It is said that the more one travels in the world, the more one also travels inward and learns about oneself. Such can also be said of this last journey.
|
A
reflection
|
Through this journey, I experienced a number of emotions that correlate with those in Kuhlthau’s model of the Information Search Process.
Upon first starting out, I tried some quick searches to see if inquiry learning and language learning had any links at all. It seemed as though there weren’t and this, coupled with an unproductive social media search, left me feeling uncertain of the journey's destination. It wasn't until I started using better search strategies and started finding some articles that my confidence started returning. During this phase, my emotions fluctuated: sometimes feeling successful, but most times feeling uncertain of my search strategies, annoyed for losing my way, or disappointed with ‘fool’s gold’. By comparing a number of articles though, I came to have a better idea of what I was really looking for. This led me to formulate the four qualities I expected to see in articles that I would eventually curate. Not that this made the search easier, but the clarity of knowing what I was looking for made it easier mentally. By persevering then, and with a more structured search plan, I ended up finding enough articles that met my expectations. |
Now, I feel I have a reasonable grip on how inquiry learning can be used as a tool for language acquisition. The pedagogical implications uncovered also point to good practices of using that tool. Apparently it could be a powerful tool, but one that will need further research and consideration before it can be mastered.
At this point, the journey hasn’t ended; the road keeps going on. I have at least two new paths to wander: how web quests and project-based learning integrate with inquiry learning. Also, I would like to formulate a course plan to further investigate how inquiry learning can be scaffolded for my students. Further still, I would like to investigate how these approaches might be used for positive identity development. At this intersection though, I'm going to rest my feet... just for a day. |