Background Statement
Considering the extensive knowledge of the material students exhibited during my observation of the class, my expectation of the class was very high. Being an honors class, I was not surprised to see that the vast majority of the students had a yearning to learn the material. Considering my philosophy about teaching the student not the material, these students presented me with the perfect opportunity to apply this philosophy. Their understanding of the subject and their interest to learn the material produces the perfect atmosphere for my style of teaching.
My strategy of teaching the material through interactive media, group work and activities seems to be well suited for this group. Their interest of the subject will ensure that they are focused and involved during group activities. It will also ensure that given a chance they will take an extra step to further their understanding of the material in group work instead of chatting within the groups. This increased productivity during the group activities will increase productivity during the class time.
With a very broad understanding of the subject area, students will have the opportunity to further their understanding the subject by taking the group activities to the next step. They will be in a learning atmosphere where they have the chance to apply most of what they know about science in the activities they will be involved with. These activities are also designed to help students learn new information in addition to what they already know; by using the inquiry based learning technique.
After my teaching experience with this group of students I have gain a better appreciation for the inquiry based learning technique. Even though my application of the technique was not as direct and correct as I would have liked, my students were still able to make the best out of the situation. They were able to apply the concepts being addressed to different situations while drawing back from what they knew and learning something new in the process. Using inquiry helped the students learn a different way to think about the material.