Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Progressivist Indirect Teaching Strategy

The Guided Inquiry approach to teaching students how to make a puzzle was key in getting the idea across. I used small cubes which when put together can create a picture. I demonstrated a basic picture on four by four cubes. The students were expected to make observations and draw inferences. For example, students were to make observations about how the cubes connect and to infer what the student could draw on them. I encouraged the learning with guided questions such as "have you ever seen anything like it?"  "Do you know how it was made?" "Look closely..can you see that there are lines touching each cube?" "what can you make?" Afterward, I asked one of the students to identify the pattern of the sequence of events that he used to comprise the content of the puzzle. He said that it is an 'eyball with arms and legs,' and he developed it based on my example of a 'smiley face' puzzle.
Eyeball puzzle by Benedict gr. 3


I used guided questioning such as 'how many cubes would you like to use to make up your puzzle?' I encouraged social interaction between Natalie and Serina and active exploration so that the students could develop something meaningful. They furthered their puzzle into more meaningful creations, one was linked to an abstract drawing. Guided Inquiry is definitely an active approach to learning. Take a look at how one of the student's cube puzzle was used in a piece of work.

Colourful Creation by Serina, gr. 2

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