The New Approach to Learning
In the beginning of year 2020, the world manuever it’s education system to online mode with the breakout in pandemic. We all witnessed the change in study pattern, and exposure of students to the plathora of information available at their finger tips. Kids from various age groups as little as 5 years old to 22 years old were glued to their laptops, iPads, tablets to attend their classes. In order to meet the needs of dynamic and versatile learners, schools adopted new teaching methods: inquiry-based learning, project-based learning, and inclusive education to capture the attention of young minds and make the classrooms more interactive and engaging.
But what exactly do these terms mean, and which one is better for you? Keep reading to find out more!
What is inquiry-based learning?
Have you ever had a teacher, who would begin the session but not tell about the topic, she or she is planning to teach. He/she would probe you for information, and slowly will take tou towards the discovery of the topic. A typical example of inquiry based lessons.
Inquiry-based lessons incorporates active participation from students by involving them to pose questions and bringing real-life experinecs to them. The students are put in charge of their learnimg journey.
Using methods such as guided research, document analysis and question-and-answer sessions, you can run inquiry activities in the form of:
- Case studies
- Group projects
- Research projects
- Field work, especially for science lessons
- Unique exercises tailored to your students
It helps to reinforce relevant content and improve understanding of core concepts. The curiosity which is aroused in this process, helps in preparing the brain for learning. This also, promotes expreintial learning as they will understand how the idea was developed; the woring of it; and application of it.
What is project-based learning?
Project-based learning is an approach that focuses on applying concepts to real-life contexts in order to help students apply their knowledge in practical ways. The main idea behind this kind of education is hands-on experience which benefits students more than simply regurgitating facts and dates like how the process of teaching quotes (although those are not completely ignored as it’s important to learn thought process for all learning assessment types).
An example of PBL is that learners vsit the lawn or the garden in school, and are made to see the layers of soil. They are given various types of soils to touch, feel, experiments and understand properties by using different elments. After the session, the students are not required to learn or mug up the various types of soils and their properties. The would now rember and would be aksed to write their reflection for the same.
The lessons in this approach begin from identifying the challenge, making an enquiry, and applying ideas in the discipline, collect relevant information through survey or field visits to underatnd people’s approach and reactions, develop the idea, and create a reflection.
This approach empowers the learners to deep dive into the concept and expolore all aspects of the problem.
What is inclusive education?
Inclusive education isn’t a new model of teaching, but it’s definitely an effective way to teach students who might have trouble learning in the traditional classroom.
Inclusive education believes that all students should be included in the class no matter their physical ability or intellectual level because everyone deserves a chance to learn. The idea behind inclusive education is that any student can learn topics as long as they are shown how to do so in a way that works for them(like by exactly following fun learning quotes given by their instructor’s quotes on teaching
It also focuses on including students with special educational needs because they deserve just as much help as other students and should be able to take all types of assessment.
The overall goal of inclusive education is to break down barriers between people so everyone can work together cooperatively, even if they have different abilities. The perfect example of this is sports teams! No one cares what kind of talent you have; we all work hard and cheer for each other because we’re on the same team.
Inclusive education helps students maximize their strengths and also takes into consideration that everyone learns in a different way, whether it’s by watching or listening, writing or drawing.