Writing Inquiry Based Projects

Social Studies Education What is the goal of Social Studies education? What do K-12 Social Studies teachers want students to know and be able to do? Ultimately, students should be prepared as citizens to take informed Civic Action. Informed Civic Action improves neighborhoods, cities, states and the nation as a whole. Thus the application of a quality Social Studies education improves the world.

How will students be prepared to take informed Civic Action How will students be prepared to take informed Civic Action? Students need to: 1.) Know Social Studies content 2.) Consider Social Studies content through various conceptual lenses 3.) Practice inquiry 4.) Practice civic action based on the results of inquiry.

How do we help students practice inquiry? C3 Framework: College, Career and Civic Life National framework for Social Studies instruction Addresses pedagogy and particular disciplines of the Social Sciences Is not a set of standards Compliments the NC Essential Standards http://www.socialstudies.org/system/files/c3/C3-Framework-for-Social-Studies.pdf

Inquiry Arc C3 Inquiry Arc What is the C3 Framework? Dimension 1: Developing Questions and Planning Inquiries Dimension 2: Applying Disciplinary Tools and Concepts (Civics, Economics, Geography, and History) Dimension 3: Evaluating Sources and Using Evidence Dimension 4: Communicating Conclusions and Taking Informed Action Overview of inquiry arc & 4 dimensions of C3: 4 dimensions follow the path of an inquiry itself: questioning, knowing things/skills, finding out new things, making conclusions and asking more questions We’ll consider these dimensions as they relate to planning curriculum.

What does liberty look like? History = When did Americans gain their liberty? Civics = What is the line between liberty and responsibility? Geography = How does liberty change from place to place? Economics = Does more liberty mean more prosperity?

IDM http://wsfcs.k12.nc.us/Page/97714 Click on Inquiry Project Template

Inquiry starts with a good question Review the HS Inquiry Projects Do the compelling questions align with the standards? Are the compelling questions compelling? Will acting on the answer to the compelling question prepare the student for citizenship? Does the question reflect an enduring issue in the field?

Let’s practice writing questions Images, text, graphs, charts, political cartoons can be inspiration for good questions. Does this question “sound” like a student? Is it provocative? Can it be answered in several ways? Does it reflect an enduring issue in the field?

Assessment Matters, Too Skim through the 3-4 formative performance tasks in the high school inquiry projects. What are the teacher and student actions necessary for success on each task? Assessment is an ongoing instructional process. Following backwards design, let’s think about what students need to know/be able to do in our inquiry modules. Also, let’s focus on what the teacher does and what the students do to facilitate learning In this activity, teachers move to the end of the inquiry process and draw on UbD to think about learning outcomes and student products with consideration for both formative and summative assessments. Teachers think carefully about learning outcomes and the forms of students' work that provide evidence of student learning. Special consideration is given to taking informed action the role of criteria and rubrics in assessing student progress.

Assessment Matters, Too Next, find the summative performance task and taking informed action component. What kinds of supports/scaffolds would the teacher need to provide? Finally, brainstorm some additional forms of assessment that facilitate/support students’ taking informed action in their inquiry. Assessment is an ongoing instructional process. Following backwards design, let’s think about what students need to know/be able to do in our inquiry modules. Also, let’s focus on what the teacher does and what the students do to facilitate learning

Content and Skills are the Matter “Working with a robust compelling question and a set of discrete supporting questions, teachers and students determine the kind of content they need in order to develop their inquiries” (NCSS, 2013, p. 17). This is where teachers are already pretty much at home; it’s basic backwards design. Using the NC Essential Standards and other relevant standards documents teachers are already using (e.g., AP guidelines), as well as existing curriculum documents (curriculum maps, standards-based units of study, PLC materials) teachers identify the content and skills students will need/use in order to answer the compelling/supporting questions and prepare students for success on the assessment task(s). Things to consider in this work: Identifying sources (e.g., LOC); some teachers aren’t used to doing this step Helping develop students’ inquiry literacy and disciplinary literacy through instruction/activities Designing instruction to help students work with sources to use evidence and build claims Designing instruction to prepare students to succeed on assessment

Content and Skills are the Matter Option 1: List content/skills that apply to your draft compelling question. Brainstorm how you could address this content in the classroom. Option 2: Generate supporting questions that focus the inquiry on necessary content/skills related to your draft compelling question. This is where teachers are already pretty much at home; it’s basic backwards design. Using the NC Essential Standards and other relevant standards documents teachers are already using (e.g., AP guidelines), as well as existing curriculum documents (curriculum maps, standards-based units of study, PLC materials) teachers identify the content and skills students will need/use in order to answer the compelling/supporting questions and prepare students for success on the assessment task(s). Things to consider in this work: Identifying sources (e.g., LOC); some teachers aren’t used to doing this step Helping develop students’ inquiry literacy and disciplinary literacy through instruction/activities Designing instruction to help students work with sources to use evidence and build claims Designing instruction to prepare students to succeed on assessment

Our goal Over the next three days we will create inquiry based projects to address issues surrounding personal financial literacy. Look at PFL through the various strands / standards (Wednesday morning) Define a timeline for teaching the inquiry project (Wednesday morning) Write compelling and supporting questions (Wednesday morning) Gather resources (Wednesday & Thursday) Create formative assessments (Thursday morning) Create summative assessments (Thursday afternoon) Proposals for Civic Action (Thursday afternoon)