1. Dr.Soultana Lefkopoulou
Thessaloniki,

2. The importance of being a teacher
“Teachers are at the heart of school improvement, and with all the change in the world and new understandings about learning it is essential that they too keep learning“. (Stoll, Fink & Earl, 2003)

3. The inquiry-based learning
tackling real-world questions, issues and controversies
developing questioning, research and communication skills
solving problems or creating solutions
collaborating within and beyond the classroom
developing deep understanding of content knowledge
participating in the public creation and improvement of ideas and knowledge

4. The inquiry-based learning
problem-based learning: learning that starts with an ill-structured problem or case-study
project-based learning: students create a project or presentation as a demonstration of their understanding
design-based learning: learning through the working design of a solution to a complex problem

5. The steps of inquiry-based learning
Ask questions.
Explore by observing and investigating.
Analyze and describe findings.
Communicate and share by writing and discussing.
Reflect on what has been learned.

6. The inquiry-based learning in 5 words
Ask
Investigate
Reflect
Create
Discuss

7. Why Inquiry? g g q q P P l l a a n n n n i i n n a a n n i i n n u u is s s s l l e e o o n n
Why Inquiry?
Too many boring textbooks
Boring and irrelevant
Cant’ see the point of it
Too many facts and too much copying
Too easy and not enough challenge
No one asks me what I think
Too much repetition
OFSTED 2008 c c - - U U s s i i n n g g t t h h e e L L e e a a r r n n i i n n g g C C y y l l e e S S t t r r a a t t e e g g y y

8. The inquiry-based learning
Hands-on and student centered discovery
It all starts with a question.
Experiences are more successful when questions are phrased clearly and when students can discover answers through their own hands-on experiments or through their own research.

9. The inquiry-based learning
Inference questions.
Interpretation questions
Transfer questions
Questions about hypothesis.

10. Student activities: learning through inquiry (1/ 2)
Students pursue questions which they have identified as their own even if introduced by the teacher.
• They do not know the answer to the questions they investigate.
• They know enough about the topic to engage with the question.
• They make predictions based on their emerging ideas about the topic.
• They take part in planning investigations to test their predictions.
• They conduct investigations themselves.
• They use appropriate sources and methods of collecting data relevant to testing their predictions.

11. Student activities: learning through inquiry (2/2)
• They discuss what they find in relation to their initial expectations or predictions.
• They draw conclusions and try to explain what they find.
• They compare their findings and conclusions with what others have found and concluded.
• They keep notes and records during their work.
• They engage in discussion of the methods used and the results of their investigations.

12. The inquiry-based learning
inquiry-based teaching should not be viewed as a technique or instructional practice or method used to teach a subject.
Inquiry starts with teachers as engaged learners and researchers with the foundational belief that the topics they teach are rich, living and generous places for wonder and exploration.
Inquiry is not merely ‘having students do projects’ but rather strives to nurture deep, discipline-based way of thinking and doing with students. 

13. What kinds of questions work best?
When helping students to pose open-ended questions for inquiry, teachers should lead student thinking to questions that are:
Interesting to the student
Answerable, but neither a simple fact answer nor a value judgment
Not personal in nature
Objective

14. Levels in inquiry
Level 1: Confirmation Inquiry Level 2: Structured Inquiry Level 3: Guided Inquiry Level 4: Open/True Inquiry

15. High Order Cognitive Skills - HOCS
“Higher order thinking occurs when a person takes new information and information stored in memory and interrelates and/or rearranges and extends this information to achieve a purpose or find possible answers in perplexing situations.”
Lewis and Smith (1993)

16. Teaching the climate change

17. Who said what? Jeremy Clarkson David Attenborough
“ I care more about the colour of the gear knob on my Mercedes SLK than the amount of CO2 it produces.”
David Attenborough
"I'm no longer sceptical. Now I do not have any doubt at all. I think climate change is the major challenge facing the world.
"I have waited until the proof was conclusive that it was humanity changing the climate."
"If we care about our grandchildren we have to do something and demand our governments do something."

18. Inquiry Sequence Should I be bothered about climate change?
Teaching the climate change
Inquiry Sequence Should I be bothered about climate change?
What different opinions are there on climate change?
What is climate change?
What causes climate change?
How do humans contribute to climate change?
Who and what will be affected by climate change?
Are there any solutions?
What do I think now?
Will I change anything about my life?

19. Think like Pythagoras
Preparatory part
Main part with a motivating historical story
Factographic historical part
Homework explanation and motivation associated with a competition for the nicest- wisest work

20. In the footsteps of Eratosthenes
Malta
Argentina
France

21. Using texts
There is a difficulty in understanding and managing the information in a text.
In the age of information we are not able to handle the information effectively.
The challenge is to
classify
set priorities
select
construct
in order to transform the information into knowledge.

22. Using texts

23. Teaching today
The meaning of ‘knowing’ has shifted from being able to remember and repeat information to being able to find and use it.