4 - INQUIRY-BASED LEARNING
Inquiry-based learning, which is a learner-centred
approach to promote independent learning for students, is perfect to include in
methods of teaching any subject. In
other words, the goal of IBL is to generate in students an active construction
of meaning through: questioning, researching information, collecting data and
reporting their findings.
This way of promoting a higher order of thinking
skills is really essential since most students are not stimulated to think but
only learn certain information about subject matters by heart. They do not
really understand the importance of thinking for themselves.
This process of IBL, with its four stages:
“exploring”, “investigating”, “processing” and “creating”, will not only help
students to understand the importance of thinking, but they will become more
responsible and independent in their learning, too. What is more, it will help teachers
to improve as a teacher in the classroom.
The idea of doing IBL project work is something
completely different from the text the learners find in a textbook.
Students are given some helpful info to begin their project:
Planning Inquiry-based Projects (IBLp): “Exploring I” - Stained glass art in Ireland
The IBL project involved doing research
and preparing questions to ask the Irish stained glass artist, Gerry O’Brien,
for a seminar.
Some questions asked were:
-
Who is your mentor?
-
What is the main
theme of your work?
-
Why did you choose to
represent natural elements?
-
Are there any
specific colours you prefer?
-
Who are your
customers?
-
What is the biggest
piece of work did you have to prepare? How long did it take? How much were you
paid for it?
-
Do you prefer works
of art other than Irish art?
-
Have you ever
prepared any stained glass art which told a story?
-
How long beforehand
do you need to prepare a piece of artwork?
-
How do you think that
stained glass heritage can help Irish learners?
Some photos taken are:
-
St. Theresa’s Church,
Dublin, Ireland
-
St. Patrick’s
Cathedral, Dublin, Ireland
-
The Pub called “The
Church”, Dublin, Ireland
-
The Pub called “The
Stag’s Head”, Dublin, Ireland
-
The Public Library of
Dublin, Ireland
-
Works by Harry Clarke
displayed at the Hugh Lane Gallery, Dublin, Ireland
-
Some buildings of the
City of Dublin
-
The Black Abbey,
Kilkenny, Ireland
The collection
of valuable information and photos of this project can be useful in some CLIL
Art lessons and History lessons.
Comments
Post a Comment