The second module of the Edx course: “Classroom Strategies for Online Learning” discussed the “Exploration Strategy.” This the stage where students search and present their own ideas. With exploration, students get the ownership of their work in that they make discoveries and try out new ideas. It helps them connect their learning in the class to the real world.
Several types of research suggest that lessons that are relational and align with the personal interest of the students are more likely to be part of their long-term memories. This suggests two things for the teachers:
1. The teacher should find ways to connect the learning in the classroom with the student’s personal experiences and interest.
2. Giving students the authority to construct their own knowledge by exploring their own ideas instead of pouring information into their brains.
There are different ways to let students seek their thinking and construct their knowledge:
1. Giving them the ownership to research things on their own.
2. Arranging classroom experiences that encourage them to inquire one another and explore each other’s ideas. This is important because not all minds in one classroom are same. This exchange of ideas and information will let them build their knowledge as a group.
The best part about the classroom (the one they showed in the course module) was that the teacher encouraged the students to examine and analyze the structure of water molecule by equipping them with water molecule kits through which they could explore the properties of water molecules, hands-on.
However, it is not enough to simply leave students on their own with the exploration. Although giving them, ownership of their work is crucial but the teacher too should be part of this exploration by continuously visiting the students individually or in groups, asking them questions to know about the various dimensions of their thinking and guiding it in the appropriate manner. Also, the teacher should identify the common queries and problems that students encounter and addressing them as a whole.
To sum up, with the exploration strategy there are no right or wrong answers to anything and this strategy allows the students to work in a risk-free environment where they can try and test new ideas. Moreover, engagement and exploration go side by side. Letting students explore and seek ideas keeps them engaged and the task at hand becomes meaningful to them. However, it is the teacher who can keep the levels of engagement high through mentoring the students and acting as a facilitator to them.