learning style that is more effective for older students in grades 6 and up who are able to create questions and make connections on their own.

Overall this lesson was very interactive and allowed me to hear my fellow classmates thoughts and ideas around learning through inquiry. I hope we can do this type of session again one day!