It is important to note that the educational process relies on student engagement and involvement in the knowledge and skills being taught. There is a wide range of approaches to induce greater student engagement. The prologue of the Black Ants and Buddhists, written by Mary Cowhey, is an outstanding demonstration of inquiry-based learning. However, the key challenge is to direct the topic of discussion by asking the right questions and organizing the conversation without being excessively intrusive.
The learning process becomes more engaging by making the topics of interest more relatable and connected to the real world. The case of the ‘black ants’ described in the book sparks a meaningful and valuable discussion about cleanliness, the importance of life, and collective planning (Cowhey, 2006). Although the situation began with an emotionally intense confrontation between ant-crushers and ant-preservers, the result was that the entire class was able to agree on keeping the classroom clean and tidy. However, the productive outcome of the situation was possible due to the teacher’s correct questioning and directing of the conversation. Therefore, it is a challenge to be able to determine the right time and correct type of question at each moment to guide the discussion in a beneficial manner.
In conclusion, asking the right questions and organizing the conversation without being excessively intrusive is the main challenge, but it is critical to direct the topic of discussion. The core benefit of such inquiry-based learning is that it naturally increases student engagement since it is their input that is necessary to drive the discussion. Such a model greatly improves student engagement inherently since it needs student input enabling an active model of studying.
Reference
Cowhey, M. (2006). Black ants and Buddhists: Thinking critically and teaching differently in the primary grades. Stenhouse Publishers.