Moving Mountains in Ms. Morrison's Class

The Inquiry model of instructional design allows our students to build their own knowledge and understanding through engaging, student-led activities. Teachers give students the opportunity to explore, question, explain, and extend their world and education into new places. For more on the Inquiry model of instructional design, see my Smore presentation:  The Inquiry Model: A Process-Oriented Instructional Model. Documentation is an important aspect of inquiry-based learning because our students need to be able to express their findings in a way that is easily communicable to others. This not only will increase their understanding of the content because it requires explanation but it also allows them to experience meaningful communication of ideas that is critical in our society.  Educreations is a digital tool used to capture, share, and replay information. This program is an app for Apple devices and requires little technological knowledge in order to use. The ba...

Instructional design impacts P-12 student learning because it can affect the entire educational process that our students cycle through. In the past, students were given information based on their age and grade level, told what to study, and given a test in which they were responsible for reiterating the information given to them. Growing up in the teacher-centered era, I experienced this educational process most of my life and can attest to its lack of effectiveness. I earned A’s and B’s throughout elementary, middle, and high school but I have not retained much of the information or skills after almost thirteen years of education. By shifting the educational paradigm to a student-centered focus, teachers can create a more meaningful education environment and experience for the students because both factors will be tailored to the students’ needs. To truly tailor what happens in our classrooms, teachers must evolve from teachers of information to educational designers that are explici...