Explanation

When I was in college, I once took a test that lasted 3 class periods (that is, the longer Tuesday-Thursday class periods). It was brutal, but it was also one of the only tests in which I actually learned while I was taking it. The entire class, in fact (and the test was no exception), was aimed not at getting us to remember information but at getting us to look at new information with certain lenses, intentions, and abilities. It was actually teaching us how to think, not what (a distinction supported by many but practiced by few, in my perhaps cynical opinion).

Interestingly, this wasn't a political science or literature class, it was a grammar class, and what I've tried to do here is mimic in some degree what my professor did. Instead of giving us worksheets with technical terms, definitions, examples, and exercises to help us understand the grammatical principle, she would give us a collection of words. Our job was then to organize the words, phrases, or sentences into categories; give an explanation for why we created the categories we did; and explain some of the differences that existed between the categories. Usually, we'd end up defining the term or explaining the concept we didn't know, and she would then connect what we'd figured out with the technical term and definition. It was not only an effective mode of instruction, it was also often enjoyable, though certainly frustrating at times.

It wasn't until much later that I realized her methods were a perfect example of inquiry-based learning. What surprised me about that discovery was that she hadn't tried to connect grammar directly to our lives at every point in time or present real-world problems in which a particular grammar concept was needed (which I would've thought were the nature of inquiry-based learning). Instead, she inspired our curiosity about grammar itself by creating situations in which we weren't memorizing definitions, steps, and rules, but rather organizing, categorizing, and defining elements of language. It was a tough process at times, no doubt, but it paid off. We were able to wonder, think critically, and problem solve (wow, how many buzz words can I fit in one sentence) in a grammar class! How crazy is that?! Anyway, I'd probably better stop geeking out about this. Suffice it to say, I want you to take away two things: (1) the concept behind this kind of grammar instruction isn't mine, and (2) it's actually kind of cool.