INQUIRY

Learning about inquiry has helped me to become more observant while spending time in my PDS. By being more observant, I am able to pinpoint areas or strategies of teaching that I do not fully understand or need to improve upon before I go into the teaching field independently. For example: recently while thinking about inquiry at my PDS, I realized that I was not comfortable with enforcing punishment to the young students when necessary, and often avoided doing so because I felt bad for them.
Learning about inquiry has also put me into the mindset of constantly questioning and thinking about my environment while in my PDS. I am constantly thinking about if my students are engaged, are they comprehending the lesson, am I meeting thier individual needs, and did I deal with this behavioral problem correctly? I believe thinking in these ways has helped me to teach the students more effectively.
Finally, learning about inquiry has definitely helped me to become more passionate about teaching. It has helped me to apply the teaching theories and strategies that we learn about in our book, to the actual classroom. I now get excited when I recognize "learned helplessness" or successfully reinforce a behavior with a reward.