Inquiry Basics
What is inquiry? What can it look like?
What it can look like with one class in kindergarten!
Carol Stephenson, kindergarten teacher at the Dr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study, the lab school at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (U of Toronto).
What it can look like on a bigger scale with gr.4 to 6 students!
Listen to 6 teachers, from Saanich SD 63, share their experiences with a collaboratively planned inquiry unit for grade 4/5 students.
Image from Trevor MacKenzie & Rebecca Bathurst-Hunt's book Inquiry Mindset.
Image retrieved from: https://www.trevormackenzie.com/school-posters.
How can the research guide me?
Scaffolding Inquiry - Where to Start?
STEP 1. Create a culture of curiosity and inquiry in the LLC
-Have a visual place for students to post questions (i.e. Wonder Wall) and explore different questions submitted by students throughout the school year
-Have a riddle/rebus/puzzle to solve, or "would you rather question", on the board as each class walks into the library (to get them thinking and spark curiosity)
-Bring in objects/photos that encourage wonder, curiosity and creativity (i.e. Provocation Tables, Puzzles, Legos, Makerspaces...)
-Use read-alouds to activate prior knowledge, make connections, encourage predictions, and inspire new questions (use anticipation guides to make sure everyone participates)
-Guide students to see the difference between closed questions and open questions, by comparing different types of questions and practicing to ask open-ended questions
-Pick a main topic to explore further during each school year through the LLC, from K-6 (ex. What animals live in our school yard? What is healthy eating? Where do we see patterns?)
-Have contests that are linked to finding answers or asking questions (best book challenges; associating quotes and books; estimating contests...)
Click below to "see" some ideas to help create more opportunities for curiosity, wonder and joy!
Created during the Queens course Reading & Literacy in The Primary Grades.
Images from Trevor MacKenzie & Rebecca Bathurst-Hunt's book Inquiry Mindset.
Images retrieved from: https://www.trevormackenzie.com/school-posters.
STEP 2. Start with STRUCTURED and CONTROLLED inquiry
-Teacher will take the lead (chooses the topic & question OR guides students into picking a good question to explore further within a prescribed topic)
-The whole class explores one question together (or sub-questions related to the same topic)
-Teacher uses a specific inquiry model to guide students through the different stages of inquiry
-Teacher prepares a pathfinder of appropriate resources
-Teacher guides students on how to organize information and present/share information with others (limited choice of tools and types of products to share learning)
-Teacher will guide students to reflect on process by providing self-assessment tools and opportunities for peer feedback
Image from Trevor MacKenzie's book Dive Into Inquiry.
Image retrieved from: https://www.trevormackenzie.com/school-posters
STEP 3. Once students have gained more experience with inquiry,
move on to GUIDED and FREE inquiry
-Teacher can still pick a topic area or question to explore, but students have more ownership over the process (where to find information; comparing & validating sources; how to organize their findings) and more ownership over their product (how they choose to present/share their information with others; what tools they use; building their own criteria to assess their progress & creation)
-Students may also be asked to pick their own inquiry question within a given subject area (different students working on different questions)
-Students may end up researching different topics all together, by choosing a topic they genuinely feel passionate about (not specifically related to the curriculum, but still touching on the core competencies and aiming to develop good research and lifelong learning skills)