Everglade inquiry session

INQUIRY

LEARNING

ALIGNMENT

VisionCompetencies

Specific goals

Learning Model

and Delivery

Monitoring Assessment

Review

What is the school vision?

• Be confident

• Enjoy a positive environment

• Communicate effectively

• Have aspirations to achieve excellence

• Show respect of others

• Embrace life long learning

Inquiry, when it is done well, is not an easy or soft option. It takes work, it brings difficulties, it will challenge our practice and traditional school organisation.

So….

WHY INQUIRY?

Reason/Goal

How does this link to the school vision?

How do you currently address the competencies?

Specific goals: skills attitudes

From your vision what is your success criteria/graduate profile?

• Skills and attitudes

Assessment, tracking, review

Learning model• Question

• Task

• Topic

• Use/Present

Sample inquiries?

Task: We have a number of butterflies that are endemic to New Zealand and our

locality. We would expect to see these butterflies in our school, yet they seem to be absent. Choose one butterfly that we

would expect to see. Design and replant the class garden so that it attracts and supports

your chosen butterfly.

Does your model work?

Does your model work?

Issues and next stepsIssues Next step

Inquiry has been around as a concept for a long time

Roots in library skills 1880 information literacy 19741980’s … Gwen Gawith

2011Got it!

Sorted it!

Many Schools are walking in circles with inquiry.

The Reality in 2011

Inquiry is confusing

Conflicting definitions

Conflicting approaches

Conflicting messages

Conflicting experts (drips under pressure)

The concept of inquiry now carries so much baggage that it is

becoming problematic to sort what makes good inquiry.

“Trying to define inquiry learning is like trying to grab

a bar of soap in the bath.

Every time you think you have grasped its essence it slides away as another piece of

literature or concept challenges your carefully built understanding.”

Inquiry as done in our schools

School ASchool B

School C

Implementing Inquiry learning

Simple it isn’t?

Maybe it is time to change the focus!

INQUIRY

LEARNING

I think many schools are going in circles because…

their focus is inquiry when it should be learning

Some Suggestions

What is good inquiry?

Suggestion 1

What is good learning?

Discuss:What is good

learning

Definitions of Learning.

The cognitive process of acquiring skill or knowledge; ( http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn)

Learning is acquiring new knowledge, behaviours, skills, values, preferences or understanding, and may involve synthesizing different types of information. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning)

A process of adaptation by which a set of adjustable parameters is automatically modified so that some objective is more readily achieved. (www.agsm.edu.au/bobm/teaching/SimSS/glossary.html)

The process by which experience brings about a relatively permanent change in behavior. (www.socialpolicy.ca/l.htm)

The acquisition of knowledge or skill. It occurs in, and may lead to changes in, the brain.(science.education.nih.gov/supplements/nih4/Self/other/glossary.htm)

All miss

something

At this point in my understanding I believe that learning is change to….

• Knowledge• Understanding• World view• Beliefs• Opinions• Values• Attitudes• Behaviours• Skills

that is retained, able to be

applied and able to be transferred

Good learning is not….

the project type approach, seen in so much inquiry, where students gather and then

present a pile of information.

Powerpoints

Podcasts

Web-pages

Videos

The use of fancy technology does

not turn poor learning into

quality learning

PL +ICT=EPL

Learning is messyLearners are awesome

Postman and Weingartner p41-42

CONFIDENT

CONNECTED

ACTIVELY INVOLVED

LIFELONG LEARNERSProf Nuthall

‘Teaching and learning have little in common in most of

our classrooms”

Prof Nuthall

‘Teaching and learning have little in common in most of

our classrooms”

Nuthall p36

“Students learn what they do.”

If students learn what they do an our goal is to turn them into

learners….

Then surely, to be effective, we have to put them in situations where

they can be learners.

Suggestion 1:

1a.. Clarify what learning is, so you have a common foundation for

further discussion.

1b.. Clarify what good classroom practice is if we are trying to grow

learners.

What are our learning goals?

Suggestion 2

Good inquiry is that which ultimately delivers your goals

Good learning is that which ultimately delivers your goals

This goal is surely about developing, skills and attitudes.

CONFIDENT

CONNECTED

ACTIVELY INVOLVED

LIFELONG LEARNERS

Some questions for consideration:

• What are your primary skill goals that will enable your students as connected engaged learners?

• What are your primary attitudinal goals that will enable your students as connected engaged learners?

• What criteria will you use to identify when these goals are being achieved?

One approach

Attitudes of a life long learner?

• Curiosity: The driving force of learning.• Open-mindedness: Willing to review their own

opinions, beliefs, thoughts and attitudes based on further information, and experiences.

• Persistence: Pursues questions, goals, ideas and learning towards a conclusion despite difficulties and obstructions.

• Empathy: Willingness and ability to consider the needs, views, beliefs and situations of others

•Identify need or problem

•Identify, understand and use contextual vocabulary appropriately.

•Ability to create and use relevant questions to guide thinking, and gain information. (Refers to the QuESTioning Matrix)

•Ability to acquire and validate needed information

•Creating and critiquing information, argument, belief or theory

•Ability to make informed decisions with due consideration of possible options, consequences and the impact on others

6 suggested cross competency skills

appearance

taste flavour

texture

aroma

Identify, understand and use contextual vocabulary appropriately.

1• I attempt to use vocabulary correctly for the context

but sometimes use them incorrectly.

2• I can ask questions to clarify definitions.• I can, with support, seek to understand the meaning

of words in context.

3• I can independently use a range of strategies to seek

understanding of the meaning of words in context.• I use words appropriately to the context.

4

• I can independently use a range of strategies to seek understanding of the meaning of words in context.

• I use words appropriately to the context. • I attempt to ensure that those around share a

common understanding.

Suggestion 2: 2a.. Identify the skills and attitudes you see as being core to being an effective learner.

2b.. Develop rubrics showing depths of the skill.

2c.. Tie all this to the competencies so we are not just adding more stuff.

What are the elements of good

learning?

Suggestion 3

Real life learning is task driven.

• I want to catch a Tuna – self set task

• I want to learn to play golf well – self set task

• I want to plant a rose garden – self set task

• Can you find out our options for pd on the competencies – externally set task

Task: look at the issue of graffiti in our town, the differing viewpoints

and establish a course of action that could be taken to reduce the negative

impacts of graffiti in our town.

What are the learning elements/steps that will enable anyone to complete this task?

Surely these will be the key elements in your learning model.

identify prior knowledge

identify needed information

identify relevant vocabulary

formulate relevant questions

locate appropriate sources

extract relevant information

apply and use information

We want to catch a Tuna

• identify prior knowledge

• identify needed information ccs

• identify relevant vocabulary css

• formulate relevant questions css

• locate appropriate sources css

• extract relevant information css

• apply and use information css•Creating and critiquing information, argument, belief or theory css

•Ability to make informed decisions with due consideration of possible options, consequences and the impact on others css

TASKS









TASKSI want to learn to play golf well









TASKSI want to improve my photography









TASKSI want to learn to play golf well

Task: look at the issue of graffiti in our town, the differing viewpoints and

establish a course of action that could be taken to reduce

the negative impacts of graffiti in our town.

Task driven learning is a powerful medium because it provides clear contexts within

which learners can …

identify prior knowledgeidentify needed informationidentify relevant vocabularyformulate relevant questionslocate appropriate sources

extract relevant informationapply and use information

Suggestion 3: 3a.. Identify the key elements of learning

3b.. Use them to outline your learning model

3c.. Implement a task based learning approach

How do we cater for developing

independence?

Suggestion 4

Identify, understand and use contextual vocabulary appropriately.

1• I attempt to use vocabulary correctly for the context

but sometimes use them incorrectly.

2• I can ask questions to clarify definitions.• I can, with support, seek to understand the meaning

of words in context.

3• I can independently use a range of strategies to seek

understanding of the meaning of words in context.• I use words appropriately to the context.

4

• I can independently use a range of strategies to seek understanding of the meaning of words in context.

• I use words appropriately to the context. • I attempt to ensure that those around share a

common understanding.

Skill rubrics

wonderings• Peripheral questions

• Musings

• Irrelevant questions

Celebration of the found

Celebration of the understood



How to tell the difference..What information does the learner need to find out?

What does the learner have to do with that information?



TeacherDirected

Negotiated LearnerDirected

‘Celebration of the found’

‘Celebration of the understood’

TeacherDirected




TeacherDirected


Create a poster that explains the 7

decorative themes of Art Deco. Share

your poster with the class.

The topic is Art Deco. Spend some time looking at the Art Deco resources and decide what you want to find out

about Art Deco design, research your chosen aspect and present this in a poster.

Create a poster utilising 5 of the 7 the decorative themes of Art

Deco, advertising the upcoming Art Deco Weekend.

Use at least 3 major advertising techniques in your poster. Share your poster with

the class explaining your decisions

A 4 -13 year Journey

Inquiry learning is about learning to

learn



TeacherDirected


Good inquiry happens here!



TeacherDirected


Good inquiry moves students towards

independence



TeacherDirected


Good inquiry scaffolds students

to success



TeacherDirected


Good inquiry forces students to use and apply information

Good inquiry is a4 – 14 yr journey

Where the student moves toward independence on a growing foundation of literacy

Learning to read

Reading to learn



TeacherDirected


Nice in theory, but let’s get real!

Nice in theory, but let’s get real!

This generally doesn’t happen

TeacherDirected

Negotiated

Some of the best negotiated

Some of the best negotiated

learning I have seen comes out of

learning I have seen comes out of

engaging teacher directed tasks.

engaging teacher directed tasks.

wanderings• Captivating

• Engaging

• Consuming

NEGOTIATENEGOTIATE

School Barriers

• Resources

• Timetabling

Suggestion 4:

4a.. Create a wonderings wall

4b.. Identify opportunities and be willing to negotiate

4c.. Build matrixes that incorporate growing independence

4d.. Re-structure school aspects that obstruct developing independence

SUMMARY

To avoid the circlesFocus on learning

Define your learning goalsIdentify the skills and attitudesDefine the elements of learningEstablish your learning model

Understand that learning is messyBe ready to negotiate

Be a learner and model good learningShow the attitudes

Create the environment where your learners can flourish. Postman 43

Owairoa Primary

Postman 43

Inquiry in action

• Key understanding

• Engaging context

• Resources

• Create task that fits resources

• Scaffold

• Be ready for messy learning

Plan sheet

scaffold

assessment

Next Session

• Doing it - A mini inquiry

Everglade inquiry session

Education

inquiry learning

learning goals

goals good learning

definitions of learning

good inquiry

eduperlwebwn learning

poor learning

concept of inquiry