My Reflections
Coming into this course, my main concern was whether incorporating inquiry into adult learning would be appropriate. I was wondering whether it would work. How will adults feel about the concept? The more readings I completed, the more convinced I was that an inquiry approach in adult education IS the way to go and more importantly I was already incorporating it into my practice. Knowles et al. (2012) write that eliciting the person’s knowledge and understanding first, is an important principle in adult learning (p.21). This constructivist approach is useful for my students because they are incorporating the didactic portion of their education into practice. Bai (2015) suggests that it is important to show students where to look but not what to see. He writes that “inquiry is our quest for meaning or sense-making, value, purpose, perspective, and awareness” (p.25) and that “the most valuable aspect of inquiry is gaining perspective”; therefore, a group of individuals exchanging ideas is essential (Bai, 2015, p.26). Throughout the course, I learned that inquiry improves critical thinking skills which are absolutely necessary for a respiratory therapist who needs to be able to troubleshoot any respiratory emergencies and act fast.
One of the challenges that I faced is being the only healthcare professional in the class. Even though I appreciated the exchange of ideas with my classmates and I was able to incorporate new knowledge into my practice, I wish I received more feedback from people who have experience in my role (or a similar role). I think that this would have allowed me to even more critically think about the limitations of my workshop. On the other hand, this experience gave me the opportunity to be creative with my work and keep my mind open to new ideas. That, I think, is invaluable. This brings me to a success that I had while creating my workshop: creativity. I feel that at first I felt uncomfortable with allowing students to guide sessions too much; however, when I let go, I gained an appreciation for why students should be given an opportunity to ask more questions and guide their own learning. Green & Kreuter (2005) write that adult learners are autonomous, self, directed, use personal experiences to enhance learning and are competency based learners (p.17). Therefore, some teaching strategies that are effective for them include problem-centered learning, drawing on meaningful experiences, encouraging active participation, application of new knowledge through role-playing and hands-on practice (Merriam et al., 2007, p.94). All these strategies and preferences point to an inquiry approach.
The planning process of the project inspired me to keep an open-mind which made me worried because I was not sure what the “best” way to organize it would be. I appreciated the feedback from the instructor to just focus on the topic and not think about its delivery in Phase 1. For me, this took away stress and I was able to research the topic that I am passionate about: breathlessness. The more I researched about inquiry and medical training, the more answers I received until the four day workshop came naturally. I simply wrote down what the workshop would look like and in the moment everything made sense. My take away from this is: take it one step at a time! It is impossible to come up with a workshop if we think about the delivery of the content only. For me it was important to allow myself to brainstorm, ask questions, share ideas, be open to feedback and keep reading about the topic until the workshop was born. I think that having the freedom to decide on the topic was also really helpful because I was intrinsically motivated to do my best. I was excited about the topic. The feedback from my peers and the professor allowed me to see if my vision was shared by others or if I was missing something.
There are three things that I learned about inquiry in this course
- The importance of asking essential questions as described by McTighe & Wiggins (2013)
- The value of ongoing and timely feedback as described by Black (2016) and Friesen (2010)
- Inquiry is most effective when students “repeatedly generate and articulate their knowledge, ask deep questions, self-explain, and justify their reasoning” (Scott et al., 2018, p.41).
If I were to do this project again, I would like more input from adult educators and those in the healthcare field. For me this would be valuable because the feedback may be more specific based on the context. I am also doing more research about an inquiry approach to education in medical fields to get more ideas that I can incorporate into my practice. I look forward to incorporating more inquiry with my students and assessing their progression. I predict, that my students will do better overall through this approach as compared to lecturing.
Thank you for all your feedback, comments and support in this course! I had a great time learning. Stay safe & wash your hands!
–Iliana