TAIHAPE SCHOOLS’ ICT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CLUSTER

Barb WallisICT PD FacilitatorTaihape Primary SchoolHuia StreetTaihape

A Learning and Teaching Tool

The inquiry process is just that: a process.

Our society is becoming increasingly larger and more complexly diverse. Young people

must develop an understanding for the complexities of modern life.

We must educate our young so they can participate as responsible members in

society.

What does inquiry-What does inquiry-based learning look based learning look

like?like?

Students view themselves as learners in the process of learning.

•They look forward to learning. •They demonstrate a desire to learn more. •They seek to collaborate and work cooperatively with teacher and peers. •They are more confident in learning, demonstrate a willingness to modify ideas and take calculated risks, and display appropriate skepticism.

      

Students accept an "invitation to learn" and willingly engage in an exploration process.

 

•They exhibit curiosity and ponder observations. •They move around, selecting and using the materials they need. •They confer with classmates and teacher about observations and questions. •They try out some of their own ideas.

Students raise questions, propose explanations, and use observations.

 

•They ask questions (verbally and through actions). •They use questions that lead them to activities generating further questions or ideas. •They observe critically, as opposed to casually looking or listening. •They value and apply questions as an important part of learning. •They make connections to previous ideas.

Students plan and carry out learning activities.

 

•They design ways to try out their ideas, not always expecting to be told what to do. •They plan ways to verify, extend, confirm, or discard ideas. •They carry out activities by: using materials, observing, evaluating, and recording information. •They sort out information and decide what is important. •They see detail, detect sequences and events, notice change, and detect differences and similarities.

Students communicate using a variety of methods.

 

•They express ideas in a variety of ways, including journaling , drawing, reports and graphing. •They listen, speak, and write about learning activities with parents, teacher, and peers. •They use the language of learning, apply the skills of processing information, and develop their own "ground rules" appropriate for learning.

What does inquiry What does inquiry learning look like learning look like for the teacher?for the teacher?

The teacher reflects on the purpose and makes plans for inquiry learning.

 

•He plans ways for each learner to be actively engaged in the learning process. She understands the necessary skills and knowledge needed for inquiry learning. He understands and plans ways to encourage and enable the learner to take increasing responsibility for his learning. She ensures that classroom learning is focused on relevant and applicable outcomes. He is prepared for unexpected questions or suggestions from the learner. She prepares the classroom environment with the necessary learning tools, materials, and resources for active involvement of the learner.

The teacher facilitates classroom learning.

 

•The teacher facilitates plans focusing on setting content learning in a conceptual framework. They also stress skill development and model frameworks for success. •She accepts that teaching is also a learning process. •He asks questions, encouraging HOTS that leads to more questions. •She values and encourages responses and, when these responses convey misconceptions, effectively explores the causes and appropriately guides the learner.

The teacher facilitates classroom learning.

 

•He is constantly alert to learning obstacles and guides learners when necessary. •She asks many Which, Why? How do you know? and What is the evidence? type of questions. •He makes student assessment an ongoing part of the facilitation of the learning process.

The The Inquiry/Research Inquiry/Research

CycleCycle

Turning information into learning

Answers to essential questions can not be found

– they must be invented

Decide:Decide: Identifying and listing the questions you need to explore (Inspiration: mind mapping)

Ask: Are my questions clear and well focussed and do they require higher level thinking skills to research? What are my key ideas, key words?

Questions are at the heart of inquiry learning.

While questions are also a part of the traditional classroom, the sources, purposes, and levels of questioning are quite different. In the traditional classroom, the

teacher is frequently the questioner. Questions are usually intended to

provoke feedback about a reading or activity assignment.

In an inquiry classroom, the teacher asks questions that are more open

and reflective in nature.

Appropriate questioning techniques are important in an inquiry-based classroom, especially in the Junior classrooms where they become a

foundation for self-initiated questioning.

Plan:Plan: Developing a strategy to find pertinent information rapidly, sources and resources

Ask:Ask: Have I created subsidiary questions to help structure information gathering and do I know how to share information I find? What is my time frame?

Gather:Gather: Harvesting information which casts light on the key questions, skimming and scanning

Ask:Ask: Have I used a variety of resources and carefully selected only the information that answered my questions? Is my information stored in a logical and systematic way?

Sort, sift and analyse:Sort, sift and analyse: Rearranging the puzzle pieces looking for patterns

AskAsk: Have I missed any major information sources? Have I repeated any information? Do any questions or the information need reorganising to be used effectively? Can I find the patterns?

Synthesize:Synthesize:

Making sense of the puzzle pieces – getting the picture

Ask: Can I present clear logical answers to my questions?

Evaluate:Evaluate:

Figuring out what else is missing, what else is needed

Ask: Can I plan a presentation or report from what I have learnt? What else might help achieve this? What is the best way to show what I have learnt? Is anything missing?

Report:Report:

Sharing insights with others persuasively

Ask yourself: Will others learn from what I have done? Is my final learning product the very best I can make it? What will I do differently next time?

The Research/

Inquiry Process made simpler!

ASKASK

It begins with the desire to discover. Meaningful questions are inspired by

genuine curiosity about real-world experiences.

A question or a problem comes into focus at this stage, and the learner begins to

define or describe what it is. .

Some real examples of questions in this stage in the process are:

"What makes a poem poetry?" "Where do chickens come from and how

does an egg 'work'?" "Why does the moon change shape?"

Questions naturally lead to the next stage in the process: investigation

INVESTIGATEINVESTIGATE

Taking the curious impulse and putting it into action is what we call the

investigation process. At this stage the learner begins to gather information:

researching resources, studying, crafting an experiment, observing, or

interviewing, to name a few.

The learner may recast the question, refine a line of query, or plunge down a new path that the original question

did not-or could not-anticipate.

The information-gathering stage becomes a self-motivated process

that is wholly owned by the engaged learner.

CREATECREATE

As the information gathered in the investigation stage begins, the

learner begins to make connections.

The ability at this stage to synthesize meaning is the creative

spark that forms all new knowledge.

The learner now undertakes the creative task of shaping significant new thoughts, ideas, and theories outside of his/her prior experience.

DISCUSSDISCUSS

At this point in the circle of inquiry, learners share their new ideas with

others. The learner begins to ask others about their own experiences and

investigations.

Shared knowledge is a community-building process, and the meaning of their investigation begins to take on greater relevance in the context

of the learner's society.

Comparing notes, discussing conclusions, and sharing

experiences are all examples of this process in action.

REFLECTIONREFLECTION

Reflection is just that: taking the time to look back at the question, the research

path, and the conclusions made.

The learner steps back, takes inventory, makes observations, and

possibly makes new decisions.

Has a solution been found? Do new questions come into light? What might those questions be?

And so it begins again; thus the circle of inquiry.

Ultimately, the importance of inquiry learning is that students learn how to continue learning.

This is something they can take with them throughout life -- beyond parental help and

security, beyond a textbook, beyond the time of a teacher,

beyond school -- to a time when they will often be alone in their

learning.

AssessmentAssessment

Some teachers use one-on-one assessment of students following the end of a study unit or a learning activity.

While one-on-one assessment is time consuming, it can be a very effective way to learn what the student knows.

Individual assessment can reveal the student's perception of the following:

•How the student views her individual effort. •How well she participated in class. •The quality of her work. •How satisfied the student is with her work. •Things that she found difficult to figure out. •Things she found interesting and enjoyable. •How she might improve her performance. •How her skills and knowledge improved. •What she viewed as important about the unit of study.

Key PrincipalsKey Principals

Principle 1 :All learning activities should focus on using information-processing skills (the research process or the simple version) and applying the "ground rules" for learning as a means to learn content set in a broad conceptual context.

Principle 2:Inquiry learning puts the learner at the centre of an active learning process, and the elements (the teacher, instructional resources and technology) are prepared or aligned to support the learner.

Principle 3 :The role of the teacher becomes one of facilitating the learning process. The teacher also becomes a learner by finding out more about the learner and the process of inquiry learning.

Principle 4 :What is assessed is what is valued. Therefore, more emphasis needs to be placed on assessing the development of information-processing skills, the "ground rules" for learning, and conceptual understandings -- rather than just the content of the field.