This semester my free inquiry was focused on gluten free baking, and honestly, I ended up enjoying it even more than I expected. At the beginning, I thought it might feel repetitive doing one recipe a week, but it actually turned into something I looked forward to. It gave me a reason to slow down, try something new, and share it with others.

One thing I realized pretty quickly is that gluten free baking is not as straightforward as just swapping flour. Some weeks went really well, like my muffins and cookies, and other weeks definitely didn’t turn out how I expected. I even had one week where I used a photo from my favourite breakfast place because keeping up with a new recipe every single week was honestly a bit challenging. That being said, it made the whole process feel more real and less about being perfect.

If I could give advice to myself at the start of the semester, I would say don’t overthink it and don’t expect every recipe to turn out perfectly. The point of the inquiry is to explore and try things, not to get it right every time. I would also tell other 336 students to pick something they actually care about or enjoy in their everyday life. It made a huge difference for me because it never really felt like “extra work.”

What I enjoyed most about this inquiry was being able to experiment and then share the results with people. Bringing baking into class and having others try it was honestly one of the best parts. It made the learning feel more interactive and fun, and it connected really well to the idea of learning through doing.

In terms of EdTech tools, I mostly used TikTok and YouTube to find recipes and ideas. These were super helpful because I could actually see the process instead of just reading instructions. I also used my blog posts each week to document what worked, what didn’t, and what I would change next time. Looking back at those posts helped me see my progress over time.

Overall, this inquiry helped me realize that learning doesn’t always have to be formal or structured to be meaningful. Trying, failing, adjusting, and improving each week was a big part of the process, and it made the experience more engaging.