Final reflection

Final reflection

Like Kuhlthau's ISP suggests, I started my inquiry with a sense of optimism. I thought that my initial questions provided an area for re-search that tied together three distinct yet possibly interrelated concepts - interactions, space and technology. I thought that I could find research that married these concepts in the context of inquiry learning.

My initial exploration quickly forced me to focus on the physical environment but still led to frustration as I realised that the nexus of inquiry learning and physical space was not going to be as neatly packaged as I'd hoped.

The research on learning environments was not focused on one particular pedagogy. It was instead focused on the big picture - developing independent and social learners. This triggered me to think about teachers as designers of learning environments that develop the general capabilities necessary for a complex and dynamic society.

Staying on course, I found success using more precise and focused searches through A+ Education which gave me a sense of direction and confidence. Surprisingly, my most satisfying learning was a result the network effect - people referencing other people's work. Just a couple relevant hits on Google Scholar and Twitter led me to more and more resources that finally gave me a sense of accomplishment.

I learnt that there is no perfect space for inquiry learning, no furniture pack or seating plan that allows students to move from station to station depending on their progress through an inquiry journey. Instead, we must guide students to develop metacognition and autonomy. This includes the capacity to identify suitable ways of approaching a task, and the awareness of available affordances to support these activities. Physical space, as with technology, provides opportunities to engage with artefacts and people in new ways to enhance learning. This complex set of skills, capabilities and dispositions form part of the 21^st century learner we should be aiming to develop.