Why should teachers use an inquiry approach to student learning?

Why should teachers use an inquiry approach to student learning?

Inquiry Process

“…students engaged in inquiry are more motivated to pursue learning on their own than students who are fed pre-organized

information that they are expected to remember” (Stripling 50)

“The inquiry process engages students in a way that promotes critical thinking, higher-

level processing, and the use of more varied and appropriate resources” (Carnesi,

DiGiorgio 32)

You are probably familiar with the 5Ws who, what, when, where, and why

Here are 8 new ones

8Ws

Watching

Wondering

Webbing

WigglingWeaving

Wrapping

Waving

Wishing

Children don’t just “do” information, technology, and Internet. A inquiry or project

based learning environment involves

Competitors

• Wondering about a topic

Strengths

• Wiggling through information

Weaknesses

• And weaving elements together (Lamb 1)

This will allow students to learn and express themselves in a unique way

The 8Ws: Information Literacy: is an inquiry model of information

literacy that features a variety of scaffolds to support inquiry

learning (Annette Lamb).

The 8Ws: Information Literacy: is an inquiry model of information

literacy that features a variety of scaffolds to support inquiry

learning (Annette Lamb).

Steps Learners Engaged InSteps Learners Engaged In

As first grade teachers you can collaborate with your teacher librarian and together work to edit the model to fit student’s individual needs

Our focus is first grade students. How can we use the 8W’s to teach first graders

to research a topic while still keeping their attention?

Watching is exploring.

Introduce the topic to the class. Have

the students make 5 columns in their

journal of the five senses. Then have the students fill out the columns about their topic. Discuss with the children about what their answers are and

what they are thinking. Watching is becoming aware of everything around

them.Example: If the topic

is a reindeer, how would the reindeer sound, smell, taste, touch, and look like?

Wondering is questioning.

Just like a science experiment, questioning is laying the foundation

for their topic. In this step they brainstorm

and talk and share with others. Have students

write down five questions or so about

what they want to know about their topic. With

first graders, first starting the questions as a whole group, then moving into individual

gives them time to brainstorm the topic

and also allows them to have an example to

use.Example: Do reindeers

lose their antlers? Where do reindeer live?

Webbing is searching. Students use their questions to

guide them through the webbing process. They are using their step to find the information

they need to go come up with the solution to their questions. There

are many websites that are student friendly.

Google is not a friendly resource for seven year

olds. Example: Nettrecker is a good resource to start

with. This website allows teachers to click in the reading level. If a

student cannot read, the information

provided is easy enough for a student to

comprehend if read too. Another great source is National Geographic for

Kids.

Wiggling is evaluating.

As a whole group, discuss what information

students found. Use one students’ finding to model a researcher chooses what information

they want to keep. Use the class questions as a

guide. Example: One way

to check for understanding is to

ask a couple of students to explain how they are going

to chose what information they are going to keep

and get rid of.

Weaving is synthesizing. This step is to organize their

information and make plans for their

finished product. Student should look

at the questions they wrote and write down the facts they found that answered

the questions. To make this simpler, first graders could write one question on an index card

then write the answer under the

question. This is not too over whelming for the student and

they are able to read their findings.

Wrapping is creating. Creating

their project to reflect their answer is what is required for this step. The product may be

redesigned many times to reflect what they are

trying to prove. After the students have decided what they want and know the questions they are

going to answer, they need to write down

what type of product they plan on making.

For the lower level student or students

that have a hard time making a choice,

telling them what their project is seems to

help.Example: The end

product for the reindeer is to make a

reindeer out of construction paper.

Students will then write five fact that they

learned and glue next to their picture.

Waving is communicating.

Communicating is a good way to revise

and edit their product. This steps allows them get the feedback they need from their peers or teachers. Now the

students can present to their peers. Having

students ask the presenter about

their project allows students to take

pride in knowing and understanding a

topic. This way they take ownership to

their research.

Wishing is assessing.Now is the time to sit

back and evaluate what went right and wrong through the project

process. This step allows the student to decide

what they would do the same or change for their next assignment. A good way to do this, is to ask

students what they thought was easy about

the project and what they thought was hard

about the project. Record their answers on chart paper so they can

read their own responses in order to introduce the next research project.

Do you want your students engaged in inquiry and more motivated to pursue learning on their own. With the 8Ws

inquiry model students CAN accomplish this.

Students will be provided with the tools to plan and conduct

MEANINGFUL RESEARCH!!

The 8Ws Inquiry Process Model

Works CitedWorks Cited

Carnesi, Sabrina, and Karen DiGiorgio. "Teaching the Inquiry Process to 21st Century Learners." Library Media Connection 27.5 (2009): 32-36. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 15 Feb. 2010.

Information Age Inquiry. Tue. 09 March 2010. http://virtualinquiry.com/inquiry/ws.htm Lamb, Annette.

Information Inquiry for Teachers. Ws of Information Inquiry. Mon. 08 March 2010 http://eduscapes.com/infooriginal/topic71.htm

Microsoft Office Power PointStripling, Barbara. "Inquiry: Inquiring Minds Want to Know."

School Library Media Activities Monthly 25.1 (2008): 50-52. Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts with Full Text. EBSCO. Web. 26 Feb. 2010.

Yodi. Audio for fun, fame and fortune. http://www.yodio.com

Carnesi, Sabrina, and Karen DiGiorgio. "Teaching the Inquiry Process to 21st Century Learners." Library Media Connection 27.5 (2009): 32-36. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 15 Feb. 2010.

Information Age Inquiry. Tue. 09 March 2010. http://virtualinquiry.com/inquiry/ws.htm Lamb, Annette.

Information Inquiry for Teachers. Ws of Information Inquiry. Mon. 08 March 2010 http://eduscapes.com/infooriginal/topic71.htm

Microsoft Office Power PointStripling, Barbara. "Inquiry: Inquiring Minds Want to Know."

School Library Media Activities Monthly 25.1 (2008): 50-52. Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts with Full Text. EBSCO. Web. 26 Feb. 2010.

Yodi. Audio for fun, fame and fortune. http://www.yodio.com