Integrating iPads in Grade 3 Inquiry to Promote Lifelong Learners

Danielle Peters

91057166

ETEC 511

UBC MET Vancouver

Francis Feng

Word Count: 2678

December 12, 2016

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British Columbia’s re-designed curriculum highlights the importance of

developing each child’s individual core competencies. “Core competencies are sets of

intellectual, personal, and social and emotional proficiencies that all students need to

develop in order to engage in deep learning and life-long learning” (BC Ministry of

Education, 2016). The incorporation of educational technology to increase student

engagement through discovery learning (Bruner, 1961) in grade 3 fosters critical

thinking. Instructional design that uses iPad mobile applications to guide grade 3 students

through the inquiry process in British Columbia classrooms will create life-long learners

who can “build up a continually evolving body of knowledge all through life” (Faure,

1972) in order to effectively collaborate.

By examining the definition and nature of lifelong learning in conjunction with

the new BC curriculum for grade 3, this paper will attempt to justify how the

incorporation of iPads in each classroom will support deep understanding and utilization

of knowledge and skills. Instructional design, by the teacher, that uses mobile

applications to help organize and guide the inquiry project will help develop critical

thinking in grade 3. “B.C.’s new curriculum brings together two features that most

educators agree are essential for 21st century learning: a concept-based approach to

learning, and a focus on the development of competencies, to foster deeper, more

transferable learning” (BC Ministry of Education, 2016).

Inquiry-based learning is at the center of British Columbia’s new curriculum.

“Through demonstration of the core and curricular competencies, students are bound to

form questions that provide teachers with insight into their thinking. Questions generated
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by both students and teachers are critical to encouraging a sense of wonder and curiosity

among students” (BC Ministry of Education, 2016). Inquiry-based learning can include

project-based learning and problem-based learning, where students demonstrate their

curiosity by posing questions about the world. As their curiosity sparks, our goal as

educators is to help them move from curiosity to understanding as we guide them through

the inquiry process of investigating, collecting data, discussing, creating, and reflecting.

Inquiry-based learning supports critical thinking because it “concerns itself with the

creative approach of combining the best approaches to instruction, including explicit

instruction and small-group and guided learning, in an attempt to build on students’

interests and ideas, ultimately moving students forward in their paths of intellectual

curiosity and understanding” (Ontario Ministry of Education).

Inquiry-based learning stems from Jerome Bruner, who proposed his famous

discovery learning structure. “In the first place, the child will make what he learns his

own, will fit his discovery into the interior world of culture that he creates for himself.

Equally important, discovery and the sense of confidence it provides is the proper reward

for learning. It is a reward that, more over, strengthens the very process that is at the heart

of education – disciplined inquiry” (Bruner, 1962). Bruner proposed a theory that, “any

subject can be taught effectively in some intellectually honest form to any child at any

stage of development” (Bruner, 1960). Bruner’s Discovery learning concept places

students at the center of their learning process, which sparks curiosity and increases

student engagement because they have the power of choice over what they want to learn

and how they will navigate themselves through the inquiry process.
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British Columbia’s new curriculum suggests that less content, paired with deeper

learning, will help students develop their core competencies, specifically critical thinking.

Teacher’s need to be facilitators through this process by encouraging students to ask the

right type of questions, connect their ideas, and guide them down the inquiry path. To

promote inquiry, “bulletin boards with headings such as: Our Wonderings, Our

Discoveries, Our Action Plan for Inquiry, or See, Think, Wonder reinforce the growth of

students’ understanding and promote inclusion in the learning community. It is a good

idea to leave evidence of students’ questions and thinking on display for as long as

possible, even when the class has moved on to another topic. This promotes connections

with the new content” (Jackson, 2013).

Inquiry or Discovery learning in grade 3 can be spontaneous or developed over

time. A student may have an ‘I Wonder’ question that pertains to a short story read in

language arts, or it may be a question that connects to a big idea in science or social

studies. Regardless of how the thinking process develops, iPads provide instant access

and knowledge for the inquiry process to take root. Students are encouraged to explore,

question, and discover. A student may answer an inquiry question in half an hour, while

others may develop critical thinking and reasoning over a few weeks. As educators, when

students ask inquiry questions, we need to celebrate and encourage students to take

ownership over their learning. By providing students with the technology and supported

apps, alongside effective scaffolding, students will be able to work through discovery

learning independently, as the teacher facilitates and guides the learning. Students also

need a variety of creative ways to demonstrate evidence of their learning, while educating
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their peers. This process effectively leads to collaboration and further student

engagement, as students with similar inquiry questions may team up and work together.

Instructional design that incorporates iPad apps to guide grade 3 students through

the inquiry process will increase student engagement while promoting critical thinking. In

the beginning phase, teachers will need to demonstrate the function of these applications

to help organize student’s questions and connections during the overview and planning

stage. ‘Popplet’ (available free on Apple) is easy to use for primary aged students. It

provides ready-to-use layouts that help students organize the direction of their inquiry.

Students can easily move ideas around a central big idea or leading question. This app

helps students think and understand visually. Similar apps that can be introduced and

modeled include, ‘SimpleMind and Intuitive Mind Mapping’ (available free on Apple)

and ‘Coggle’ (Available free on Apple). The use of an app to help in mapping student’s

questions and connections is vital because of the vast amount of knowledge available.

“Thus, discovery learning cannot be free inquiry, a random trial-and-error approach. We

cannot afford to allow students to beat around the bushes and acquire bits and pieces of

information; they must get to relevant information and grasp how the pieces are related.

In short, students are supposed to discover the structure of a discipline” (Takaya, 2013).

Bruner says, “Grasping the structure of a subject is understanding it in a way that permits

many other things to be related to it meaningfully. To learn structure, in short, is to learn

how things are related” (Bruner, 1960).

Mind mapping applications ensure students are able to organize their inquiry

questions, piece together thoughts and ideas, and connect them to relevant research. At
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the heart of the inquiry process, students will discover what information is important and

how to effectively make meaning. This process develops critical thinking skills as

students evaluate information and make decisions on what information is relevant in

answering their inquiry questions successfully and judging whether the information

makes sense. “Help students understand the structure of the new information. Bruner

stressed that students should understand the structure of the information to be learned. He

felt that teachers needed to organize the information in a way that would be most easily

grasped by the student. Bruner suggested that knowledge could be structured by a set of

actions, by means of graphics, or by means of symbols or logical statements” (Dias and

Hassard, 2013). The use of iPad technology in the classroom can support differentiated

learning. Mind mapping applications can be used with simple images and symbols for

children who are struggling to read at grade level.

In Singapore, a research study observed a grade 3 science class in 2009 and the

introduction of mobile technologies to support inquiry learning. “The results show that

among the six mixed-ability classes in primary (grade) 3 in the school, the experimental

class performed better than other classes as measured by traditional assessments in the

science subject. With mobilized lessons, students were found to learn science in personal,

deep and engaging ways as well as developed positive attitudes toward mobile learning.

Through our observations of the enacted lessons and our analysis of student-created

artefacts using their mobile devices, we detect a shift in the classroom behaviour after the

introduction of the mobile devices. The class comprised 39 students. The students were

more engaged and are able to conduct research by formulating questions, conducting

online search, collecting data, and producing quality animations and concept maps, as
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well as other digital artefacts to reflect their understanding and negotiate meanings

collectively. (Looi, C.-K., Zhang, B., Chen, W., Seow, P., Chia, G., Norris, C. and

Soloway, E. 2011).

Some students will struggle with independent inquiry projects. A website that

helps spark curiosity among primary aged students is Wonderopolis, brought to life by

the National Center for Families Learning (Wonderopolis, 2016). “Wonderopolis is an

interactive, award-winning learning platform that ignites the natural curiosity in all of us

to deliberately and simultaneously address skills-based learning and the “Four Cs” of 21st

century skills (critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity)—both in

and out of the classroom. Lauded by educators and students across K-12, Wonderopolis

is offered completely free of charge” (Wonderopolis, 2016). Wonderopolis also provides

information and non-fiction text that is easy to understand and grade-level appropriate.

“Mobile learning affects traditional student learning strategies, both in and out of the

classroom, by extending the environment and the opportunity for engagement” (Jeng,

Wu, Huang, Tan, & Yang, 2010), learning opportunities that can be autonomously driven

by curiosity using smart devices” (Camargo, Bary, Boly, Rees, & Smith, 2011).

Students in grade 3 who are struggling readers or English language learners would

benefit from educational technology to aid them in the inquiry process. Students often

feel derailed because they are unable to read and comprehend the material. Educational

technology offers iPad apps with text-to-speech capability. Text-to-speech apps are

especially helpful for students with dyslexia. ‘Voice Dream Reader’ (available on Apple),

‘NaturalReader Text to Speech HD’ (available on Apple), and ‘Aloud!’ (available on

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Apple). ‘Voice Dream Reader’ supports PDF, Plain text, MS Word, and Web articles.

Students no longer need to wait for teacher assistance to help them navigate or read an

article. This app also feature 27 languages, which supports differentiated learning by

providing students with little to no English the opportunity to fully comprehend a

concept.

When students are ready to share their findings, they will use creative thinking to

decide which media platform they are going to use to communicate and share evidence of

their learning. Students can choose to use audio, cartoons, slides, and video to

demonstrate their learning on an iPad.Educational technology provides many platforms to

present in personal and engaging ways. ‘Toontastic’ (available on Apple) allows a

student to make an animated story similar to a puppet show, which uses his or her own

voice. Similar to ‘Puppet Pals’ (available on Apple), students enjoy sharing what they

learned through discovery learning in the form of a story. ‘iMovie’ (available on Apple)

allows students to include video, photos, and audio. ‘Prezi’ (available on Apple) uses a

single canvas, which improves creativity skills as students navigate how to present their

information through different pathways, rather then swipable slides. Students have the

opportunity to use pre-made presentations.

To foster collaboration and encourage students to learn from each other, inquiry

can be done in partnerships or small groups. “The use of the mobile devices fostered

collaboration among students. Some students paired up to work on their assignments

during class time. The mobile devices mediated the face-to-face interaction as the

students worked on their individual assignment on their personal smartphone and

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interdependently with their friend. They fostered social interaction over the sharing of

videos, the sharing of answers they found on the Internet and towards making group

decisions, using information from the Internet to resolve conflicting individual ideas and

integrate their ideas, teaching one another new software they have learned, and helping

one another to solve technical problems” (Looi, C.-K., 2011).

Discovery learning in grade 3 develops the concept of lifelong learning. The inquiry

process empowers students to ask valid questions and invest in finding the resources and

information to answer their questions, while using critical thinking to decide which

information is relevant and important to share. The inquiry process might also raise new

questions. “The concept of lifelong education covers the entire educational process, from

the point of view of the individual and of society. It first concerns the education of

children and, while helping the child to live his own life as he deserves to do, its essential

mission is to prepare the future adult for various forms of autonomy and self-learning.

This later learning requires many wide-ranging educational structures and cultural

activities to be developed for adults. These, while existing for their own purposes, are

also a pre-condition for reforming initial education. Lifelong education thereby becomes

the instrument and expression of a circular relationship comprising all the forms,

expressions and moments of the educative act. Education from now on can no longer be

defined in relation to a fixed content which has to be assimilated, but must be conceived

of as a process in the human being, who thereby learns to express himself to

communicate and to question the world, through his various experiences, and

increasingly—all the time—to fulfill himself” (Unesco). Educational technology supports

discovery learning, thus creating lifelong learners who are inspired to ask questions about
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the world around them and investigate which path they will take in their inquiry study.

Lifelong learners also inspire other students when they have the opportunity to share their

project and evidence of their learning. Discovery learning presentations spark curiosity

with other students, empowering others to ask their own questions. “Every individual

must be in a position to keep learning throughout his life. The idea of lifelong education

is the keystone of the learning society” (Unesco).

The inquiry process should start in the primary years so that it is embedded in a

child’s framework. Students need to feel that their questions are significant, no matter

how big or small. By encouraging students to observe, engage, and question the world

around the, they will feel more confident to take initiative when it comes to investigating

the questions they have. Discovery learning needs to be engaging and exciting. This will

support children’s cognitive and intellectual development to establish and further develop

critical thinking skills. “The commission said that 'society requires the acceptance of the

belief that education is life and life is education; the belief that people will spend periods

throughout their lives in some structured learning experience, that they can leave and

return as they see fit and as they can meet certain pedagogical demands. Under such

assumptions, our early years of schooling can concentrate on learning how to learn, and

should be oriented towards social and emotional as well as intellectual development. This

will include the appropriate use of educational technology for independent learning”

(Unesco).

The goal of inquiry learning in grade 3 is to foster life-long learners at an early

developmental stage. The incorporation of educational technology will support students

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in future learning, as a tool to assist them in researching answers. Using technology

effectively in the classroom for educational purposes will further support and promote

use outside the classroom. Students who see iPads as educational tools instead of merely

entertainment will understand the impact they have on their future learning. Providing

students the tools they need in a structured learning environment will help prepare them

for their future. Ipads are important learning tools because they encourage collaboration.

Students are able to collaborate in and outside of the classroom, teaching and learning

from each other. Ipads support differentiated learning, so that each students learning style

and their developmental learning stage are nurtured. Instructional design that uses iPad

mobile applications to guide grade 3 students through the inquiry process in British

Columbia classrooms will create life-long learners that are learning to think critically,

share evidence of their learning, and collaborate with their peers, in order to effectively

prepare them for their future.

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