Wow, chapter 4 is full of interesting topics around which a discussion might be started so I will choose just one and look forward to where future postings take us.
I was intrigued by thinking about the authors’ idea of using “kids’ background knowledge and curiosity to evoke deep and real questions about the subject matter we have to teach” as a way to develop our instructional units. I am hoping that one of you might try something along this avenue to see how it works. Have any of you tried this approach and if so, did it create better understanding.
The authors seem adamant that true, authentic inquiry projects change students and give students ways to do something with the material. What are your thoughts on this theme? Do we really believe that all students are capable of creating questions that will be the underpinnings for inquiry projects?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I believe that all students are capable of creating questions that will be the underpinning for inquiry projects, however the process as a whole is like my belief in Santa. I believe in the spirit of Santa, but I've never seen him. I believe in this, but I've yet to see it in first grade. The good news though is that the questions I have about inquiry circles are starting to be answered now in this chapter. When the authors talk about leveling and tracking students on page 70, that really strikes a chord with me. I started wondering why we don't do these kinds of projects with everyone, not just the Gateway kids. And I wonder if it's because they're not proficient readers. And if that's so, that pretty much describes my whole class! Most of my first graders aren't proficient readers (if any!). So then what do we do? If research shows that this is a very effective way of learning, then what do we do? If we really believe in this, how can we make it accessible to everyone? I went ahead and read the Antarctica project that a kindergarten teacher and the librarian did. (Well, I read part of it anyway). The main thing that I got out of that section was that the teacher has to differentiate how the kids access the information/ how they research. The kindergarten teacher and the librarian did a lot of the legwork and then she showed pictures, videos and read alouds to the students. Working with the librarian, they found many non-fiction books to have in the classroom. The kids could draw,talk and read/look at books. But if the teacher is doing most of the legwork, is that still a true inquiry process?
ReplyDeleteFor me, this chapter provides a foundation for coming to grips with the general intent of the rest of the book and perhaps can also be a common language/understanding when we speak about inquiry as a school learning community. The comparison chart on page 56 illustrating Inquiry vs Coverage provides a quick look at work and behaviors in the different settings. It was great to read how the authors pulled together an elusive concept into concrete terms so that language and images related to inquiry learning can be understood. For example, focusing on "thinking" vs "recalling" and the concept of learning being generated from student questions, which I also see as student interest and authentic student work. More specifically, on page 61 where the authors share the "small-group inquiry model", there is an academic model to approaching inquiry from the perspectives and actionns of teachers and students by stage. One of our Learning Walk components is "sense of audience" and where the authors articulate "go public" provides a handy platform for this motivating feature. Knowing you are creating and learning something that will be shared with others in some way is always motivating and engaging to students. Grade 1 "Kid Town" is a wonderful example of this. Last, I appreciated the authors acknowledgement that conventional projects can also serve learning and that you can put an inquiry spin on them to enhance and enrich, as appropriate.
ReplyDeleteThere was definitely a lot of information in this chapter. I loved the definition of inquiry. The focus on developing student thinking is so important. Students aren't used to defending or explaining their thinking.
ReplyDeleteI agree that 'authentic' inquiry projects engage and empower students at a deeper level. I think the Ancient Egypt and Economics culminating projects in second grade come closest to this ideal. In the Egypt projects we have students self select their group/area of work. While we have an artisan group making jewels and artifacts each year, the texts that they choose to use to help them and the way in which they use materials varies from year to year. With the Economics projects students create their own business idea, request materials, plan their advertising and make adjustments to their products and their prices based on what is happening in the classroom 'market' on the days the businesses operate. Two of the most important benefits of these projects is that the engagement is high so misbehavior is minimal. And, students tend to do well on the assessments for these units without as much review. (Personally I also like that these are two of the things about second grade that students mention in later years).
To be honest, I found myself getting annoyed a few times in this chapter. I think the authors really understate the amount of preparation time these projects require of teachers, especially at the elementary level. Every web site has to be checked ahead of time (and rechecked in following years to make sure inappropriate banners haven't been added). We have it better than many schools with the selection of books that Anita has gathered over the years, but putting together a number of nonfiction books at the appropriate levels is a challenge, particularly when an entire grade level is doing projects with similar themes. Also, it takes a lot of time to model and develop those group behaviors; the authors point this out many times. I truly believe that in the end, the time taken up front to develop these skills allows for better learning and perhaps a streamlined process later in the year. But the amount of first quarter time dedicated to county and state assessment makes me anxious about also taking all the extra time to develop group skills. I feel pressured to jump into fast paced instruction to make up for all time taken by the assessments.
I am hoping future chapters will help me prioritize which skills to develop right away and which are OK to develop as the year progresses. I will to talk with my team about how we might combine the student centered questioning with our technology choice projects next quarter.
After reading this chapter, we (Lee and I) decided to "wade into" the inquiry circles pool. We gave them some preliminary information about 5 Virginians during the American Revolution. They formed their own groups, formulated their own questions, and at this point are researching and deciding how to present the information. Pluses - a lot of interest and excitement on the part of the students. Minuses - the work is only as good as the group effort, and that appears to vary substantially at this point. However, we are stressing the process and so far, it appears to be engaging. I agree with Lisa - it is a good deal of upfront work to make sure appropriate resources are available, effective group work is modeled, and deeper questions are explored.
ReplyDeleteChildren have a natural curiosity that we should encourage. Yes, students can form questions for inquiry based projects, but they need two things from their teachers: permission and modeling. I know teachers feel time constraints because of the extensive curriculum we must cover. Consequently, we might feel there is not enough time to let students explore. I think it's going to take some faith and practice to use inquiry learning. We should encourage students to ask questions and explore their interests. This will increase motivation and engagement.
ReplyDeleteAs teachers, we need to model a sense of wonder and create an environment in which students feel comfortable asking questions. We also need to teach how to formulate meaningful questions. We can solve the time constraint by giving the students a focus, like Beth and Lee are doing with famous Virginians.
Yes, everything takes time to plan and to gather resources. Maybe set a goal of one inquiry project a month, and build over time, so that we are not overwhelmed. It's worth it, though, to see students who are excited about learning.
Lisa, you are totally correct about the preparation for the teacher. It does take time to gather the resources and bookmark the sites. I think that Lee and Beth will agree with this too, but then the teachers work for the next week or so becomes minimal as you become a facilitator and the kids use the information that you researched and are providing for them.
ReplyDeleteWe have a great resource to use at our school--Anita! She has a wealth of information about books and websites, and she keeps our library well-stocked. I would love to see my team eventually work with Anita to support an inquiry project.
ReplyDelete