Inquiry- and Project-based Learning

Throughout history, education has changed and evolved. Inquiry-based learning and project-based learning are two similar educational approaches that are old ideas, but are becoming more and more popular through the technological revolution. Both these approaches rely heavily on technology to make education child-centered and meaningful. They encourage children to be the advocates of their own learning. They detest the old style of fact recall, and instead center learning around the quest for information. Students need to know how to find information and draw conclusions based upon that information; not just memorize the information. All too often, students make it all the way through high school and enter college, where professors are seeing a huge lack of motivation and knowledge of how to research and answer questions insightfully instead of just rote recalling of facts.

The field of behavior analysis has historically gotten a "bad rap" for creating rote learners. ABA is a very specific type of teaching, and there is an incredibly fine line between teaching to rote and teaching to generalization. The hardest part of the learning process for most children with autism is generalization. For example, a child may learn that a toy car is a car. But, if they are only exposed to that one car being a car, they will most likely think that toy is the only thing called a "car." So, as a behavior therapist, you must expose them to all kinds of cars, including different pictures, different toy cars, and actual cars. You must also ask these questions in their natural environment. All too often, a child can label and identify all these things at a table, but when you ask them things while not at a table, they look at you like your speaking German. Generalization is often the missing link in the learning process, and when taught, the child usually becomes more responsive across the board. Essential questions and unit questions require a more sophisticated type of thinking. Even though a child with autism may have knowledge well beyond his age level, he may have an incredibly tough time communicating what he is thinking to you, so instead of an answer, you get a blank stare or a punch in the face. In my field, we can only address behaviors that are observable and measurable. Therefore, the behavior of thinking cannot be analyzed because it is not measurable. So, before we can ask questions that probably will not evoke a response or will evoke a response of frusturation, we must first teach and reinforce communication.

I did my EQ on citizenship, but I would probably use a different EQ with children with autism depending upon their level and behaviors. For example, if a child had a hard time making friends, which is typical of these kids, I would probably state an EQ of "What is a friend?" But, the process of answering this question would be to help the child first understand the word "friend." Then I would help him think of qualities that make good friends. He will probably need varied levels of prompting to lower his frustration level and set him up for success. My original EQ and UQs are:

EQ= What makes someone a good person?

This question meets the constructs of Essential questions because it is open to different opinions and does not have one right answer. Students can think deeply about this question and define their own idea of a good person. This question is very broad and open to discussions, and it is also a good question to break down into subjects.

UQ1= What do you do to be a good citizen?
UQ2= Which person who is known for their good citizenship do you look up to most?
UQ3= How can you promote and encourage good citizenship in America?

These unit questions meet the constructs of Unit Questions because they are all open- ended and thought-provoking. They require that students think about the question and encourage
exploration. It is also good for students this age to begin thinking of their own values and learning what makes a good citizen. They also let students see that even they can make an impact in the world. It also aligns with Bloom's/Gardener's view of learning because this one subject can be stretched into linquistic, visual spatial, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and bodily kinesthetic. It can be linquistic by having kids list characteristics of a good citizen and writing a letter on what it means to be a good citizen, for example. This one topic can be stretched into a number of activities in which students are actively engaged and take part in their own learning.