A Taste of Inquiry

“When learning is active the learner is seeking something in answer to a question, information to solve a problem, or a way to do a job. Learning can’t be swallowed whole. To retain what has been taught students must chew on it” (Mel Silberman)

Inquiry Learning Pedagogy based on investigation of questions or problems Authentic learning – student ownership and self-direction Involves reflection of learning processes Leads to deep learning and higher order thinking Constructivist approach Leads to new knowledge

The class of twenty-six students comprised of a mix of boys and girls with a broad range of literacy skills. The unit taught, World Heritage, included a set assessment task that the teacher librarian and Geography teacher adapted to incorporate inquiry learning. Qualitative and quantitative data was collected throughout the seven week unit. In Weeks One, Four and Seven, students were asked to complete a questionnaire on Survey Monkey, an online polling tool. The Student Learning through Inquiry Measure (SLIM) questionnaire required students to reflect on their knowledge of World Heritage sites, their interest in them, and their understanding of their own research skills and attitude to learning. Students were also interviewed in pairs and informal observations made.

Kuhlthau’s Model of the Information Search Process

Brunner’s Inquiry Process

Q1. What do you know about World Heritage Sites?

Samples of student comments about what they know: Its[sic] in barcelona, spain the architect is dead it will take another 40 years to build it is a cultural world heritage site it is being built as we speak it is the 8th highest tourist attraction in the world it will cost millions to build it is called la sagrada familia only a third of it is finished it is protected it has many sponsors it is beautiful it is in the heart of the city (Sarah) the giants causeway was formed about 60 million years ago when lava come out of a volcano and there It is made up of some 40,000 massive black basalt columns sticking out of the sea. The Giants Causeway was included on the World Heritage site list in November It is on the list as both a cultural and natural site, one of only 25 in the world to achieve this status. This is because the Causeway meets two of UNESCO’s criteria for this: (1) It is a prime example of earth’s evolutionary history during a special time in history. (2) It contains rare natural phenomena (George)

Q.4 During your research project, what do you find easy to do?

Q.5. During your research project, what did you find difficult to do?

Interventions after Survey 1 After Survey One Specific databases and search engines added to Year 7 Geography page on library website: 1.Linksplus 2.Instagrok 3.Sweetsearch 4.Google Earth How to analyse and evaluate websites was also added to the library webpageanalyse and evaluate websites

Interventions after Survey 2: Guiding students’ questions

What did you learn from your research? Curriculum Content (15) a fact-finding mission. denotes their prior experience of learning basic levels in terms of Bloom’s Taxonomy – merely remembering and understanding facts ICT (9) suggests students value ICT highly and are satisfied when they learn new tools takes them further on Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy to creating Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy suggests a distinct move towards Redefinition on Ruben R. Puentedura’s (2012) SAMR model – where the technology used in this task allowed for significant task redesign SAMR model Information Literacy (7) some progress had been made by students in their research process Literacy(1) One student commented that they had learned how to write a script. Not one student commented on formulating questions or any other aspect of their writing. Other (1) students’ reactions to working with partners need to be considered as integral to inquiry learning. inquiry learning is a social process enabling thinking, construction and deep understanding. Using Google Docs made a difference here

In all, there was much strength to this inquiry learning activity: Students were highly interested in their chosen world heritage site They were able to locate factual information about their site They used ICT well and enjoyed discovering new tools and search engines They worked well in their assigned pairs and engaged in meaningful conversations to promote learning The instruction team – the class teacher and the teacher librarian – was one based on mutual aims, collaboration and a keenness to see learners as the focus of the activity

Recommendations to improve the ILA include: Prior collaboration with the classroom teacher so that they are more familiar with inquiry learning More explicit teaching of the analysis and evaluation of websites to enable a richer learning experience Continual explicit reminders to students to use a variety of search engines and databases (not just Google!) Development of student questioning techniques so that they are engaged in a deeper learning experience As the students enjoyed the ICT components of the ILA, a blog or a social networking tool like Edmodo could also students to reflect on their learning more. This could facilitate more interaction and collaboration across the unit. It would also allow for more opportunity for intervention by the instructional team. Alternatively, Tal.ki could be embedded on the library website so that students use this forum to discuss their affective and cognitive learning (or merely to “Ask a Dumb Question”!)Edmodo Tal.ki

The role of inquiry skills has been placed highly in the Australian Geography Curriculum (2011): The Australian Curriculum: Geography will use inquiry-based learning to develop students’ capacity for self-management. This gives students a role in directing their own learning and in planning and carrying out investigations, and enables them to become independent learners who can apply geographical understanding and skills to decisions they will have to make in the future (ACARA, p.19) Geography develops students’ ability to ask geographical questions, plan an inquiry, collect and analyse information, reach conclusions based on evidence and logical reasoning, and communicate their findings in effective ways (ACARA, 2011, p.17)

Benefits of inquiry learning in Geography: emphasis on information literacy, ICT and higher- order thinking, encourages students to ask questions about real issues, to search for answers using a wide range of skills and information, and to think critically about personal, local, national and global concerns..