For the Inquiry Celebration at Lakeview Resort, I chose to sit in on two reading based sessions, because of my specialization in English. I also was glad that the sessions I observed were based on lower elementary levels, because I had intended on getting a second specialization in early childhood. I wanted to view different methods and findings about areas I would be focusing on in my career. Additionally, I teach preschool during my free time and over the summer. I wanted this inquiry to give me ideas of how to implement emergent literacy skills in my own instruction.
Many of the methods discussed in these two sessions were repetitive, but the findings and ways of implementing them varied slightly. For example, both sessions had a presentation based on using sign language in the classroom. The difference, however, was that one preservice teacher was hoping this would help a selective mutism student and a learning disabled student with fine motor skills. The other preservice teacher was generally interested in the use of sign language wanted to use it as a way of monitoring behavior in the classroom and thought it would help keep noise to a minimum in her open concept classroom. These were subquestions to her interest in how sign language would help students with phonemic awareness and letter recognition.
In a way, having the same methods observed and presented twice was helpful to see if there were differences in the data and more reliable data to reflect on. I am really interested in the use of sign language as a way to keep noise levels low in an open concept classroom that I too am currently placed in. Some of the inquiry topics I observed were somewhat reflective of methods we have already almost proven affective in methods classes. For example, one presenter used methods of gaging student understanding with fluency and letter recognition tests that many teachers have used for years and did not seem to have a goal or method that strayed from the norm of classroom instruction.
Although I intended to take away ideas for my own instruction, I learned more about details I need to focus on and concerns to keep for when I develop and present my own inquiry topic. I realized that my goals and questions for my inquiry should all be central so that my data can all be connected and directly related to my questions. Some presenters had subquestions that were unrelated and would be very difficult to collect data about. I also realized that the inquiry topics should be something that there has not been much research on, a new idea or method that is not really covered in the current curriculum of the Benedum Program. Because many of the inquiry topics were things that are currently discussed by many teachers and researched frequently, I was uninterested in the presentation. I was interested in the sign language presentations, because it is not a widely used method and still being researched, because it is a fairly new idea.
During the Inquiry Celebration, I realized that teachers, mentors, and preservice teachers pay attention and fill the rooms to spread ideas and interests. Many of the educators are already interested and practicing new ideas or methods in their own environment. They are coming to these inquiry presentations to learn new ideas and how they have worked out. We are the next generation of teachers. We come with fresh ideas, creativity, and a sense of wonderment over the possibilities of our future classroom. These seasoned educators and future educators observe to hear about our ideas, concerns, interests, and how we have implemented new ideas into today’s classroom. The point is to bring something fairly new and share your findings so that we may all continually grow and learn as teachers. We want to find ideas that can change a struggling student, our classroom, or the school entirely. I am more prepared to chose an inquiry topic and what I should be sharing with my fellow educators to make the most of this celebration. Every educator should leave with at least one new idea blossoming in their mind, making them think, how can I start this in my class tomorrow, next week, next year. Making them want to try something new. The inquiry celebration is meant to share ideas, spread the word, and spark everyone’s reason for becoming a teacher.
