Inquiry as a Stance on Curriculum: Moving from Projects to Inquiry Kathy G. Short University of Arizona Tucson, Arizona, USA Burlington, Wisconsin, 2010

INQUIRY AS STANCE Stance of uncertainty and invitation A reaching stance – go beyond information to seek an explanation Stance of going beyond yourself and your current understandings Stance of being off balance Definition: Inquiry is a collaborative process of connecting to and reaching beyond current understandings to explore tensions significant to the learner Permeates everything! Inquiry is not just a time of the day. Inquiry is not an adaptation it is a philosophical approach. It is not just research either. Be sure to send an invitation. That sense of being slightly being off balance drives you to learn. If you have no tension, you’ll be stuck. Help kids find those tensions. Collaborative practice of explore tensions that are significant to them. Kids get involved in research to complete an assignment. Talk about the very edge of knowing. ???

Inquiry as a Pedagogical Philosophy Inquiry is natural to how we learn in places of wonder and discovery Inquiry is natural to how we learn Inquiry is based in making connections to our own life experiences Inquiry is conceptually-based, not topic-driven. Inquiry involves both problem-posing and problem-solving Inquiry is collaborative and invites learners into communities of practice Inquiry as a Pedagogical Philosophy Who is the person you think about when you think of someone who inquires? Approach to curriculum – curriculum as fact! Research copy/and cover page! Study just for the test! _ Let’s not replicate that! Curriculum as activity/project - in depth thinking missing! The teacher is in control and working harder than the students. Get beyond the facts. Kids collect facts and the unit is done. We need something MORE! Curriculum as inquiry - Inquiry is natural to how we learn in places of wonder and discovery. Use materials from theme units in a different way. Engage the students with the materials so that the unit is not done… What does the actual reading process look like? Insights about inquiry come from little kids and folks who are not in school. We need to bring this into school context. Little kids immerse themselves in LIFE! Exploring leads to new investigations and new questions. A young child’s sense of wonder and awe! If no one makes you do it, it counts as fun! School knowledge and ACTION knowledge - Let’s try to keep the ACTION knowledge box open during the school day.

Creating a learning environment that encourages inquiry as a stance Wonder Center and Wonder of the Week Inquiry Wall and Inquiry Talks or Inquiry Journals Observation and Wonder Journals Discovery Table Observation Window Georgia Heard, A Place for Wonder, and Karen Gallas, Science Talks Wisdom schools are needed instead of knowledge factories. The Wise Woman and Her Secret – Take the time to look closely. Use all your senses. Keep on wandering and wondering. It’s a natural process! Where are the places that our students get excited in our schools, classrooms, playgrounds? Where would they draw their X on the favorite place? How do you create a learning environment that encourages and shows that curiosity is valued? Think about Georgia Heard’s work. Post questions on the wonder wall. What you post can not be something you already know the answer to ? The Wonder of the Week center – the question that the class chose from the Wonder Wall. Wonders drawn from their lives! Encourage our students by record on the walls – ways to research, Inquiry talks and inquiry journals - choose a question that is personally important to them Places of observation around the room - observation journal near the window and the Discovery Table with things such as magnifiying glass, treasurers See, hear, smell, feel

Inquiry Personal inquiry Collaborative inquiry Guided Inquiry Children as problem-posers and problem-solvers Collaborative inquiry Teacher and child collaborate on problem-posing. Child as problem-solver. Guided Inquiry Teacher as problem-poser, child as problem-solver. Inquiry is based in connection! A significant connection to the child’s life Start with kids’ stories as a place to being Inquiry is conceptual rather than topic based. Topic based is very limited! Water as the topic – limited availability of water is the conceptual base Picture book – Tower to the Sun - read aloud and then discuss – start the unit with the concept – example – availability of water as it relates to children’s lives If the focus is just facts and skills, there is no reason to use the inquiry learning approach. Bring the student INTO the study by starting with the conceptual base. The notion of children’s choice. Personal inquiry is crucial. Example: cultural x-ray what is seen on the outside, what is felt on the inside Problem posing and problem solving is what we must do when asking students in their research. You can’t think critically about which you know nothing about! Frank Smith quote Problem posing is a thinking strategy. One must be a problem-poser in order to be a critical thinker. Examine the phenomenon, design the experiment when you find a question about which you examined. Inquiry is collaborative. Go beyond yourself. Go beyond your current understandings. Use dialogue as a strategy – thinking WITH others to collaborate with peers. Listen, build on what was said, contribute, Collaborative communities Personal inquiry can be accomplished in the silent sustained reading times. Expert projects Guided inquiry = curriculum inquiry

Inquiry Cycle Short way to go about inquiry learning - ALWAYS BEGIN WITH Connection – example students who saw the ocean for the first time. Bring in artifacts from home Reading frenzy! I wonder charts are filled in each day. Then look back as a group/class to see which questions are the most significant. Group the related questions – to help the pare down the questions and help to limit the number of groups. Keep the agency in the hands of the kids. Go public! This looks different for the various kids. What difference does it make that we all know this? Inquiry learning INVITES children into the learning. Compare a typical fairy tale unit to an inquiry fairy tale unit. Start with conceptual base. What do you know about Cinderella? Reading frenzy – and record students’ observations Students created the charting because they were engaged in the learning.

Connections Focus on BIG IDEA and not topic Why do this unit? What is the biggest idea behind our central idea? Where is this big idea already present and significant in children’s lives? What are engagements that support our students in exploring this idea in their lives to develop conceptual understanding? Read alouds, observation, survey, interview, time lines, artifacts to bring related to the idea, sketches, flowcharts, etc. Voice, trust, listen, story Artifacts, baskets, I wonder journal that travels from table to table, then composed group inquiries for exploration Interview other students is one way to make connections Why do we teach this unit? Work to create patterns – children need to do it

Invitations to go beyond current perspectives, experiences, knowledge Guided inquiry into 2-3 main lines of inquiry Be selective – goal is not coverage but expanding knowledge to build understanding and raise tension Engage kids actively in exploration – exploration centers, text sets, book & toy sets Start closest to kids Choose key pieces of fiction Planning to plan – plan emerges in negotiation with students Time, choice, observation, conversation Use literature to spark

Tension An issue/question/interest that is compelling to the student Based in the central idea and“big idea” Need ways to gather tensions throughout invitations – charts, journals, logs, teacher records Problem-posing risk, edge, selection Listen to the kids’ questions, but write them down!

Investigations student-driven focused inquiry into a tension Decide on grouping – whole class, small group, partner, individual Create a plan – Why are we interested in this question/focus? What are the related questions? What will we do to pursue our question? What do we need? How will we get the resources? Research sets and primary sources Tools for research Disciplines – ways of researching and tools Collaborate, dialogue, inquire

Demonstrations teaching based on student needs Demonstration versus modeling – what you might do versus what you must do Content Process – tools and skills Process of research relevance, tools, strategies

Re-Vision Reflecting and making sense of learning Focus on what is different or challenges current beliefs Time to reflect and think about what meanings students are making from their inquiries Brief – sort out moments of significance Learning logs, class meetings, exit slips, written conversation, think/pair/share Search for unity, attend to difference Learning log, class meeting, How does what you are learning …?

Representations going public with current understandings Pull current understandings from investigations together to go public Go public through sharing webs, charts, mural, skits, reports, etc. Can be formal or informal What is so important that we want to share these ideas with everyone? How can we share? Transformation, presentation When you are forced to pull everything together, it is when you find out what you learned.

Valuation What is of value for me as a learner from this inquiry? Summative evaluation is of central idea Content and Process Portfolio, reflections, class discussions, sketch to stretch, webs, informal assessments, presentations, etc. reflexivity, clarify values

Reposition, take action, new questions Action - So What? What difference does this inquiry make in my life? How does it reposition me in how I think and act? What are my new questions? Reposition, take action, new questions Strategy called Say Something:

Connect/Extend/Challenge How are the ideas CONNECTED to what you already know? What new ideas did you get that EXTENDED or pushed your thinking in new directions? What is still CHALLENGING or confusing for you to get your mind around? What questions or tensions do you now have?