I was reading an awesome post on setting up for inquiry-based learning on Mind/Shift (http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2013/03/creating-classrooms-we-need-8-ways-into-inquiry-learning/) and the author had posted this video by teacher Diana Laufenberg, "How to Learn? From Mistakes.". She talks about the need for a shift in our educational system like the one Thomas and Brown discuss in A New Culture of Learning. Laufenberg mentions near the end that our "one right answer" form of assessing children's knowledge is not the right thing to do. I whole-heartedly agree with her comments. She hits home the idea that children need to make mistakes to learn in an environment where they connect what they are learning to their lives.
read. Discussions can provide students with opportunities to express their understanding and learn from each other, but only if some form of authentic dialogue takes place. " ( http://floridareview.its-about-time.com/pdf/articles/talking_science.pdf)
I worry about teachers who do not take the time to use inquiry and discussions in their classrooms. There are so many challenges in our "educational landscape" (Laufenberg, above) for us as teachers. The pressures of high-stakes testing, district-mandated teaching programs, and fear of allowing students to guide some of their learning makes it very difficult. Another challenge, at least at the elementary level, that I experience is the need for students to learn to read, write, and do mathematics. There are many skills they are required to learn to be proficient at as well. I guess it is a balancing act; students need to learn to read, write, and do mathematics within a classroom approach that encourages critical thinking, inquiry, and that shift of learning towards the "where" and "how".
http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2013/03/creating-classrooms-we-need-8-ways-into-inquiry-learning/
Schwartz, Y. et al.(Summer, 2009). Talking science: Classroom discussions and their role in inquiry-based learning environments. Published in The Science Teacher. Retrieved from: http://floridareview.its-about-time.com/pdf/articles/talking_science.pdf
Stephenson, N. (2013). http://www.thinkinginmind.com/2011/07/the-starting-point-for-inquiry/
Thomas, D. & John Seely Brown. (2011). A new culture of learning: Cultivating the imagination for a world of constant change.