1. Teaching by Inquiry How to Teach by Asking Questions
Alexander S. Moore
Math Teacher, Community School
M.S. Candidate, Radford University

2. Agenda Day 1 (3/14) Day 2 (3/21) Day 3 (3/28) Introduction
Levels of inquiry
How to create a prompt
Testable questions
Explain homework
Create an inquiry lesson to use with your own students.
Day 2 (3/21)
We will do an inquiry lesson together!
Explain homework
Reflection questions on the lesson we did.
Implement the lesson you designed.
Day 3 (3/28)
Class discussion
How did the lessons go? What did you learn? What would you change for next time?
Explain homework
Post-implementation reflection questions about the lesson you designed.

3. Preliminaries Adobe Connect https://breeze.radford.edu/ibmpd Resources My
Recordings of the sessions will be available, but you must be present in all three classes to get the recertification points.
Homework will be assigned each week.
If you have any questions during the week, me!

4. What is inquiry?
The basic arc of an inquiry lesson follows three steps:
Formulate a testable question.
Determine methods and procedure; investigate that question.
Communicate your results and findings to the rest of the class.
Students are presented with a prompt, or “discrepant event,” to begin.

5. How to design a prompt “Less on it, and more in it.”
Not comfortably within reach by means of prior knowledge. (Thus, the prompt will create a discrepant event.)
They should be able to pull on prior knowledge to begin thinking about the prompt.
Should barely be outside their current conceptual development so as to cause a discontinuity, i.e., discrepancy, in their brain.

6. Testable questions 3 Types Needs an Expert Needs Revision
If you can design an experiment or investigation to attempt to answer the question, then it’s testable.
Yes/no questions are generally testable but they aren’t very interesting.
Start with "I wonder" statement based on what the student finds interesting about the prompt.
This yields an initial method using skills in their prior knowledge base.
Real question becomes clearer; verbalize it.
Start actual investigation.
3 Types
Needs an Expert
Needs Revision
Ready to Investigate

7. Levels of inquiry Structured Guided Open
1. Formulate the testable question
Teacher
Student
2. Methods and procedure; investigate
3. Communicate the results and findings
You pick the level of inquiry based on the topic of the lesson; it gets designed into the lesson.
More abstract topics may need to be “structured” at first, and then move to guided/open as students gain understanding.

8. But what about SOLs?
I posit that almost any topic can be taught through inquiry.
Take the topic you want to teach and turn it into a prompt.
The design of the prompt should reflect the level of inquiry you want to achieve for the lesson.
The students will discover the truth behind that topic through the inquiry process, just like with didactic instruction.
Benefit: it’s organic exploration that yields personal construction of meaning!

9. What students say
“Different people interpret them different ways. I like that they give your mind freedom to think about it.”
“I used to get nervous doing inquiry projects but now that I’ve done so many of them they are fun.”
“Keep an open mind. Don’t just go with what’s handed to you. Do it your own way because then you have room to show other people what you found, and then we all have different presentations and everybody is not explaining the same thing over and over again.”

10. Homework and Looking Ahead
Design and develop an inquiry lesson plan.
Goal: to fit the lesson into your planning. Implement it before our third session on 3/28 if possible.
You will submit the lesson to me in a Word file (.docx filetype). I will send comments back using Track Changes.
Any LaTeX users? Send me .tex and I will comment using %
Format: whatever your school district uses.
Due via by Friday 11:59 PM
I will send comments back to you by Sunday night 3/19.
Incorporate changes by 3/21. Have the lesson ready to be implemented.
Looking Ahead
TUE 3/21
5–6 PM
TUE 3/28

11. See you next week!