What... is... that? IBI Urinalysis

On Monday I presented my inquiry based instruction lab.  I’m still not 100% sure on how to present an inquiry based lesson of instruction, but Monday was a great day to start integrating inquiry based learning into my lessons.  I chose to teach a lesson on urinalysis which correlated with my renal system unit which I will be teaching in my vet science 2 class in the spring.  However, there are five things I know about inquiry based instruction that make it what it is they are 1.Question 2. Evidence 3. Evidence 4. Explanation 5. Communication. One things for sure about inquiry based instruction and that is it takes lots of preparation and planning!  Getting my materials list around and envisioning how I would like the lesson and lab to occur in my head and then formulating those thoughts into statements in my lesson takes time.  I enjoyed teaching this lab and wandering around the room and discussing with my students what they were observing and making notes of.  I can definitely see instruction like this could be very enjoyable in the spring if managed properly.

In my lab I had five different urine samples for the students to observe and then later use supplies provided to make educated guesses about what was occurring in these urine samples.  The urine samples ranged from the patient being dehydrated, having a urinary tract infection, pH being irregular, or blood in the urine to name a few.  I think one thing that I did well was allowing for the students to observe the samples and then go over some important definitions used in urinalysis.  This gave the students clarity and the ability to fill out their health chart report given to them after our brief PowerPoint Presentation.  However, at the same time inquiry based instruction is very student structured and allowing for them to formulate questions, so this is something I will need to work on. Maybe I should have had them construct questions and see where it led from there. 

Successes:

·         Preparedness.  I think that I came in ready to teach about urinalysis.  I had my materials laid out and handouts ready to be dispersed at the proper times.  I’ve come to realize preparedness is a large part of the battle. 

·         I think my clarity shined this week.  My students were rarely unsure of the directions I gave them.  I have struggled with clarity of my instructions this semester and I think this week I did much better.

·         I think I did well floating around the classroom speaking with students about their observations, but allowing them to decide what they think might be wrong with the patient.

 

Areas for Improvement:

·         Have enough supplies for all my students!  I realized if I taught this to an entire class the single bottle of pH strips would not have been enough and would have caused learner frustration and most likely disconnect with the activity.  Also, multiple samples and splitting students up into small groups.

·         Make it less teacher structured and allow the students to tailor what it is they are learning and observing.

·         Incorporate more critical thinking questions into my lesson.  Have the students draw on previous knowledge to answer my questions.

 

All in all I was very on edge going into teaching this lesson.  But, my preparedness and confidence helped make this lesson successful.  #sighofreliefafterteaching.  Doing the lab on Monday and watching the video it wasn’t that bad and I am on my way to successfully incorporating inquiry based instruction into my classroom.  I look forward to teaching this lesson again in the spring.