Study+&+Inquiry+Skills+09

What are some of the different ways that teachers can get their students to understand and use the inquiry process?

-A teacher should give an example of a topic about which he/she was curious and explain how he/she researched the topic for further information about it in order to resolve his/her curiosity. This shows students that even adults do it and the importance of this skill. This is also a demonstration of the inquiry process. from "Key Lessons in Comprehension, Collaboration, and Inquiry" Ch 7 of __Comprehension and Collaboration: Inquiry Circles in Process__ by Stephanie Harvey and Harvey Daniels--Amanda -A teacher should encourage and model for students how good readers leave tracks in their reading by making notes in the margins. When modeling this, the teacher should give each student a copy of the text and then model, with the use of an overhead, his/her own process of inquiry, making notes with symbols that the students will recognize. These notes should include marks for questions, personal connections, important information, things that were already known, things that are interesting, confusion, and things that are learned. After demonstrating this, the teacher should have the students do this with another text and work together, sharing their annotations, their discoveries, and their answers to the questions they formed while reading the text with each other. This gets them to make notes while reading, to process what they have read and to try to solve their questions, and it gets them to think about it further while discussing it with their classmates. from "Key Lessons in Comprehension, Collaboration, and Inquiry" Ch 7 of __Comprehension and Collaboration: Inquiry Circles in Process__ by Stephanie Harvey and Harvey Daniels--Amanda

Set up posters around the room with large pictures drawn from a search engine. Students can walk from poster to poster, posting their comments and questions related to each one.--Small Group Inquiry Project: Slavery and Child Labor from Chapter 9: Curricular Inquiries"--Lindsey B. A "shared thread" traveling through all the lessons in this unit is that they all include interaction. This includes, "interacting with images, videos, texts, the teacher, and most importantly, with each other (students)."--Small Group Inquiry Project: Slavery and Child Labor from Chapter 9: Curricular Inquiries"--Lindsey B. According to Wikipedia, "inquiry is any process that has the aim of augmenting knowledge, resolving doubt, or solving a problem."--"What we know about inquiry"--Lindsey B. It looks much different from the coverage approach to learning. Examples of coverage approach techniques: memorization, reliance on a textbook, and filling in bubbles and blanks. In contrast, the inquiry approach focuses on : multimodal learning, interaction and talk, and collaborative thinking.--"What We Know About Inquiry" --Lindsey B. The stages include: 1. Immerse: Invite Curiosity and Wonder In this stage, the teacher ask questions and confers with small groups and individuals. Kids ask questions during this stage. 2. Investigate In this stage, the teacher "models how to read, listen, and view with a question in mind." 3. Coalesce In this stage, the teacher shares how to determine if a source is appropriate to us, and kids take information and answer questions with it. 4. Go Public In this stage, the teacher steps back and the kids share their learning. The kids share the answer to their questions and pose more questions if they feel lead to do so.--"Mini-Inquiries"--Lindsey B.
 * What is one strategy to determine the amount of knowledge students already know about a subject?**
 * When building several classes around a central question, what is one way to make sure that all activies point to that question?**
 * What is inquiry?**
 * What does using inquriry-based teaching look like in the classroom?**
 * What are the stages for the Small-Group Inquiry Model Adapted for Mini-Inquiry Projects?**

1. Help the students identify a large, multi-faceted, open-ended question** - something that people can disagree about, to focus and motivate their inquiry. 3. Don't worry if you can't fit every subject area under an interdisciplinary project.** It will be much more effective your disciplines make sense and aren't stuffed into one giant project. - Subjects Matter (Melendy)
 * Tips for Making Inquiry Projects Work
 * 2. Create opportunities for student choice, even when you need to keep the focus on required course material.
 * 4. Consider telling students they can only choose a topic if at least two classmates are interested in it as well.** This allows students to work together. Use your judgement though, because you may have one bright student that can do it on their own.
 * 5. Provide guidance for each step in the research process, and monitor kids' progress** using mini-lessons.
 * 6. Build in a meaningful pocess for sharing the knowledge that students have gained.** Encourage students to ask questions of presenters and record new vocabulary.
 * 7. Don't start too big!** Keep lessons to 3-4 class periods max. Team up with other teachers if you need help.

Why Collaboration and Inquiry Go Hand in Hand Inquiry is often a group effort so collaboration is greatly beneficial to gaining an understanding of a topic or subject. Because "collaboration plays a key role in elevating reading comprehension" it is important that we offer many opportunities for students to work together in small groups (Gallagher 105). "For students, many of whom may not be good readers, the opportunity to collaborate-to have meaningful conversations when reading hard stuff-becomes even more critical" (Gallagher 106). If a student is struggling with a text that student will benefit from being able to "work through the confusion" with their peers(Gallagher 115). -Stephany Weaver

Three Strategies to Promote High-Level Thinking in Small Groups 1. Silent Exchange: "Students read a passage or chapter and then write a question at the top of a sheet of paper', students then pass their papers around their small group and each person gets a chance to respond to the question. 2. Save the Last Word for Me: A student presents his or her passage or chapter to his or her small group by holding up for their fellow students to read. The readers discuss the passage and why it was chosen. The student who chose the passage is the last one to speak. 3. Trouble Slips: As students read they "take note of trouble spots in the text-places where their comprehension starts to falter" on slips of paper. The next day students get in small groups and share their trouble spots and "try to work through the confusion. (excerpted from Deeper Reading by Kelly Gallagher. 114-115) -Stephany Weaver 4. Double Entry Journals: The student creates a t-chart on a blank sheet of paper. "On the left side of the chart, they copy a passage they find compelling. On the right side, they write a response to the passage" (Gallagher 116). Then the bottom left corner is left blank for group share time. 5. SOAPS: Structured much like a literature circle, SOAPS provides each student with a role to help discuss the reading. "SOAPS is an acronym; each letter of the acronym represents a role: Subject(s) identifies the subject and the main idea(s). Occassion discusses the context of the text; considers setting, circumstances, events, the era, the historical or cultural context. Audience identifies the intended audience and discusses why this audience was targeted. Purpose analyzes what the author's purpose was for composing the piece. Speaker determines the tone of voice in the piece; discusses why this tone was used.