This year, at the Inquiry Celebration, I attended four presentations. I would first like to start by saying how much I appreciated the Interns and other presenters' hard work this year. I think that by doing my own mini-inquiry research project, I have more respect and understanding of everything they went through in order to obtain data and present their findings. I have talked to the Interns at my home PDS and I saw all of the dedication they put towards their inquiry, and it truly made me realize what it takes to be an effective, life-long learner and teacher.
The life long learner aspect of a teacher brings me to the first point I would like to make about the celebration. Two teachers, former Benedum Collaborative students, presented their findings at the first session I attended. They were teachers from North Elementary School and explained that they were asked to incorporate their own inquiry into their classrooms. The teachers focused solely on Vocabulary and different strategies they used to get students associated with new words. Their presentation showed me the importance of reflection during research as well as consistency. They used a 4-Square vocabulary worksheet for students to write the word, the meaning of the word, write a sentence using the word, and draw a picture of the word. They also wore name tags that said "Ask me about this word..." with a vocabulary word in the name tag. Students soon became experts on their vocabulary words. I plan on using this strategy in my future classroom, as their results proved it to be effective and exciting for the students. I believe that constant exposure allows students to familiarize themselves with the new words and gives them reinforcement each time they see the word. The ladies did a wonderful job with their presentation and they showed valuable information in their findings. Their presentation showed me that when it is my time to present, explaining it in enough detail so that the viewers could implement it makes the presentation worth while and interesting.
The second presentation I attended included three interns that focused on vocabulary. One focused on vocabulary through art, the other through Word Wall words, and the other through graphic organizers. Their presentations alone gave me three new strategies to teach vocabulary that I never thought of before. I enjoyed the presentations because the Interns showed flaws as well as positive findings. This allowed me to relax and remember that just because something did not turn out exactly as I would want it to, does not mean that it's a failure. I learned through their presentations to think of my inquiry as a learning process. If something does not turn out exactly as you wanted it, think of it as a challenge to change it for future implementations. Most of the information they presented showed effective implementations and positive findings. The presentations showed me to look to see why something was working for some students and not others. I believe each of the interns' presentations showed great ways to present vocabulary to students. It gave me the idea of introducing different strategies of vocabulary comprehension to students and allowing them to choose which is most appealing to them so they can implement it in their own, individualized learning. This also gives them a sense of accountability for their own learning.
All in all, the presentations were all very beneficial. They each provided me with a sense of direction and guidelines for my intern year inquiry. I found as a participant, the inquiry celebration was more relatable and understandable.
