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Main | Activity 5-1 | Activity
5-2 | Activity 5-3
Step 5:
Incorporate Best Practices Within Your Inquiry-based Activity
ABOUT THIS STEP
In step 5 you develop your inquiry-based
classroom activity. You start by drafting a design document
describing the activity you plan to implement. Then you read
research summaries of six design principles that support
learners in inquiry investigations. In the last step 5 activity
you revise your draft, using the design principles as a
framework, to reflect the best practices in inquiry-based
learning.
Alignment and Design Space
During steps 1-4 you aligned the six fundamental parameters
that characterize your inquiry-based activity. You identified a
project, selected standards you would address, formulated and
pilot tested a question for your learners to answer, and
developed an assessment tool to measure what learners already
know about the identified standards. In this step you will turn
these parameters into a classroom activity.
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Figure 1.
The Virtual Design Center scenario design space for
inquiry-based learning activities—the six faces of
the design space cube. |
Dimensions of Inspiration
The Virtual Design Center
recommends that you incorporate research-based design principles
into the design of your inquiry-based activity. These principles
include offering learner choices for the activity, fostering
learners’ multiple abilities, promoting self-regulation,
encouraging team research, engaging learners in argumentation,
and scaffolding learners’ organization of knowledge.
These principles help you
address the five dimensions of inspiration. By organizing
knowledge and engaging in argumentation, learners construct a
solid mental model of the domain knowledge. Engaging in team
research and argumentation helps learners understand the
practice of science. Making choices and self-regulating their
own learning processes lets learners identify themselves as
individuals who can accomplish science tasks (identity and
self-efficacy). By working on the activity as a team, learners
establish relations with others in the team and the scientists
in the world who work on similar real-world problems (identity
and imagination). The inquiry activity allows learners to invent
their own solutions, within which learners can cultivate their
creativity and imagination.
Activities and NASA Review
Criteria Matrix
The matrix below summarizes
the activities to be completed in this step and explains how to
meet NASA’s product review criteria.
Start the activities in
the matrix and return to this page when you are finished.
Continue to Activity 5-1.
DEBRIEFING
Through step 5 you have developed your inquiry-based classroom
activity. You might want to make some changes to the
deliverables from previous steps. Resubmit them with your step 5
deliverables and briefly explain the changes.
Once your team
is satisfied with your step 5 deliverables, submit them
to the discussion board. Share
your experiences with step 5. Your facilitator will review your
documents and provide feedback.
In step 6 you will incorporate learning technologies to support
your inquiry-based classroom activity. When you are ready, move
to
step 6.
Main | Activity 5-1 | Activity
5-2 | Activity 5-3 |
