Four years ago our school made a major shift in science instruction. Previously we had been very teacher centered with lecture, textbooks and some labs to support the topic of instruction. However, four years ago we were presented with the opportunity to be a pilot school for the Indiana DOE’s Science Initiative Inquiry Based Instruction. This was a HUGE shift in our instructional practices. For a few of our teachers, they really felt out of their comfort zone. We all participated in 2 weeks of professional development in inquiry based science instruction the summer prior to the pilot.
We returned to our classes that fall excited to see what the year would bring and anxious about the thought of turning over the reins of much of our class to our students. We had some bumps that first year. Some of the teachers really wanted to go back to what we had done before, but for the rest of us and more importantly for the students we knew that we could never go back.
Teaching in this inquiry based, student centered environment is not easier, but it is somuch better. The first few years we never felt like we would catch up. Every time we thought we had the units figured out the students would come up with another way to look at things. Four years down the road and most of us feel pretty comfortable with this type of instruction.
As we implement 1:1 into our classes I feel that the inquiry instruction that we received as science teachers and the curriculum that we have been using has prepared us well for the integration of technology. Research and collaboration which are such a big part of the science instruction are so much easier now than before. Of course we are once again being pushed out of our comfort zone, but we have seen the fruits of this type of discomfort and are a little more willing to take risks than some of the other teachers in the building because of our experience.
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