Finding 4: Teachers must push students to construct their own knowledge of global citizenship through student-led inquiry.
Throughout my time in the New Literacies and Global Learning program, I have been exposed to multiple approaches to student-led inquiry. My Theory and Research on Teaching and Learning Social Studies introduced me to the problem-based learning framework. This inquiry model calls teachers to provide students with open-ended problems. Students then respond to the problems by assessing their existing knowledge, building new knowledge, understanding the issues, and planning a solution. This inquiry process requires collaboration and leads to authentic learning experiences. I had many opportunities to experience the cycle for myself throughout the semester. For one assignment, I collaborated with three other educators to answer the question “What has been and should be the purpose of social studies education in the American public school system?” After researching the topic, we agreed that social studies education in the American public school system should prepare students to become active citizens in the 21st century world. We made a Glog to present our ideas on changing notions of citizenship. My experiences with the inquiry process led me to conclude that 21st century citizenship education must allow students to pursue their own inquiry.
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In addition to the Problem-Based Learning approach, many of my classes relied on the Project-Based Inquiry (PBI) model. This framework leads learners through the inquiry process in steps and culminates in a design studio. I first experienced this process for myself in my New Literacies and Media course. I had the opportunity to collaborate with an in-service social studies teacher throughout the project. We compiled data from existing literature and experiences in the classroom. We creatively synthesized the information with a short video, which we presented to our class during the design studio. I began to understand how I could demonstrate and facilitate inquiry experiences for students. I carried out the PBI model on my own in my Theory and Research in Global Learning class. I first grappled with the challenge of creating an effective compelling question. I then began to gather and analyze data in order to investigate the relationship between global awareness and cultural understanding. After completing my research and analysis, I sought to creatively synthesize my findings. My classmates helped me revise my synthesis through our wiki page. Finally, I published my work and used social media to share it with other educators. After experiencing the process for myself, I designed a lesson that adapted the PBI model for high school students. Now, I see inquiry as a vehicle for students to discover the nature of 21st century citizenship for themselves.
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