GALLERY #1: INQUIRY-BASED LEARNING LESSON PLAN
Inquiry-based learning (IBL) is founded on students' examinations of and responses to complicated, real-world problems as a means of further exploring particular topics in a certain field and better understanding how those topics are relevant in their lives and future careers. IBL is designed to be largely collaborative and student-driven, with only minimal guidance from instructors when necessary. The overarching questions/problems posed to students can be vague or abstract, allowing ample room for individual interpretation and exploration, or relatively narrow, though each problem must be complex and unable to be addressed with one single response or one correct answer. It must be a debatable or multi-faceted issue for which there are multiple solutions or responses (none of which is more "correct" than the other). Students gain knowledge on the subject through the direct, innovative application of that subject--they learn by doing and using.
For this lesson, my students will be asked to explore whether or not Jay Gatsby, the protagonist of F. Scott Fitzgerald's timeless novel The Great Gatsby, was truly a great man, as the book's title implies. They will collaborate in teams to develop well-structured arguments to formally debate this issue in class, using textual evidence to support their conclusions. The students will be largely responsible for planning out and dividing up the preparatory work; I will be present mostly to supervise and provide additional scaffolding as needed. Ultimately my goal is to get the students to consider what makes a great man in general--Is it financial and material wealth? Is it the ability to reinvent oneself? Is it unwavering optimism and hope? They will be forced to grapple with each of these questions as they construct their arguments for or against Gatsby's supposed greatness.