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Reflective Statement

Artifact: Inquiry-Based Lesson Plan

Professional STANDARD 1- Content Knowledge

The competent teacher understands the central concepts, methods of inquiry, and
structures of the discipline s and creates learning experiences that make the content
meaningful to all students.
1B. understands the processes of inquiry central to the discipline.
1H. engages students in generating and testing knowledge according to the process of
inquiry and standards of evidence of the discipline.

1. Fully state the standard in bold text. Then write a paragraph explaining your knowledge and
understanding of the standard—put the standard into your own words.

This standard is about how I, as an instructor, must understand how to facilitate inquiry amongst

the students in my classroom. Not only that, but I understand the ways in which that can best be

accomplished so that the content being taught in class is meaningful, relatable, and interesting for

the students. I should be able to ask questions of the students to help them further their

understanding of the concepts being addressed in class. I should know how to plan questions to

ask the students during class that will help them to take their learning to the next level.

2. Explain how the artifact you chose demonstrates your understanding and application of the
standard.

The artifact that I chose for this standard is a lesson plan that myself and two other classmates

formed using an inquiry based strategy. In this lesson, we taught the students about investigating

ourselves and how digestion works in our bodies. In this science activity, we had hands-on

activities that helped the students to understand the concept, but first we asked the students

questions about what they already knew of digestion. As they responded, we wrote their ideas

on the board. Through their answers, we directed them to the answer—“the process that breaks

down our food.” The lesson itself was directed through questions that were asked of the
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students. These were questions that began with what they already knew, and developed into

questions that challenged them and encouraged taking their learning to the next level. As we did

that, we were meeting the standard by generating and testing the students’ knowledge through

inquiry and in turn it furthered the students understanding. As we asked the questions about

digestion, we had the students eat a graham cracker, so they could try to track the food as they

ate it to predict what would happen next in the process of digestion. With this part of the lesson,

we were making the learning meaningful to the students. I realized through this lesson how

much students can learn on their own with just the prompting of a question. In the future, I will

recognize the importance of inquiry in the classroom to push the students to a new level of

understanding, and will know how to effectively apply it to my teaching.

3. A If the artifact has been used in your practice, reflect on how your teaching will change in
the future to further meet the standard.
B If the artifact has not been used in your practice, i.e., a class assignment, reflect upon how
your teaching will be impacted by the assignment.

This artifact has been used in my practice. We developed the lesson plan and then took it to a

second grade classroom to teach. I remember teaching this as my first inquiry-based lesson, and

I was shocked at how willing the students were to be engaged in the lesson, and to grapple with

their thoughts. Not only were the students completely engaged in the lesson about digestion, but

they were excited to learn more about it. They wanted to continue asking and learning while

remaining both attentive and participatory. They talked with one another, and asked one another

questions as they tried new activities and ironed out their own understanding of the process of

digestion. I learned so much from the students’ learning in this lesson. I remember thinking to

myself after teaching this lesson that I would always use inquiry-based learning in my science

lessons because it really does fuel the students learning, and it puts the learning into their own
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hands. They get to answer their own questions, and work together as a class to develop new

predictions and ideas. As an educator, I need to be sure that I am implementing this type of

teaching and learning into my classroom, and using it effectively to encourage the learning of my

students.

4. Conclude with a paragraph discussing how you are more prepared to Teach and Learn in a
Diverse Society as a result of satisfactorily meeting the standard.

When using inquiry based teaching and learning strategies in the classroom, I do feel more

prepared to teach and learn in a diverse society. As I think about my current 6th grade placement,

there are students from all different socio economic situations, races, religions, and learning

levels. Having an inquiry based strategy will bring unity among the group. Asking questions of

the entire group and having them listen to one another’s responses my help the students to

challenge one another. The students who ask higher-level questions will help the more timid

students to be more engaged. The students can ask one another for clarity rather than always

asking the teacher. This helps me because as an educator, I want to create an environment of

safety and honesty in my classroom as well as an environment of community. This will

definitely assist in creating a community of my classroom, and it prepares me to know how to

address and lead a classroom of students at a range of learning levels and with a wide range of

backgrounds.