It’s not just for science anymore Inquiry: It’s not just for science anymore The 3 types of inquiry and ideas for how to use them in your classroom

Inquiry Definitions 1. The act of inquiring. 2. A question; a query. 3. A close examination of a matter in a search for information or truth. From Free Online Dictionary Used to describe both the act of teaching (activities) and of doing (studying).

Inquiry By Any Other Name… John Dewey 1859-1952 advocated for child-centered learning based on real-world experiences Constructivist Teaching Howard Gardner Whole Language Cooperative and Collaborative Learning Reggio Emilia philosophy Five Es

Inquiry and IB… These transdisciplinary themes help teachers to develop a programme of inquiries–investigations into important ideas, identified by the schools, and requiring a high level of involvement on the part of the students. These inquiries are substantial, in-depth and usually last for several weeks. Since these ideas relate to the world beyond the school, students see their relevance and connect with it in an engaging and challenging way. Students who learn in this way begin to reflect on their roles and responsibilities as learners and become actively involved with their education. All students will come to realise that that a unit of inquiry involves them in in-depth exploration of an important idea, and that the teacher will collect evidence of how well they understand that idea. They will expect to be able to work in a variety of ways, on their own and in groups, to allow them to learn to their best advantage.

Structured Inquiry -teacher led provide problem, procedures and materials -typically all students are completing the same activity to achieve a desired set of results -students discover relationships based on data collected Examples: -labs -Teacher provides charcoal and sand. Student duplicates a water purification system.

Guided Inquiry -teacher guides student towards desired knowledge -teacher gives problem, student finds answers -materials are generally provided but may not be the same for each group/individual Examples: -Web Quests - ‘Build a better pencil’ activity -Teacher directs student to design a water purification system as the conclusion to a unit.

Open Inquiry -student driven chooses problem, designs methods of investigation and reporting -based on ‘wonderings’ -teacher may or may not supply materials Examples: -science fair -PYP exhibition -Student develops a product to purify water after viewing a show on NatGeo.

Modified from ODE ‘Inquiry Primer’ Power Point 1Inquiry and the National Science Standards (National Academy Press, 2000), p.29

The 5 E’s of Inquiry Engage: motivation Explore: elicit prior knowledge, intellectual engagement Explain: use of evidence and sense-making Expand: apply concepts in new contexts Evaluate: assess knowledge, skills and abilities

Two Ideas to Get You Started -Question-Answer-Question -“What are you wondering now?”