1. A Presentation by Andrew Cymbalisty Inquiry Learning What all the fuss is about…

2. Let’s just say I was feeling a wee bit unprepared…

3. The Unit Plan Created and obtained from Luke Friessen and Amie Sitter

4. To Make Things a Little Simpler… Teacher Questions Inquiry Into… Student’s Questions Personal Inquiry Projects Action Plan: So What? Consumer products are made from resources to satisfy our needs and wants What are standards and why are they necessary for consumer products What are three types of resources and where are they found? Worksheets Explorations Field Trips Movies These become apparent as students inquire into the central idea and teacher questions Obtained from Amie Sitter, March 26 th of 2009

5. Personal Inquiry Projects 1.Product Comparisons 2. Lab Write-ups 3. Presentations Two products of their choice Investigation into which one is better Using the Scientific Process Design their own tests Difference between Variables and Constants A list of possible choices, but there was a HUGE variety of products tested at the end

6. Personal Inquiry Projects All students were made to do the full Scientific Process Two products being compared Problem/Question Hypothesis Materials Procedure Observations Conclusions Structure vs. Unstructure Investment in Learning

7. Personal Inquiry Projects Students were asked to do a professional PowerPoint presentation on their project and the results. This included: We inquired into… Our hypothesis was… We decided to test the following variables… The tests we performed on our products included… We recorded our results by… Our tests confirmed that… From our inquiry we learned that… We still have questions about…

8. Action Plan The Chance to use all the knowledge they have gained so far to make a difference in their lives or the lives of others. Our action project focused on looking at Nutrition Labels– imagine feeding a healthy snack to the entire school…

9. Investment in Learning

10. Team Teaching Definitely Beneficial IF: You and your partner have similar philosophies The school you are in supports you You have interchangeable grades Your personalities mesh well Some Frustrations Are: Having to work around another person’s schedule for everything Everyone’s philosophy is slightly different– you have to be flexible.

11. Management When students are engaged, management is a non-issue Demand compliance, do NOT ask for it Rules and Procedures The Power of Relationships

12. Differentiation When I realized what the Adaptive Dimension really was…

13. Closing Thoughts

14. Contact Information I would not be advocating this approach to teaching if I did not truly believe that it is the approach best suited to the learning styles of children today. I feel stronger about suitable pedagogical practices than I do anything else in the world– for that reason, I encourage you to contact me if inquiry learning seems like something that you are interested in. All inquiries can be directed to: andcym@gmail.com