Post+2+-+Julianna

(4) I think that Liz’s activity and my activity were the most inquiry based. Liz’s activity was asking students to maximize the area of a rectangle while keeping the area constant at 20 units squared. This first part is inquiry based because there is no one right answer. The students can use critical thinking skills and trial and error to come up with a variety of ways to maximize the area. It then becomes even more inquiry based when the second question is posed; The students are asked to from a conjecture about how to maximize the perimeter of the shape while still keeping the same area. This is much more challenging for the students because the perimeter can become as large or small as they want, as long as the area remains the same. Again, the students are forced to use what they know about perimeter and area and then combine that with critical thinking skills that will enable them to come up with an answer. I also feel that my activity was inquiry based. Students were asked to choose a Franchise they feel would be the most successful, and then had to try and persuade their classmates to vote for their franchise. This was inquiry based because again, there is no one right answer. It is up to the students to choose a franchise they feel will be successful and then provide the proper information that will persuade their classmates to vote for it. This activity also asked for the students to take on three separate roles; Project manager, Accountant, and Investor. By giving each student a role they all must contribute to the activity in order to come up with a successful result. I also think this is inquiry based because completing this project can definitely help these students in the future. The skills they learn and the critical thinking they use will help them to complete higher-level tasks again in the future.

(5) I did not think that Marissa’s activity was inquiry based. The students were asked to use a virtual manipulative to practice math skills. The students were basically asked to add and subtract integers. While this is an excellent arithmetic skill that students will need for the rest of their lives, the activity itself was not inquiry based. There was always a definitive answer and there was no room for creativity or originality for the students. Each student was told to complete the same task and come up with the same result. Inquiry based learning activities should provide room for individuality. I think that this activity has potential to become inquiry based, but the task needs to be changed.

(6) I think that Liz’s rubric for inquiry based learning is the best out of the three in our group. Each criteria includes something very specific from her definition of inquiry based learning. She focuses on how the student’s work reflects the task, and not just the task itself. I especially like the last two criteria. The first criteria state that the “task strengthens or builds the knowledge of a specific problem or concept.” The second task states “the requirements of the task aid in developing skills needed to better problem solve in the future.”  If we look not only at Liz’s definition, but all three definitions of inquiry based learning from the group, these two criteria specifically capture the essence of all three definitions. I personally feel that being able to use skills in the future is extremely important to inquiry based learning, and Liz’s rubric is the best for measuring that skill.