My Inquiry Process & Key Aspects

    Engaging in this guided inquiry based learning opportunity, I found myself moving fluidly through various stages of inquiry that both challenged and informed my thinking and comprehension of the topic and inquiry question.  Two key aspects that helped me throughout this process were continuous self-reflection and critical dialogue with peers and instructors. 

1) Reflection

Continuous reflection was crucial in relation to my progression of knowledge and understanding of ELLs in relation to supporting them through community partnerships. In order to do so effectively, whenever I found myself becoming overwhelmed with the information, or felt as though I was heading down the wrong / alternative path with regards to my topic, I would return to my inquiry question, along with the reflective questions that I paired with it at the beginning of my journey. Doing so allowed me to come back to focus with what I was aiming to solve and answer, grounding me back into the framework of my own thoughts and ideas. 

2) Critical Dialogue

Engaging in critical dialogue with my peers and instructors gave me the opportunity to hear different experiences and feedback in relation to my topic, which informed a lot of my research. This was an integral part of my success when it came to my inquiry based learning, as it enabled me to change the way I approached the topic of ELLs and the supports needed for ELLs in general. Prior to hearing ideas and feedback from others, my scope was fairly small and limited to my own bias / opinion towards the subject, which would have been detrimental to, not only my question, but my overall learning. This allowed me to transform from student to teacher, although I feel as though I am not an expert on this topic, I am in the realm of having a solid understanding of ELLs and the importance of using community partnerships to support their various strengths and needs. 

Student - Teacher Application

These are both important aspect of the inquiry process that I would remind my students to constantly engage with, specifically if they feel as though they are becoming lost in their work, or losing focus on the topic. Ensuring students write down their questions (either given by the teacher or developed by themselves), along with their thoughts, brainstorming and reflective questions will allow them to revisit important aspects when needed. Additionally, because inquiry based learning provides a multitude of avenues and pathways for students to approach, ensuring that I am (the teacher) checking in on their progress and providing them with the appropriate feedback needed for them to maintain focus is also important throughout their journey. Having constructive and critical conversations with their peers and myself will benefit their research and overall conclusions towards their topic. Although this is true, I also think its important for students to understand that, if they developed the question themselves, based on their initial research and reflections, that during the early stages of this process these may help condense and develop a stronger inquiry question. Therefore, students should not feel like they cannot change their topic or questions (depending on the type of inquiry assigned) as they should be able to modify and adapt their research to whatever seems most logical and relevant to their lives.