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Journal #3
Perla E. Figueroa
The University of Texas at El Paso
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Journal #3

Hearing a presentation about Inquiry-based Learning would have been great in my

opinion. I would have loved to hear the different thoughts of my classmate on this matter which

seems to be forgotten slowly in our public school system. Most public school teachers are

rushing threw their lesson plans in order to cover everything the school districts are demanding

they teach. This is because each school district is expected to show numbers for each student

stating that they passed their state exams but are they really actually learning.

A student should be allowed to stop the teacher at any moment and ask a question on the

lesson specially if they feel lost. This is where Inquiry-based Learning plays a big roll, because

by adapting it we allow students to create and apply knowledge of the material instead of just

accumulating information and data like little computers. An example of how Inquiry-based

Learning works is by implying that the student is looking for a need/want to know instead of

demanding the correct answer. Which yes this doesn’t fit into every subject but it does allow the

student to use his/hers critical thinking instead of just finding one answer to the problem.

A presentation we did get to hear about was Project-based Learning where my classmates

explain that it’s a method in which students gain knowledge/skills by working for a long period

of time. I agree partially with this statement because I do believe students should work hands-on

in order to properly learn how something works and why it works like that, but I don’t believe it

should be done for a long period of time. Each question, problem, or challenge the students

works on should be done by using Project-base, and should take enough time so all students

learn the lesson. Project-based learning is a great strategy for students that do not learn auditory
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or linguistic because it gives them the opportunity to actually visually see the challenge and

kinesthetically work on it.

Another good tool to help students learn is to use Digital Bloom’s Taxonomy which is

technology and digital tools that facilitate learning for the students and teachers. Its main goal is

to expand the skills students already have by associating them with their proper level. This is

why we break it up into two sections “LOTS” Lower-order thinking skills and “HOTS” Higher-

order thinking skills.

A student starts of by using “LOTS” which means that they remember, understand, and

applies what he or she learned with situations where the material applies. The next step as

educators is to help the student move to the next level which is “HOTS” the student learns to

analyze, evaluate, and create a new element from previews knowledge they already had. Digital

Bloom Taxonomy can help students become critical thinkers when a problem or question is put

in front of them. This will help the student over come any problem with little to no help from the

teacher.

A way we can test to see if the students learned all of the different tools I talked about is

by using Performance-based assessment. This assessment is used to measure a student’s ability

to apply his or her skills and knowledge that they learn after the educator teaches each unit of

lesson. The educator can test each student to see if they are comprehending the material which I

think is a good idea but it does have its pro’s and con’s in my opinion.

A pro to this is that the teacher can see where the students stand which means are they

actually learning the material. This can help the teacher understand if what she is doing is

working or does the lesson plan needs to be revised and refocus to help more students learn. A

con is that students can catch on and learn how to take a test in order to pass but not actually
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learn the material that is being taught. State exams are used as performance-based assessment at

the end of the year but with all the pressure they add to the teacher to have her students pass I

don’t believe it actually helps the student but holds him back from actually taking advantage of

this tool.

In this assignment we used many different tools to give our presentations. Some I loved

and others I though they where very boring and kept you limited. Prezi, Power Point, and

Pontoon’s where my favorite ones. They allowed you to be creative, try new things to get the

students attention, add music and sound effects, and gives you the opportunity to teach in

different styles not just give a typical presentation.

The tools that I thought where very dull and hard to work with where Google drive,

Google Slides, and Genially. I felt like those tools kept you very limited, there was no creativity

opportunity, and everyone had trouble working with genially which will only make your job as

an educator harder. As educators we need tools that are easy to work with and will capture the

student’s attention you don’t want to struggle and put them to sleep. I do plan to use this

presentation tools and different material I talked about in the future to help me as an educator

reach more students and facilitate their leaning.