Read the chapter on Inquiry-based Learning and Teaching. This goes along with the menus that we began to incorporate last summer (Laurie Westphal). Amie Graves made a great video with her class last year on inquiry learning. View that video here: Graves Class Much of Inquiry Learning is the questions asked and the process the students go through. More information about Inquiry Based Learning can be found at http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/inquiry/index.html
Gifted students would be motivated by Inquiry Based Learning. How can you alter a unit of study so that your GT students extend the lesson through Inquiry Based Learning? How could they share with the other students in your classroom. Here is another link to more information on GT students and Inquiry Based Learning. (just keep following the links on the page to more and more information!)
Video about Inquiry Learning: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLQPXd8BiIA
In creating an Inquiry Based classroom, research materials need to be readily available to your students. On your iPad/iTouch you have immediate connection to Safari which will search the Internet. From the Library Resources Page you have access to on-line resources including Encyclopedia Britannica and Kid Info Bits (Magazines and journals). Google has made research very easy…just type in a phrase and you get a hit or 2000 hits. If you haven’t looked at Google lately – you may be surprised at everything it has to offer. Here is a link to the education page: http://www.google.com/apps/intl/en/edu/ . Take some time to peruse the offerings. Look at Kathy Schrock’s list of Google Apps. Explore what she has to offer and then take a look at all of the “MORE and EVEN MORE” apps from the Google site: http://www.google.com/intl/en/about/products/index.html .
Reading: Chapter Inquiry
Reading: Chapter Inquiry
Assignment for Session 6:
- Go through your current curriculum. Is there any unit of study that lends itself to being remade into an Inquiry Based Lesson? Share on the blog what unit of study and the tweaks you can do to push it into Inquiry Based Learning.
- Explore the wonderful world of Google Apps. Try some of the “MORE and EVEN MORE” apps and see how they might fit in with your curriculum. Post one of your favorite APPs and share how you can use it in your classroom on our Wiki for Google Apps. Comments for Google Apps on our Wiki. (We will have to have repeats, however let’s try to cover as many as possible with as many ideas as possible.)
JB - inquiry based learning could be used with my social studies unit on Texas Heroes. By having kids go one step further with their research and find why early Texans came to Texas and continue that research to present times to compare the reasoning of why so many people move to Texas. Just pushing the envelope so that kids are thinking outside the box I think GT students will be more motivated to do the resaerch.
ReplyDeleteMy ukulele unit could easily be made into an inquiry based learning experience. Instead of sticking with an ensemble instructional lesson format, the kids can figure out how to play the instrument themselves after having learned a few basics. I will be there to facilitate and assist but the GT students can fly on their own.
ReplyDeleteAW - In Math, some units can be enriched using Menus. Menus provide the student an opportunity to define the content. I use menus in a place value unit. The students choose different activities and research each one to present their knowledge, understanding, application, and analayzing of place value. In the place value unit, the students can demonstrate higher level thinking skills by evaluating their own learning of the skill. Menus in Math also give students choice in learning. This promotes high interest and motiviation to learn.
ReplyDeleteScience really lends itself well to inquiry based learning. We do lots of activities in our matter unit. We could investigate what materials would keep an ice cube from melting, determine what materials are attracted by magnets, or investigate what the relationship between size and mass.
ReplyDeleteIn my quest for new apps, I found a website that has science lessons that are inquiry based. Here is the web address: http://www.oercommons.org/courses/elementary-science-inquiry-lesson-plans
DeleteThere are plans across grade levels for life, earth/space, and physical science. Great stuff.
KS. In preK we have some great science units that are based on the inquiry method. My favorite is our water unit and our building unit! each group is investigating a different aspect based on their own motivation....fun times!
ReplyDeleteJS Not sure how to use this in library setting...technology learning is probably a better venue! Perhaps regarding movie making. Students can research all the processes that go into movie making and then come together with different parts and make a movie.
ReplyDeleteLD - For this post I think I'll try a language arts unit. We do lots of things in 3rd grade with plot. I have lots of gifted kids, as well as just plain great readers tell me, "I already know how the book will end. All books like this end the same." Then, he/she proceeds to tell how the book will end, usually getting close to what the actual ending is. What if that comment became a question that drove student learning? Instead of it ending there, students could use that comment as a hypothesis. Do all (fill in the blank for genre) books end this way? Students who thrist to know could read lots of titles from that genre and compare the plot structure of each to see if in fact that is true. Then, generalizations can be made based on the data found through reading literature.
ReplyDeletePreK really uses inquiry based learning. Most specifically this year in the building/construction unit. Watching the kiddos experiment and create using all different sorts of supplies is amazing. One week we separate the kids into building teams. Each group would start with their table of supplies and create a base project. We would then ask the kids to rotate to work on the next tables creation. Observing their creativity was priceless. KML
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ReplyDeleteAs I think about the 3rd grade curriculum, the unit of study to consider for Inquiry Based Lessons that jumps out at me is our expository writing work. As we teach children to take a stand on their opinion and provide support, we could give them research time to go deeper into their thinking. Right now, we ask children to take stand and support based on how they already feel. It would be cool to see kids change their thinking as they become more knowledgeable on a particular subject.
Annie Pooh - not quite sure about all of the topics that we will cover in the K curriculum , so I am not sure which topic would be suited for the inquiry based learning. I do love this idea. Just from Amie's video, you can see how excited the children are. They take more ownership in their learning . I think the kids' can initiate better questions than I could.
ReplyDeleteInquiry based learning fits well with our science units. I also like that as I try to get my kids to write, I can encourage them to write about topics that interest them, they are knowledgeable on, or that they want to delve deeper in...I need to not always dictate the topics, learning, etc.
ReplyDeleteI wish that we could always allow our interests to drive our learning....but that's not the case. However, I can think of a few places in kindergarten that it would work beautifully....
ReplyDeleteI think our cylinder gardening unit would lend itself to this type of learning and the students would love it being more open ended.
HB. 1st grade lends itself easily to the inquiry method, especially our unit on Life Cycles. Children could choose their own cycle to study. Students need and want to play a major role in learning and discovering. Young children are very curious and want to find the answers to their questions.
ReplyDeleteFrom the Language Arts/Social Studies perspective: Unfortunately I can't think of many grammar topics that inquiry based learning could be used for, but I could see it in social studies and writing. With essay writing, particularly in 5th with the persuasive essay, students are likely to become very passionate about their belief and inquiry can take off. It would be interesting to see such research produced, but it could easily move away from the instructional purpose. I think it is important to nurture that curiousity and kids definitely feel an ownership and connection when this exploration takes place. We don't always have time to pursue where this could take us. It seems to me we would get a bit off topic if using this in reading, but I won't say it's not possible. Students will always retain what they direct much more than what is preached to them in whole class instruction.
ReplyDeleteI looked at a lot of the Google apps, nd think so many of them are awesome. However , I still struggle with how to introduce some of these apps and concepts at the kinder level. I think that using our class blog possibly to answer a question about an inquiry based topic might be a good place to start. Science lends itself beautifully to this idea. I really like the idea of letting kiddos research an animal, insect, etc. at home and post something they learned on our blog. However, I had a hard time getting my parents to join the blog. So I will try again this year, and try to figure out how to help my parents get more involved.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to a workshop on Tuesday about incorporating technology in first grade. If you are interested I bet u could apply it to kinder. Il. Email u the info soon.
DeleteDid you get a little lost in all of the studies that were used in this chapter? Just could not resist beginning my reflections with an inquiry. :)
ReplyDeleteI do see great uses of this type of learning in all disciplines. And I do not think this should ever be reserved for the GT students. 'A rising tide raises all ships.' I couldn't help but think how I have used and seen this used as a part of L & L. A great example is when we ask students for ideas of a better solution and then we give them a chance to try that out. Then we check back to see how it worked for them. This is so much better than handing them what we think is the answer - even if theirs did not work out well. The precious You Tube video in this lesson brought back home the importance of looking for more opportunities to use this approach. nh
I love this inquiry based learning stuff because it is a shift in thinking, learning and teaching
ReplyDeleteAnd it really works to help students gain more knowledge. It lends itself to students being in charge more of there own learning. Gives students more opportunities to relate to the world through researching global issues and by connecting with other cultures around the world. Being taught about African wild life is great, but how about questioning a class in Africa through Skype about thir wildlife and seeing what it really looks like through technology!
DeleteInquiry based learning allows kiddos to learn more through observations, lots of research, videos, connecting with others, interviews and more. I see lots of this type of learning going on at RCE and would live to be a part of it. Let me work with you (teachers) to help you plan and discover ways to implement this type of learning in your classrooms.
One way to use Inquiry based learning in HF will be when we use our pedometers. Students can evaluate their activity level while participating in various activities by counting the number of steps taken. Using their information the students can create an activity or game which includes a high level of individual activity (high number of steps taken). DM
ReplyDeleteIf inquiry-based learning is mainly thought to be driven by curiosity brought on by driven questions and how they get their answers, then I definitely think we need to practice by modeling asking higher level questions and even point out that that is what we are doing. This isn’t a secret. We should use these all the time in every subject. We might even keep examples of higher level thinking and questions posted in the room as a reminder.
ReplyDeleteI think I will try this approach in my reading lessons. I will show them what some of the higher level questioning stems are and post these. Then we will use them while reading. With poetry I have a set of stem questions. I will post these and together we’ll come up with our own questions that follow this pattern in order to gain students’ confidence. Then we will do some of the investigations together to come up with what we think are the best answers. Eventually I will set them free to explore some of their own poetry and come up with questions and open this up for peers to answer. KE
Specifically, we do a unit on scientists and what their important contribution was to science. This is primarily student lead and would be a great example of an inquiry based learning unit. With revamping, students could creat the path in which each class period would go. It can be a huge motivator to students because they feel empowered to control their own destiny.
ReplyDeleteThis is an excellent approach for all science learning and one that I think we will progressively move toward in the future. CC
With this being student's first year of American History, there are so many topics that can lend themselves to inquiry learning. Once students see specific arms or causes of war, they consistently want to stop the process to focus more on these areas. It would be a great way to go deeper in these eras with them leading the way.
ReplyDeleteAnother area where inquiry learning would be ideal is in poetry. Many students do not take an interest in poetry, but others thrive on it. Often times, the interest creates a forest fire. Allowing the students to take charge, the fire might take off and ignite the whole class! JJ
MRid- I agree with HAB as far as our 1st grade Life Cycles Unit lending itself well to inquiry based learning and giving the learner a choice. After a week introduction on life cycles, instead of studying the different cycles each week, the children could choose groups based on the different life cycle that interests them. This approach would definitely become more student lead opposed to teacher led. A couple years ago, HAB and I decided to partner our classes up and do a presidential research project in the library that Karen helped us with. The kids came up with their own questions that they wanted to find the answers to . They used the minis in the library and what came out of this was so powerful! It was amazing to see these 1st graders guide their own learning!
ReplyDeleteI can see inquiry based learning happening a lot during writers workshop. Because we give our kids a lot of choice when it comes to writing, they often choose to write about things that they are interested in, but sometimes don't know a lot about. For example...a child who loves sharks and wants to write a book about them, but might only know one or two facts. This is the perfect time to send that child to the library center to find a book on sharks or to the computer and let them do some research on the subject. The kids are always so excited to find out new things about a subject they are really interested in. MR1
ReplyDeleteI am not sure what the new curriculum in pre-k is going to look like, I can't wait to learn about it! I am sure there will lots of units that will be inquiry based especially in science.
ReplyDeleteCLM-Healthy Habits (exercise, food choices) is still a very current and viable unit that inquiry based learning
ReplyDeletealigns with as we deal with childhood obesity, the diabetes surge, etc.
In science extreme weather (volcanoes, earthquakes, etc) lends itself easily to an inquiry group or menu choice.
in math our individual fiscal responsibility unit also provides another avenue that could be implemented this way as well.
The inquiry questions and quality resources (current articles or websites) are both critical to the planning of any inquiry based learning unit. It takes planning and forethought as well as flexibility as the students make choices within the framework.
RR-While teaching Scientific Method, students conduct a mystery (What's in the bag) experiment and use the scientific method and inquiry skills to solve the mystery. They discuss how to make scientific "guesses," and in small groups use their five senses to try and figure out what items are in the bags.
ReplyDeleteThe thing I like best about inquiry based learning is that you never know what is going to happen. Since the kids decide upon the direction of the questions/ research, it is different every time. Getting kids to delve into real world problems and situations makes the learning meaningful and hopefully, lasting. When I did the inquiry circles, I gave the kids the topic and let the groups form based on the question they wanted to research. Last year, we did a mini-research unit around Native Americans that evolved into a civil rights unit. My goal for future years is to get to the point where the kids get to decide the topic too. Inquiry circles naturally involve deep reading/ research skills, essay writing skills, and technology, so it is easy to incorporate with every topic!
ReplyDeleteForgot to mention--if you are interested in learning more about literacy circles, Harvey and Daniels has a great book on the topic:http://www.amazon.com/Comprehension-Collaboration-Inquiry-Circles-Action/dp/032501230X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1344741602&sr=8-1&keywords=inquiry+circles.
Delete(MMS)Science and writing are the 2 main subjects that I will be excited to teach using inquiry based learning. This format of learning may be helpful when we ask the students to take a stance and write about what they belive is the better option such as . . .What is the best pet to own? Also with every Science experiment you must start with a question and make a hypothesis. While teaching balance and motion there are several experiments where the children need to ask themselves if the material such as the crayfish will balance. Before ever performing the experiment they need to predict or make an educated guess. Then they discover on their own which is exactly what inquiry based learning is all about.
ReplyDeleteKC- I loved learning about inquiry-based learning in my previous GT trainings. I used it most when setting up science projects that were open-ended for kids, but we do it a little when students research European explorers and their impact on the natives as well as when students research and act out famous loyalists and patriots for a classroom debate on independence. However, I am looking forward to this year when I get to try the math menus like Candase and Amy did in their classrooms. Those will be new for me. I found this article great with research support, but lacking in practical ideas that I can actually implement in my classroom. That where I need more support!
ReplyDeleteJL - When I teach complementary colors and mixing them, students experiment endless number of times, just mixing and mixing and mixing. What they discover is how many of the other yucky colors that they achieve unlike the normal, red, yellow, blue mixes. We also link art lessons with several grade level projects from their homerooms.
ReplyDeleteOur science units will be easy to create more inquiry-based learning opportunities. Our Social Studies units on Heroes, geography, and economics would also be great units to use. When students are given more control over their learning they really take the time and dig deeper not only giving them the sense of accomplishment but also gives them the excitement of learning.
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