cnshistory.weebly.comcnshistory.weebly.com/uploads/1/0/3/9/10391716/inquiry_for_a_chang… · web...

Inquiry for a changeResources for inquiry-based learning

Jenny Nayler

FEBRUARY 2012 VERSION: NOT FOR COPYING OR CITATION

Inquiry for a change is dedicated to all of those teachers who support their students to investigate and take action in relation to BIG questions in order to produce more rigorous intellectual learning, as well as to produce knowledge, understandings and skills that are required for better social outcomes for individuals, groups and society generally. This book is also for those teachers who have not yet embarked on this professional journey.

AcknowledgmentsThe author would like to acknowledge gratefully the many teachers throughout Queensland and beyond who have enhanced her understandings of inquiry-based learning. Specifically, warm appreciation is extended to teachers at Our Lady of Dolours, Mitchelton and St Augustine’s College, Springfield, as well as the participants in Townsville Catholic Education’s IBL project during 2008 to 2011.

DisclaimerWhile every effort is made to provide appropriate advice, decisions related to specific action to be undertaken remain the responsibility of the workshop participants.

Contact details for Jenny Nayler – learning aJeNcyDr Jennifer NaylerTelephone/Fax: 07 38560225Mobile: 0418197104Email: [email protected]: www.learningajency.com.au

These are draft materials. Thank you for not copying or distributing these materials without permission

of the author.

©Jenny Nayler – learning aJeNcy

February 2012 Version

Jenny Nayler (February 2012 version—not for copying or citation)

2

mailto:[email protected]

ContentsIntroduction..................................................................................................................................1Professional resources for IBL classrooms.............................................................................3

Tune in to the topic of inquiry-based learning (IBL)........................................................................4

Explore your questions, attitudes and knowledge in relation to IBL................................................9

Explore a BIG question and sub-questions to support your professional learning investigation...10

Explore what you think you know in relation to the sub-questions................................................12

Look at sub-question: What is IBL?..............................................................................................13

Look at sub-question: Why use an IBL approach?.......................................................................16

Sub-question: How can we practise an IBL approach?................................................................20

Sort through your learnings to articulate your own set of IBL principles.......................................48

Test your own IBL practice...........................................................................................................50

Act as a result of your professional learning investigation............................................................51

Reflect on what you have learnt and how you have learnt it.........................................................56

Practical resources for IBL classrooms..................................................................................57Teaching/learning activities..............................................................................................................59

‘Tuning in’ phase activities............................................................................................................59

‘Exploring’ phase activities............................................................................................................67

‘Looking’ phase activities..............................................................................................................80

‘Sorting’ phase activities...............................................................................................................86

‘Testing’ phase activities...............................................................................................................93

‘Acting’ phase activities................................................................................................................. 95

‘Reflecting’ phase activities...........................................................................................................97

Snapshots of teacher practice........................................................................................................104

References and other useful resources................................................................................107


List of figuresFigure 1: A professional learning investigation using TELSTAR............................................................3Figure 2: A wordle based on inquiry BIG question and sub-questions.................................................10Figure 3: Two options for formulating BIG questions and sub-questions in professional inquiries.......11Figure 4: A wordle based on a definition of IBL...................................................................................14Figure 5: Research on three types of IBL approaches.........................................................................17Figure 6: Tensions in contemporary schooling....................................................................................19Figure 7: A for Alignment and IBL........................................................................................................20Figure 8: A whole-school inquiry-based learning (IBL) approach from vision and values to student learning................................................................................................................................................ 22Figure 9: Overarching questions based on New Basics......................................................................24Figure 10: Overarching questions guiding a specific investigation.......................................................25Figure 11: Identifying specific frameworks and resources...................................................................27Figure 12: Front-ending assessment...................................................................................................28Figure 13: Productive Pedagogies.......................................................................................................34Figure 14: IBL, Productive Pedagogies and the Australian Curriculum: Science (ACARA, 2011).......35Figure 15: Models of inquiry................................................................................................................. 37Figure 16: TELSTAR model of inquiry.................................................................................................38Figure 17: Using TELSTAR and the Australian Curriculum: History (ACARA, 2011)...........................40Figure 18: Practical examples of inquiry models in use.......................................................................42Figure 19: A whole-school approach to using inquiry models..............................................................45Figure 20: A scaffolded approach to using inquiry models..................................................................45Figure 21: Possible whole-school approaches to the use of inquiry models........................................46Figure 22: Alignment of three models of inquiry...................................................................................46Figure 23: 4D Model............................................................................................................................ 52Figure 24: Three levels of action to put IBL into practice.....................................................................53Figure 25: RAISE the bar..................................................................................................................... 54Figure 26: Teaching/learning activities in each TELSTAR phase........................................................57Figure 27: Two options for determining the BIG question and sub-questions in the classroom...........68Figure 28: Generic assessment ICT-based strategies and Australian Curriculum: Science................82


4

IntroductionInquiry for a change: Resources for inquiry-based learning is for teachers and other curriculum leaders who want to design and implement curriculum that supports students to investigate, as independently as they can, issues, phenomena, and problems. This book is underpinned by the notion that inquiry-based learning (IBL) enhances student engagement and achievement. It is feasible to assume that students who are excited and interested in a topic of inquiry will be more engaged and will experience greater learning and achievement as a result.

There are many excellent resources which provide practical materials to assist in the design and implementation of IBL. It is hoped that Inquiry for a change also provides useful practical resources for IBL. In addition, this book invites the reader to be an inquirer as well—an inquirer in their own learning about IBL. As educators, we expect our students to take stock of what they think they know, what they would like to know and their attitudes to topics under inquiry. We also expect that our students will enhance their understandings of key concepts through their engagement in IBL. Students in IBL classrooms are also expected to reflect on what they have learnt, how they have learnt it and what else they would like to learn. Taking action also figures heavily in the IBL classroom. These key qualities of an IBL classroom, along with others, are drawn on in the first section of this book to support the reader’s professional learning.

Inquiry for a change contains two sections: the professional and the practical. These sections reflect the two key purposes of this book. The first section supports professional learning, reflection and action. The second section contains practical resources that can be adapted and used easily within a range of classroom contexts. It is intended that the reader will move from one section of the book to the other, given that professional decisions clearly influence the practical actions taken by teachers and vice versa. This resource attempts to support teachers to make explicit to themselves—and to others if they choose to embark on this professional journey within a community of learners—their understandings of IBL, the values that underpin their work, along with principles that might guide and promote IBL for greater student engagement and achievement. The rationale here is that truly innovative and effective teaching practice requires explicit consideration of relevant professional issues rather than simply the take-up of resources.

Teachers and other curriculum leaders operate within environments in which they experience varying independence in terms of the curriculum frameworks that guide their school and classroom programs. The approaches explored here can be taken up in educational contexts in which the Australian Curriculum is being utilised, as well as in those contexts in which curriculum frameworks developed by states and territories continue to operate over the next several years. Whatever the curriculum framework used, IBL is a way of seeing the world that values students as key agents in their own learning and, as such, IBL teachers seek out spaces within a curriculum framework for casting students as investigators rather than as passive recipients of someone else’s knowledge.

This resource is designed to serve the needs of teachers with little experience of IBL, as well as those with extensive experience. Novices and those highly experienced in the use of inquiry-based learning should find ideas and practical suggestions within the multi-level approaches to putting IBL into practice. The multi-level approaches to IBL on which this resource is based include:

1. individual teaching strategies focused on IBL2. use of inquiry models to scope and sequence an investigation3. whole-school approaches to IBL.

There are at least two key reasons for the title, Inquiry for a change. First, for many teachers and other curriculum leaders, supporting students to inquire represents a change in pedagogy or teaching approach. In a traditional classroom, the teacher is the custodian of knowledge and the student is the passive recipient of their knowledge. Knowledge is a much more dynamic phenomenon in an IBL classroom. With varying levels of teacher direction, the IBL classroom is characterised by students actively constructing knowledge. Ideally, the students have significant input into the posing of the questions they explore. IBL classrooms promote intellectual rigour through the extensive use of higher-order thinking.


1

Inquiry for a change

Second, Inquiry for a change supports classrooms in which students investigate questions that are meaningful for them and for society and in which taking action is an integral part of the investigation. IBL classrooms are focused on change—in terms of new knowledge and understandings, improved ways of working and more generative attitudes that will change the lives of students themselves and transform the communities in which they live. IBL, as it is conceptualised here, is underpinned by a view of schooling as a key vehicle for the betterment of people’s lives and of the societies in which they live.

In the remainder of this chapter more detail is provided about the two sections of the book.

The professionalIn this section the reader is invited to undertake a series of professional learning and action activities—either individually or within a community of learners—that introduces them to IBL or that enhances their existing understandings and practice of IBL. The inquiry model TELSTAR1 is used to scope and sequence these activities.

The TELSTAR phases include: Tuning in Exploring Looking Sorting Testing Acting Reflecting.

Not only do these activities build the reader’s knowledge, understandings and skills in relation to IBL, they also provide ‘hands-on’ experience of an inquiry model. It is assumed that this first-hand experience of working through activities using an inquiry model will enhance teacher capacity to support their students as they engage in a range of inquiry models during their schooling.

This section also contains ‘stimulus for thought’ which provide responses to professional questions raised earlier. ‘Food for thought’ boxes are designed to provoke thinking and discussion.

An overview of each phase is provided in Figure 1, A professional learning investigation using TELSTAR.

The practicalThis section contains two types of practical resources. Teaching/learning activities suitable for the IBL classroom are provided. These activities are also organised using the TELSTAR phases identified above. The purpose of each phase is outlined as well as some tips for its use in supporting IBL.

Further practical resources include teaching approaches, as well as practical examples. Readers are also encouraged to build up their repertoire of strategies beyond those outlined in this book.

1Source of TELSTAR strategy: Queensland Department of Education (1994) and Victorian Ministry of Education (1987).


2

Sub-Q: What is IBL?

Sub-Q: Why use an IBL approach?

Sub-Q: How can we practise IBL?

…through your learnings to articulate your own set of IBL principles to guide improve student learning.

…on what you have learnt and how you have learnt it.

…as a result of your professional learning investigation e.g. how can you test the extent to which your IBL practice will lead to improved student learning.

…your IBL practice.

…your questions, attitudes and knowledge in relation to IBL…a BIG question and sub-questions to support your professional learning investigation…the model of inquiry used to scope & sequence your investigation…what you think you know in relation to the sub-questions.

…to the topic of IBL.

Introduction

Professional resources for IBL classrooms

Figure 1: A professional learning investigation using TELSTARSource of TELSTAR: Queensland Department of Education (1994) & Victorian Ministry of Education (1987).


…at the BIG question:How can we improve student learning through the use of inquiry-based learning? through the sub-questions below.

3


Tune in to the topic of inquiry-based learning (IBL)

Activity: Use sentence stems for reflection Record your reflections here. For those working within a community of learners, you might like to respond to these

sentence stems within discussion circles or online using a wiki. (See ‘discussion circles’ in ‘tune in’ activities in Practical resources.)

Individual reflection

I think IBL involves...

Students in an IBL classroom would be...

The teacher in an IBL classroom would be...

I support my students in IBL when I...

The strengths (of what I consider to be) IBL include...

Some of the challenges (of what I consider to be) IBL include...

I think that the current curriculum context supports/hinders IBL because...


4

Introduction

Tune in to the topic of inquiry-based learning (IBL)Activity: Tune into your principled approachNote: A key goal in this professional learning journey is your development of a set of principles to guide and promote IBL in your classroom.

Return to these reflections as you work through your investigation.

Ongoing reflection through your investigation

What constitutes successful IBL?

What are some of the characteristics of effective teaching for IBL?

Thinking about principles…What are some of the principles which guide the way you live your life?

What are some of the principles which guide your teaching practice?

What are some of the principles you might take up to guide you and promote IBL in your classroom?

Use the reflections here to support your development of your own principles in the ‘sort’ phase.


5


Tune in to the topic of inquiry-based learning (IBL)Activity: Reflect on your attitudes/values and beliefs

Tick the statements with which you agree. There are no right or wrong answers. This reflection is for your information only.

Attitudes, values and beliefs about inquiry-based learning

1. The teacher can provide most of the material relevant to the targeted knowledge and understanding relevant for an inquiry at any level of schooling.

2. Each key learning area has its own requirements for presenting information, and formats or genres used in other key learning areas should not be used.

3. Inquiry projects should prepare students for life after school [only] when they will be able to understand key issues and monitor the roles of nominated persons who will guarantee that their interests are served.

4. Inquiries are ways of supporting schools’ broad goals of maintaining and reproducing social, economic and political structures — not for challenging such structures.

5. Inquiry projects should involve students in collaborative partnerships with community and government groups so that their findings and recommendations can be heard.

6. Students should be grouped homogeneously, using streaming/selection for any inquiry work.

7. Inquiry processes should be aimed at individualisation of tasks, with some [limited] opportunities for group work.

8. Inquiry processes should involve heterogeneous (mixed ability) groups that build on independence and interdependence.

9. The student–teacher relationship during the inquiry process is typified by the teacher yielding control, as students are able to exercise increasingly more self-control.

10. Teachers need to use processes of critical reflection in order to review their practices with regard to inquiry learning.

11. Inquiry learning is best reserved for gifted and talented students or those who satisfy mandatory requirements of a work program.

12. The teacher is regarded as a ‘mentor’ or facilitator as students conduct their inquiries with the teacher not involved in the learning at any stage.

13. The teacher is regarded as a co-learner as students conduct their inquiries.14. The teacher has mastery of all knowledge and understanding related to the inquiry,

providing structuring and sequencing of all material for students.15. Processes and topics of inquiry are negotiated and emphasis is placed on projects that

involve action that will improve the broader community.

Source: Nayler (2000).

Food for thought…Many of the professional learning activities here are best completed with colleagues in a community of learners. When facilitating or engaging in professional conversations you might find the following ‘rules’ for discussion useful:

1. Talk only to improve the silence.2. Balance advocacy of your position with inquiring into someone else’s.3. Contribute to building shared meaning.4. No ping-ponging [i.e. extended dialogue between just two people].5. Don’t interrupt.6. Speak only positively.7. Show appreciation when disagreement surfaces.8. Every now and again take a vow of silence.

Source: Kaagan (2000).


6

Introduction

Tune in to the topic of inquiry-based learning (IBL)Activity: Tune into IBL in practice

Consider the snapshots of classroom practice below. The snapshots of practice are provided through a teacher in each scenario providing an overview of the coming school year to parents and carers. Consider your responses to the following questions:—Which of these snapshots, if any, reflect qualities or practices you associate with IBL?

—With which snapshots, if any, do you identify in terms of your current practice? With which snapshots do you identify in terms of practice to which you aspire?

Scenario 1: Running a tight ship

Welcome to the Year 7 parents.I want to be frank with you—I run a tight ship in my classroom. You can count on me to maintain the high standards of respect and diligence that I know you all believe in. I’m also a great believer in the textbook. I expect all students to have the textbook and to use it conscientiously. My own observation is that perhaps there’s a bit too much time spent in and out of classrooms ‘researching’ when the bulk of what we need to know is right here in front of us. I’ll be conducting regular tests under exam conditions and I hope that from time to time you’ll inquire about these. I don’t place much store in this ‘group learning’ as I want to be sure that I know exactly what work each student is capable of.

Scenario 2: Opportunities for studentsWelcome to my classroom.My classroom is a place of great opportunities for the students. I’m really dedicated to individual growth and achievement. Throughout this semester we’ll be nominating our students for maths and science competitions, as well as participation in an arts festival. We start off the semester with a major project which has proven to be very successful in previous years. I want the students to develop a travel itinerary showing me what they know about geographical and cultural features of a particular place. I think I make this task really interesting for the students by requiring them to research a place they’ve actually visited—it makes it much more interesting. Last year we had terrific projects from students on places like Hawaii and Italy. ICTs are important in my classroom and I’ll be requiring students to complete much of this work outside school hours and using the latest software available.

Scenario 3: A real-life project

Welcome to my classroom.Our classroom is a very diverse place and I’m still getting to know all of your daughters and sons and I hope that we can have an ongoing conversation throughout the year about their progress. I’d just like to talk with you briefly about a major project that the students will be engaging in this semester. One of the main outcomes of this project is that the students know about and can explain the ways in which ecological and economic factors work in relation to producing and using a resource.

That sounds like complicated business for middle phase students but we’ve looked at this outcome in detail and I’m confident that students understand the options. Last week I conducted a survey of student interest and it’s apparent that many of them are thinking very deeply about our current water crisis and are going to investigate the possible ecological and economic factors associated with building new dams in Queensland. This project will also involve the students’ investigation of alternative solutions, as well as the economic and ecological costs of those solutions.

I believe that students learn so much from each other and so they’ll do a lot of the research in teams and we’ll also be learning about how teams work and how we all work within teams.

I’ll also be encouraging them to share their findings in some appropriate way with organisations and groups beyond our school.


7


Tune in to the topic of inquiry-based learning (IBL)Activity: Tune in through reading about another teacher’s practice

Would you consider the students in this extract to be engaged in inquiry-based learning? Why or why not?

Context: The conversation below occurred in a middle years classroom where the students and teachers were working on a project called Kids Connect (KC). The KC Team organised and convened a two-day conference for nearly two hundred students and teachers. The focus of the conference, Kids on a mission: Sustainability and the environment, was on collaborative learning and action with a strong focus on the use of information and communication technologies. The teacher is using a ‘plan, do, reflect’ approach. (For further information see Nayler, 2009a.)

Teacher team member: ‘D’ [a student] is away – who will run the meeting today?[A student volunteers and invites each group to give an update on what they’ve achieved and what goals they’ve set themselves for the session.]Kids Connect Team in the ‘plan’ phase[Some teacher prompting occurs] ‘B’, what’s happening with the marketing group today?Dot Mac group: We’re capturing photos of people collaborating [these are later uploaded to the Kids Connect website].Technology/break-out presenters group: We’re making a table to record equipment needs of break-out presenters.Delegate support group: We’re sending emails to schools that aren’t sending teachers with students. We also need to let the schools know the licence numbers for the software our sponsors are providing.Teacher team member: Remember our ground rules: Let people know if you need to go out of the room to do a particular task.Kids Connect Team in the ‘do’ phaseThe Marketing group is writing a blurb about what Kids Connect is about. A map has to be found showing the location of Walkabout Creek. Photos are needed of the KC team.Two students work on ensuring that blurbs on the KC website have presenters’ names and, importantly, do their best to ensure that ‘kids reading the blurbs would be excited to attend’.Other students are emailing Mike Anderson [Conference VIP, founder of the Kids Connect in New Zealand and Principal] to ask him for a blurb about his workshop.A curriculum officer supporting the school explains what a database is to a group of students—how it’s needed to store info. Students learn about ‘fields’ in order to create name tags for the conference.One of the two St D’s teachers works with some students to design an email that ‘grabs’ the reader’s attention.Two students are interviewing a third student about their role in Kids Connect. The interviewee talks about his work in the graphics design group. He’s been working with others in his group to design logos and stationery. The student interviewers use laptops to record the interview.The ‘do’ phase concludes with students saving work on their PCs and laptops and updating their hard-copy folders. These electronic and hard-copy folders contain important working information for the current year’s work but will also provide valuable assistance for next year’s team.Kids Connect Team in the ‘reflect’ phaseKids Connect Team members provide brief reports on what they’ve done in the session. One group shares a dilemma: the Media Group wants to come up with a ‘catchy’ phrase to accompany their media release. The students act as the audience for the group’s suggestions. A teacher team member delivers a challenge—Would you open up this media release if you read this email? A lively few minutes ensue as the group shares ideas.Other students share their reflections and in doing so point the way forward to the learning they need to do in the next session: I’ve got the photos but I don’t know how to publish a webpage; and I looked for a map but there’s already one there to which a teacher team member replied: We must work in our groups and know what has already been achieved.A teacher team member invites students to share one word that describes what it’s like working with others on Kids Connect. Student replies include: inspirational; extraordinarily good; great; rad; enthusiastic; and exciting. And in response to what they liked about Kids Connect, two students replied: We love KC because we get to learn with others, we have fun and we become competent [in things like marketing and media].The session ends with a teacher team member issuing a challenge to students: Tonight tell your parents what you and others are doing in KC.

Source: Nayler (2009b).


8

Introduction

Explore your questions, attitudes and knowledge in relation to IBL

Activity: Explore your questions, attitudes and knowledge through a silent QuAK Record your responses to the following questions. For those working within a community of learners, record your responses on a designated

wiki (see below) or other form of online communication. Alternatively, you could use butcher’s paper. (See ‘silent conversation’ in ‘tune in’ activities in Practical resources.)

Analyse the responses: What patterns are evident?

What questions do you have about the topic of IBL?

What are your attitudes to the topic of IBL?

What do you know (or think you know) in relation to the

topic of IBL?

Food for thought and action…According to www.wikipedia.org/, a wiki is website that uses wiki software, allowing the easy creation and editing of any number of interlinked Web pages…Wikis are often used to create collaborative websites, to power community websites, and for note taking. The collaborative Wikipedia is one of the best-known wikis.

Did you know that ‘wiki’ is Hawaiian for ‘fast’ (www.wikipedia.org/; retrieved 11 April, 2010)? See Practical resources for further information on ICTs in the IBL classroom.


9

http://www.wikipedia.org/

http://www.wikipedia.org/


Explore a BIG question and sub-questions to support your professional learning investigationActivity: Formulate a BIG question and sub-questions A BIG question in IBL shapes and directs the investigation for the learner. Given your questions,

attitudes and knowledge in relation to IBL, what BIG question could be used to support your investigation?

(Option 1; see figure 3, Two options for formulating BIG questions and sub-questions in professional inquiries, for further detail about this process) Propose a BIG question that best suits your context and your learning needs (in negotiation with

the rest of your group if working in a community of learners):

................................................................................................................................................. ..........

If that is your BIG question, propose your sub-questions:

............................................................................................................................................................

............................................................................................................................................................

............................................................................................................................................................

(Option 2; see figure 3, Two options for formulating BIG questions and sub-questions in professional inquiries, for further detail about this process) A BIG question is provided here with subsequent activities addressing that question: How can we

improve student learning through the use of inquiry-based learning (IBL)? The sub-questions provided here to answer the BIG question include:

i. What is ‘inquiry-based learning’? ii. Why use an IBL approach?iii. How can we practise IBL?

How can you improve these sub-questions? What is unnecessary or inappropriate? What needs to be added, deleted or modified?

Figure 2: A wordle based on inquiry BIG question and sub-questions

The above image has been created, based on the sub-questions above, using tools available at: <http://www.wordle.net> (retrieved 31 January, 2010).

Food for thought and action…National School Reform Faculty [protocols for professional learning]. Retrieved 29 February 2012,

from <http://www.nsrfharmony.org/protocol/a_z.html>.[Inquiry strategies for professional learning]. Retrieved 29 February 2012, from <http://www.nsrfharmony.org/protocol/inquiry.html>.


10

Introduction


11


Explore a BIG question and sub-questions to support your professional learning investigationActivity: Formulate a BIG question and sub-questionsFigure 3 illustrates two options for formulating BIG questions and sub-questions.

Figure 3: Two options for formulating BIG questions and sub-questions in professional inquiries

Option 1: Collaboration in determining overall direction of the inquiry

Process Specific example

Tune in to the topic being

studiedTopic: Inquiry-based learning

Explore

participants’ knowledge, attitudes and questions in relation to the topic in order to formulate a BIG question (or hypothesis) and sub-questions.

What questions do you have in relation to IBL?

What are your attitudes in relation to IBL?

What do you know or think you know in relation to IBL?

Collaborative development—involving both facilitator and participants—of a BIG question that is meaningful for individuals in their various learning contexts.Subsequent collaborative development of sub-questions that help to answer the BIG question.

Option 2: Facilitator direction in determining overall direction of the inquiryOverview Example

Tune in to the topic through a

facilitator-developed BIG question

BIG Question: How can we improve student learning through the use of IBL?

Explore

participants’ knowledge, attitudes and questions in relation to the facilitator-developed sub-questions.

i. What is ‘inquiry-based learning’?ii. Why use an IBL approach?iii. How can we practise IBL?

NB: Participants are also invited to pose further questions based on the above.


12

Introduction

Explore what you think you know in relation to the sub-questionsActivity: Explore what you think you know

Record your responses to the sub-questions. For those working in a community of learners, record your responses on a wiki prior to your

session (or use butcher’s paper during the session).

The sub-question Your knowledge

i. What is ‘inquiry-based learning’?

ii. Why use an IBL approach?

iii. How can we practise IBL?

In relation to iii:

What principles could guide and promote IBL in your classroom?

Readers are encouraged to look beyond the resources in this book for examples of research and practice which address the sub-questions. In the next section, the ‘look’ phase, information relevant to each sub-question is provided.


13



14

Introduction

Look at sub-question: What is IBL?Stimulus for thoughtInquiry-based learning refers to an approach that places the student in a central location in terms of their own learning. BIG questions and sub-questions guide teaching and learning in an IBL classroom. As far as possible students generate and respond to their own questions and use, and become aware of, a variety of questioning frameworks. IBL is most productively scoped and sequenced using a model of inquiry, such as TELSTAR.2

problem-solvingasking & responding to questions

negotiationhigher-order thinking

discovery BIG questions and ideas student agencyreal-life topics and issues

involvement with community action

People learn when they seek answers to questions that matter to them. (Dewey, 1933)

Food for thought and action…Pedagogy is a social practice led by the teacher—a practice which involves the teacher, learners and the knowledge they produce together (see Lusted, 1986).

Inquiry-based pedagogies involve teaching strategies that engage students in posing and responding to questions, solving problems and, in general, constructing knowledge for themselves rather than being the passive recipients of someone else’s knowledge.

Inquiry-based pedagogies are most productively sequenced within a broader inquiry (that is aligned with what’s in a teaching/learning unit) around a central or BIG question. The BIG question in an inquiry-based teaching/learning unit is best approached through a series of sub-questions. Models of inquiry, such as TELSTAR or the 5Es, can be used to sequence a broad inquiry.

Traditional teaching approaches compared with inquiry-based learning approaches

Traditional teaching Inquiry-based learning approaches Teacher determination of

the topic often unrelated to school context.

Teacher–student collaboration in determining BIG question and sub-questions related to the topic that is personally and socially meaningful.

Teacher delivery of content.

Active construction of knowledge by students working within a community of learners.

Focus on student recall of information.

Focus on student engagement in higher-order thinking.

Content regarded as unproblematic.

Knowledge regarded as problematic and actively explored through critical literacy approaches. (Acknowledging knowledge as problematic means recognising that it was constructed or made by people at particular times for particular purposes—as such it cannot always represent truth for everyone.)

2 Source of TELSTAR: Queensland Department of Education (1994) and Victorian Ministry of Education (1987).


15


What is IBL?Figure 4: A wordle based on a definition of IBL

The above image has been created, based on the definition of IBL used earlier, using tools available at: <http://www.wordle.net> (retrieved 31 January, 2010).

Food for thought and action…According to Barell (2007, p. 3):

Problem-based learning can be defined as an inquiry process that resolves questions, curiosities, doubts, and uncertainties about complex phenomena in life. A problem is any doubt, difficulty, or uncertainty that invites or needs some kind of resolution. Student inquiry is very much an integral part of PBL and problem resolution.


16

Introduction

What is IBL?Activity: What’s your curriculum orientation?

Revisit the statements you ticked in the activity, ‘Reflect on your attitudes/values and beliefs’ in the ‘tune in’ phase.

Each of the statements has been designed to align with one of the curriculum orientations shown in the table below. Use the information following to determine which curriculum orientation best reflects your practice:—responses 5, 8, 10, 13 and 15 reflect practices and approaches that Kemmis, Cole and Suggett (1983 p. 49) would label as belonging to a ‘socially critical’ curriculum orientation’—responses 3, 7, 9, 11 and 12 suggest a ‘liberal/progressive curriculum orientation’—responses 1, 2, 4, 6 and 14 indicate commitment to a ‘vocational/neo-classical orientation’.

Note: Inquiry-based pedagogies that promote student engagement and achievement, as well as wellbeing for the diverse range of students and for society, generally, are informed by particular values and beliefs. The ‘conservative’ and ‘liberal’ curriculum orientations do not serve such inquiry-based pedagogies—these are served well by a socially-critical approach.

Consider the further resources provided on this page—what reflections would you make about your current practice and any changes you might want to make in the future? According to a ‘classroom veteran’, ‘We can teach for the society we live in, or we can teach for the one we want to see (quoted in Bigelow, Harvey, Karp & Miller, 2001, p. 4). What sort of society are you teaching for?

Curriculum orientation What the classroom looks like

Described in another way

Conservative ‘Conservative classrooms are characterized by the undisputed authority of the teacher, the relative passivity of the students, and the unproblematic transmission of authorised knowledge.’

Maintaining the status quo

Liberal ‘Liberal classrooms are characterised by the teacher’s role as leader and facilitator, active inquiry by students, and an emphasis on understanding the reasons for social phenomena.’

Maximising opportunities for individuals

Socially critical ‘Critical classrooms are characterized by more democratic relations between teachers and students, by high levels of collaboration, and by learning that involves ideological critique.’

Source of definitions in this column: Hoepper & Land 1996, p. 85.

Making change to serve the needs of the range of individuals and groups

Curriculum orientations and classrooms

Food for thought and action...What do ‘constructivist and inquiry-oriented approaches’ have in common?

The focus is on the student. The pace of instruction is flexible, not fixed. Students are encouraged to search for implications. Students are encouraged to generate multiple conclusions. Students must justify their methods for problem solving. Neither constructivism nor inquiry sees itself as the sole learning model for all content. Nature provides the objects, and humans classify them.

Orlich, Harder, Callahan & Gibson (2001, p. 324)

Inquiry is often falsely equated with having students perform hands-on activities.…What distinguishes inquiry from other classroom events is the attempt to draw meaning out of experience. Without driving, answerable questions and an emphasis on sense making, no classroom experience has a true connection with the process of inquiry.…the principal factor that determines the level of inquiry is the relative amounts of student versus teacher control over an activity. The skills, processes, tools, and elements of inquiry are developmental. Skilful teachers know that choosing the most appropriate instructional strategy is influenced by the time of year, age level, amount of experience, and nature of the learning activity. Gradual release of control over classroom events is how most teachers phase inquiry into their programs. Audet (2008, p. 7)


17


Look at sub-question: Why use an IBL approach?Stimulus for thought


Why use an IBL

approach?

Traditional approaches are unsatisfactory for the

knowledge demands of our contemporary world.

Students seem to be more engaged when they’re motivated

to seek answers to questions rather than being told what to

learn and how to learn it.

Inquiry approaches to learning foster change in people's

thinking and actions. Much of the literature suggests that traditional approaches to teaching (e.g. a focus on expository or transmission teaching) is effective for student learning of factual

knowledge but that IBL approaches foster greater student success and achievement in

higher-order thinking.

ICTs—a pervasive aspect of contemporary youth culture—

align well with an inquiry-based learning approach.

Remember!The success, or otherwise, of IBL approaches, might be largely dependent on the nature, extent and timing of teacher scaffolding.

According to Thomas (2000, p. 34):

There is evidence that students have difficulties benefiting from self-directed situations, especially in complex projects. Chief among these difficulties are those associated with initiating inquiry, directing investigations, managing time, and using technology productively. The effectiveness of PBL as an instruction method may depend, to a greater extent than we recognize, on the incorporation of a range of supports to help students learn how to learn.

18

Professional resources for IBL

Why use an IBL approach? Stimulus for thoughtA summary of Darling-Hammond et al.’s (2008) research on three main forms of inquiry learning approaches: project-based learning, problem-based learning and design-based learning follows.

Figure 5: Research on three types of IBL approaches

Approach Research findings

Pro

ject

-bas

ed le

arni

ng

‘Project-based learning (PBL) involves completed complex tasks that typically result in a realistic product, event, or presentation to an audience’ (p. 35).

Overall conclusions‘[S]tudents who engage in this approach benefit from gains in factual learning that are equivalent or superior to gains for those who engage in traditional forms of instruction. The goals of PBL are broader, however. The approach aims to enable students to transfer their learning more powerfully to new kinds of situations and problems and to use knowledge more proficiently in performance situations’ (pp. 38–39).Example cited in Darling-Hammond et al. (2008)Longitudinal study by Boaler (1997, 1998) involved students in two British schools with one using a traditional curriculum and the other following a project-based curriculum.Snapshot of traditional approach: teacher-directed whole-class instruction focusing on texts, workbooks and frequent tests.Snapshot of PBL approach: open-ended projects in mixed ability classrooms.Findings: ‘…more students in the project-based school passed the National Exam in year three of the study than those in the traditional school’ (p. 39). According to Boaler (quoted in Darling-Hammond, et al., 2008, p. 42), students in traditional classroom ‘thought that mathematical success rested on being able to remember and use rules’ with the PBL students developing a more flexible mathematical knowledge which involved them in ‘exploration and thought’.

Pro

blem

-bas

ed le

arni

ng

‘In problem-based learning, students work in small groups to investigate meaningful problems, identify what they need to learn in order to solve a problem, and generate strategies for solution’ (p. 43)3

Overall conclusions‘Studies of the efficacy of problem-based learning suggest that, like other project-based approaches, it is comparable, and sometimes superior, to more traditional instruction in facilitating factual learning, but it is better in supporting flexible problem solving, application of knowledge, and hypothesis generation’ (p. 44–45).Examples cited in Darling-Hammond et al. (2008) suggest students:—show greater gains in conceptual understanding in science (Williams, Hemstreet, Liu & Smith, 1998)—demonstrate greater proficiency in supporting claims with well-reasoned arguments (Stepien, Gallagher and Workman, 1993)—generate more accurate hypotheses and better explanations (Hmelo, 1998).

Des

ign-

base

d le

arni

ng In this approach students design and create a product or artefact that involves understanding and application of relevant concepts.

Examples cited in Darling-Hammond et al. (2008)—Kolodner, et al.,4 found ‘large and consistent differences’ (Darling-Hammond, et al., 2008) between the Learning by Design (LBD) classes and other classes with LBD students outperforming non-LBD students on collaborative interaction and aspects of metacogniton such as self-monitoring.—Hmelo, Holton, and Kolodner (2000) found that middle years students asked to design an artificial set of lungs and build a partially working model of the respiratory system achieved better learning outcomes than those achieved through traditional approaches.—Barron et al., (1998) noted significant gains in student ability to use scale and measurement concepts in a five-week design project which required fifth-grade students to use geometry concepts to produce blueprints for a playground as well as two- and three-dimensional representations for the playhouse. Eighty-four per cent of the 37 designs submitted were judged to be accurate enough to build.

3 Drawing on Barrows (1996) and Hmelo-Silver (2004).4 Kolodner, J., Camp, P., Crismond, D., Fasse, B., Gray, J., Holbrook, J., et al. (2003).


19


Why use an IBL approach?

Food for thought and action: Just play or deep learning?Pataray-Ching and Roberson (2002, p. 499) describe an investigation by children aged 2½–5 years of age:

[The children] are interested in learning more about germs after playing ‘doctor’ and wondering why people get sick. They make preliminary drawings of what they think germs might look like and pose questions: ‘How do you catch a cough?’ ‘How do you catch ear infections?’ ‘What happens to germs when they get washed down the sink?’ One of the children’s parents is a doctor, so they visit the doctor’s office, where they check each other’s blood pressures, listen to each other’s hearts through a stethoscope, and ask the doctor their questions about germs. When they return to their childcare center…the children survey their area to check where the most germs exist. They count the number of fungi on each slide taken from swab samples from various places around the facility and find that the toilet has the least amount of germs…. Together they write a story about germs that includes themselves as characters. Since their visit to the doctor’s office, some of them have been talking about setting up their own workspace as a doctor’s office. Their inquiries on germs, a microscopic entity that they can’t even see, continue to spark more questions and further exploration.

Food for thought and action: Traditional approaches are unsatisfactory for the knowledge demands of our contemporary world

Did you know that……knowledge is expanding at a breathtaking pace. It is estimated that five exabytes of new information (5,000,000,000,000,000,000 bytes, or 500,000 times the volume of the Library of Congress print collection) was generated in 2002, more than three times as much as in 1999….The amount of new technical information is doubling every two years, and it is predicted to double every seventy-two hours by 2010 (Jukes & McCain, 2002). As a consequence, effective education can no longer be focused on transmission of pieces of information that, once, memorized, constitute a stable storehouse of knowledge. Education must help students learn how to learn in powerful ways, so that they can manage the demands of changing information, technologies, jobs and social conditions. (Darling-Hammond, Barron, Pearson, Schoenfeld, Stage, Zimmerman, Cervetti & Tilson, 2008, p. 2)

Food for thought and action: Need for teacher scaffoldingDarling-Hammond et al.’s (2008, p. 70) conclusion offers useful food for thought and action:

It is clear that such approaches are critical for preparing students for future learning. The research to date suggests that inquiry-based approaches can be productive and an important way to nurture communication, collaboration, and deep thinking, but it is also challenging to implement them. [Drawing on a range of research5 Darling-Hammond et al., further propose that] [a] major hurdle in implementing these curricula is that they require simultaneous changes in curriculum, instruction, and assessment practices—changes that are often foreign to teachers as well as students. Teachers need time—and a community—to support their capacity to organize sustained project work. It takes significant pedagogical sophistication to manage extended projects in classrooms so as to maintain a focus on ‘doing with understanding’ rather than ‘doing for the sake of doing’ (Barron et al., 1998).

5 Barron et al., 1998; Blumenfeld, Soloway, Marx, Krajcik, Guzdial & Palinscar (1991).


20


Why use an IBL approach?Activity: Look at the big picture of contemporary schooling

Reflect on the current tensions associated with contemporary schooling. Consider the following questions, as well as others that emerge from your reflection or

discussion with colleagues:—Are any of the tensions articulated below evident in your context? If so, how do they manifest themselves? What other tensions exist?—What strategies are you using (or have you used) to work through these tensions?—What events, trends or organisations contribute to unproductive tensions in contemporary schooling?

Consider how an IBL approach might align with an innovative approach to schooling.

Figure 6: Tensions in contemporary schooling

A traditional approach to schooling An innovative approach to schooling

Discipline-based curricular approaches

versus Integrated curricular approaches that support student learning based on BIG questions that matter to students and to society

Pedagogical approaches dominated by transmission teaching

versus Pedagogical approaches drawing on repertoires of innovative pedagogies that position students well to collaborate with their teachers to direct their own learning as much as possible (See Finding and acting on cSpaces: A snapshot.)

Singular focus on academic excellence

versus Acknowledgement of diverse capacities of learners

Focus on summative assessment versus Balance of diagnostic, formative and summative assessment to promote an assessment as learning approach

Competitive cultures versus Collaborative cultures that build ownership and commitment among the school community

Emphasis on co-curricular activities versus Balanced curriculum delivery

Privatised and individualised professional learning

versus Collaborative professionalism which builds on and builds individual, team and organisational learning

Work intensification/maximising staff output

versus Supporting staff to engage proactively in professional activities and to nurture their own wellbeing


21


Sub-question: How can we practise an IBL approach?In this section, there are professional learning activities that support the reader to explore the sub-question, How can we practise IBL? The professional learning activities relate to the key elements shown below:

IBL and understanding student knowledge, interests, needs and aspirations IBL and what we teach IBL and how we teach IBL and how we assess

at the classroom level and at the whole-school or strategic level.

Figure 7: A for Alignment and IBL

IBL professional learning activities in the next section

IBL and…Knowing

our students

Whole-school/

strategicfocus

What weTeach

How we teach

How we assess

1. Connect your IBL practice to your school vision

2. Put your overarching questions to the

test

3. Aligning curriculum, teaching and assessment

4. Finding and acting on cSpaces 5. Identify your learners and their needs 6. Find out who your students are 7. Use CAP to differentiate curriculum,

pedagogies and assessment for individuals and groups of students

8. Look for the right inquiry model 9. Front end your assessment 10. Plan your own inquiry-based unit 11. Look at a whole-school approach to

using inquiry models

12. Look at possible principles that could


Student

knowledge,

interests,

needs &

aspirations

How we teach thisHow we assess (and report)

student learning

What we intend to teachAbout the A for Alignment

figure opposite...

One of the key characteristics of quality curriculum is the need for alignment of what we intend to teach, how we teach, how we assess student learning and how we report such learning.

Inquiry-based pedagogies are best designed and implemented within a context of alignment.

22


guide your IBL practice


23


How can we practise IBL (at a whole-school or strategic level)? Activity: Connect your IBL practice to your school/college vision Reflect on the school’s collaboratively developed and owned values (or implement a process to

reach this stage) that guide and inform all aspects of school life. Draw on the Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians (MCEETYA, 2008) with its focus:

Goal 1: Australian schooling promotes equity and excellenceGoal 2: All young Australians become:

—successful learners—confident and creative individuals—active and informed.

Consider the required curriculum, that is, the Australian Curriculum (and any relevant state/territory based curriculum frameworks) to determine what the key focus areas are. Also consider how your school values, within the context of the Australian Curriculum, could form the basis of overarching questions that could guide curriculum design and enactment. Possible overarching questions are provided below for a school whose articulated values are justice, wisdom and compassion.

Overarching questions developed by a school might be used directly with students, reworded or used indirectly to inform teacher planning, according to the developmental needs of students.

Figure 8, A whole-school inquiry-based learning (IBL) approach from vision and values to student learning, shows the possible relationship among:—school’s vision and values—required curriculum—overarching questions—aligned curriculum, assessment and pedagogies—principles for IBL—student thinking, learning, acting and achieving.

Practical examplesSee further practical examples of overarching questions following in this section.

A practical example of overarching questions...Justice: What is justice and how do we practise it? Why is justice important to me? Why is justice important in/to the world?

What have we learnt about justice from this topic/inquiry/project? What else might we need to learn about justice? How might we learn this and from whom?

Whose actions have taught us more about justice? What did we learn? How can we take action for justice in relation to the findings of our current inquiry? When have I had opportunities to practise justice in relation to this topic/inquiry/project?

What action have I taken? What action could I take in the future?Wisdom: What is wisdom and how do we practise wisdom? Why is wisdom important to me? Why is wisdom important in/to the world?

What have we learnt about wisdom from this topic/inquiry/project? What else might we need to learn about wisdom? How might we learn this and from whom?

What thinking skills help us to make wise decisions?/What skills help us to think wisely? Whose actions have taught us more about wisdom? What did we learn? How can we act wisely in relation to the findings of our current inquiry? When have I had opportunities to practise wisdom (or to act wisely) in relation to this

topic/inquiry/project? What action have I taken? What action could I take in the future?Compassion: What is compassion and how do we practise it? Why is compassion important to me? Why is compassion important in/to the world?

What have we learnt about compassion from this topic/inquiry/project? What else might we need to learn about compassion? How might we learn this and from whom?

Whose actions have taught us more about compassion? What did we learn? How can we act compassionately given the findings of our inquiry? When have I had opportunities to practise compassion in relation to this

topic/inquiry/project? What action have I taken? What action could I take in the future?


24



Members of school and wider community enact collaboratively developed vision and values*.

Teachers and other curriculum leaders enact the required curriculum organised school-wide through

Overarching Questions (OQ) based on school vision and values.Teachers align

connected curriculum, authentic assessment and productive pedagogies while enacting collaboratively developed

principles for IBL.Students think, learn,act and achieve in

response to BIG questions that matter to them and

to society.

Figure 8: A whole-school inquiry-based learning (IBL) approach from vision and values to student learningProfessional inquiry questions to

drive this approach Q: What are your vision and values* for student learning and achievement? Who are your learners and what are their needs?What processes have been used to collaboratively develop and own the vision and values within the school community? What values and beliefs align best with IBL?

Q: What do students need to learn in the context of the Australian Curriculum? How does IBL align with the Australian Curriculum?Q: How can IBL be incorporated into curriculum design and implementation? What are the Overarching Questions that you have collaboratively developed in order to enact your vision and values?

Q: What do connected curriculum, authentic assessment and productive pedagogies look like in your context? What types of teaching/learning strategies support IBL?

Q: What are your principles for IBL?

Q: Does your school use a single model of inquiry (e.g. TELSTAR) across the whole school or several models of inquiry?Q: Why use an IBL approach?

Q: At the learning/teaching unit level, what are the BIG questions that engage students to think, learn, act and achieve in response to questions that matter to them and to society? What is ‘inquiry-based learning’?

School artefacts/planning

documents—School strategic plan with vision and values

—Whole-school curriculum plan with Overarching Questions

—Year level curriculum plans

—Semester/term plans

—Learning/teaching units organised around BIG questions with individual plans for students with special needs.

*Draw on Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians (MCEETYA, 2008).

25



26


How can we practise IBL (at a whole-school or strategic level)?Practical examples of overarching questionsAnother possible set of overarching questions draws on the framework, Tomorrow’s citizens: Skills for success in the 21st century (DET, 2009).

Tomorrow’s citizens: Skills for success in the 21st centuryHealthy citizen

What do we need to know, understand and be able to do to be a healthy citizen? What actions do we need to take to promote our own and others’ health?

Informed citizen What do we need to know, understand and be able to do to be an informed citizen? What

actions do we need to take to be informed and support others to be informed?Democratic citizen

What do we need to know, understand and be able to do to be a healthy citizen? What actions do we need to take to be democratic citizens and to support others to be democratic citizens?

Creative citizen What do we need to know, understand and be able to do to be a creative citizen? What

actions do we need to take to promote our own creativity and to support others to be creative?

Eco-citizen What do we need to know, understand and be able to do to be an eco-citizen? What actions

do we need to take to be eco-citizens and to support others to be eco-citizens?

The Earth Charter also provides a framework with which schools could develop overarching questions in order to organise and frame their curriculum. ‘The Earth Charter is a declaration of fundamental principles for building a JUST, PEACEFUL and SUSTAINABLE global society in the 21st century. It seeks to inspire in all peoples a new sense of global interdependence and shared responsibility for the well-being of the human family and the larger living world.’ (Earth Charter in action website, n.d.).

The Earth CharterThe four key headings and the 16 sub-headings of The Earth Charter 2008 Children’s Poster have been used to develop the following overarching questions:How can we respect the community of life?

1. How can we understand the interconnectedness of all living things?2. How can we care for people, plants and animals with compassion and love?3. How can we include all people and build peaceful, fair and friendly communities?4. How can we make good choices for now and the future?

How can we care for our environment?5. How can we protect the diversity of nature?6. How can we avoid environmental harm?7. How can we walk lightly on our Earth and use only what we need?8. How can we teach others how to keep our Earth clean and healthy?

How can we share so that all have enough?9. How can we help those who don’t have enough to live?10. How can we manage our resources to benefit everyone?11. How can we treat girls and boys fairly?12. How can we accept all people for who they are, not judging them by their colour, race or gender?

How can we help create a peaceful world community?13. How can we work together to make fair rules for everyone?14. How can we actively learn for a better world?15. How can we prevent cruelty to animals?16. How can we be at peace with [ourselves], others and the Earth.


27


How can we practise IBL (at a whole-school or strategic level)?Practical examples of overarching questions In this example, the overarching questions are drawn from the New Basics curriculum organisers (Education Queensland at: http://education.qld.gov.au/corporate/newbasics/html/curric-org/curricorg.html (retrieved 7 February 2011).

Figure 9: Overarching questions based on New Basics


BIG question

Life pathways and social futuresQ: How does this investigation help me to learn about and prepare for new worlds of work?

Active citizenshipQ: What have I learnt about my rights and responsibilities in local and wider communities in relation to this BIG question?

Environments and technologiesQ: How can I use knowledge from a learning area (e.g. Science) to describe, analyse and shape the world around me?

Multiliteracies and communications media

Q: How can I find answers to this question using innovative media?Q: How can I communicate what I've learnt?

28

http://education.qld.gov.au/corporate/newbasics/html/curric-org/curricorg.html


How can we practise IBL (at a whole-school or strategic level)?Practical examples of overarching questions In the example below the New Basics overarching questions have been used to develop specific questions for an investigation and ‘rich task’ development.

Figure 10: Overarching questions guiding a specific investigation


BIG question: Do we need wilderness

areas?

Life pathways and social futuresQ: What jobs are available in wilderness areas? What job does my community mentor have?Q: Am I interested in working in wilderness areas? What qualifications would I need?

Active citizenshipQ: What action do I need to take/does my community need to take in relation to wilderness areas?

Environments and technologiesQ: How does Science help me understand the diversity of plants and animals in wilderness areas? Q: How does Science help me to decide whether we need wilderness areas or not?

Multiliteracies and communications mediaQ: How can I use Web 2.0 technologies (blogs, Skype, wikis) to share what I've found out about whether we need wilderness areas?

29


How can we practise IBL (at a whole-school or strategic level)?Activity: Put your overarching questions to the test

Consider the big issues or topics that your students can study within the framework of your overarching questions.

Examine what Wolk (2007) considers to be key ‘content’ for students. Are these areas addressed in your school curriculum? Should they be? What other areas should be a focus for your students? Are there spaces to explore these areas within the Australian Curriculum?

Food for thought and action...In an article entitled ‘Why go to school?’, Steven Wolk suggests that US education might be dominated by a ‘fill-in-the-blank schooling’ (p. 649).

Wolk says:Last year my son’s homework in second grade was 400 worksheets. The year before, in first grade, his homework was also 400 worksheets. Each day he brought home two worksheets, one for math and one for spelling. That was two worksheets a day, five days a week, 40 weeks a year....The school was teaching my 7 year-old that the wonderful world of learning is about going home each day and filling in worksheets (p. 648)....Is it really possible to inspire people to live a life of learning and wonder, if throughout their schooling children are always told what to learn, when to learn, and how to learn? How will we ever own our learning—and even our own mind—outside of school if we are rarely allowed to own either inside our classrooms? (p. 652)

In contrast, he calls for ‘remak[ing] our schools into vibrant workshops for personal, social, and global transformation, or we must own up to our complicity in perpetuating a superficial, unthinking, and unjust world’ (p. 650). Specifically, Wolk calls for ‘making school inquiry-based’...that is, questioning, investigating, and analyzing our lives and the world in depth with authentic resources and projects’ (p. 652). He considers the following key ‘content’ areas as vital for students at all levels of schooling, including students in the early years:

self a love of learning caring and empathy environmental literacy multicultural community

social responsibility peace and nonviolence media literacy global awareness creativity and imagination money, family, food and happiness.

Q: Are these areas important in schooling?Q: Are these areas explored at your school?Q: Could these form the basis for a set of overarching questions for your school or college?Q: What other framework or research could form the basis for such questions?

More food for thought and action...

‘When basic needs have been met, human development is primarily about being more, not having more’ (Earth Charter Preamble).

‘...if “experiential learning” can summon the depths of young people’s empathy, they might come to know a different set of pleasures—the pleasures of conviviality and cooperation, of immersion in environments, of altruistic action, of “living lightly” on the land, of helping anonymous others on the other side of the globe to be safe and fulfilled’ (Hoepper, 2007, p. 29).


30


How can we practise IBL (in terms of curriculum, teaching and assessment)?Activity: Aligning curriculum, teaching and assessment

Three questions below are central to any curriculum context: Identify the broad frameworks, ideas and resources that guide your curriculum design and enactment so that you can respond to these questions.

The questions include:—what do we intend to teach?—how do we teach?—how do we assess (and report)?

How well are these elements aligned in your context?

Figure 11: Identifying specific frameworks and resources

Food for thought and action...One of the key characteristics of quality curriculum is the need for alignment of what we intend to teach, how we teach, how we assess student learning and how we report such learning.

Inquiry-based pedagogies are best designed and implemented within a context of alignment.


How do we gather and use information on student

knowledge, interests, needs & aspirations? (Diversity profile)

Student knowledge, interests, needs &

aspirations

How will we teach this?How will we assess (and report) student learning?

What do we intend to teach?

e.g. achievement standards for Year 5 Australian Curriculum: History (ACARA, 2010)Adopting a front-ended assessment approach and identifying clearly assessable elements (see activity this section)

e.g. Productive Pedagogies (QSRLS, 2001)

e.g. specific Year 5 content descriptions from Australian Curriculum: History (ACARA, 2010)

31


How can we practise IBL (through our assessment)?Activity: Front end your assessment

Both best practice in school and research suggests that ‘front-ending’ of assessment supports increased student engagement and achievement.

Front-ending of assessment, as it is used here, involves the clear conceptualisation and development of the assessment task/s in the intended curriculum prior to the teacher enacting the curriculum and the students experiencing the curriculum. Development of assessment at this stage positions the teacher well to sequence teaching and learning activities that will best support the range of students to acquire the appropriate type and level of knowledge, understandings and skills to complete the assessment task/s.

Put simply, front-ending assessment makes it very clear to both the teacher and the students what the expectations of the unit or the investigation are. This clarity supports the teacher to choose the most suitable teaching/learning activities and for students to focus on what they need to know, understand and be able to do.

Consider a unit of your intended curriculum: Have you ‘front-ended’ the assessment? If not, can you see the advantages of doing so? What changes, if any, would you consider making to your planning?

In summary, teachers front-end assessment when they:—conceptualise clearly what the students need to know, understand and be able to do before they begin their planning in detail their teaching/learning unit—support students to explore and negotiate ways in which they could achieve the targeted knowledge, understandings and skills—negotiate the final summative task with students—make explicit the criteria for success and collaborate with students in the development of such criteria, where possible.

Figure 12: Front-ending assessment

Food for thought and actionCheck out this resource: Secondary Assessment for Learning — Geography: <http://www.prometheanplanet.com/en/Resources/Item/102866/secondary-assessment-for-learning-geography> (retrieved 27 January, 2012).

This film clip provides an excellent example of students deeply engaged in exploring what is required in assessment tasks. The secondary students explore standards and the use of feedback in an assessment for learning context. This example is relevant to teachers of a range of learning areas, as well as those in primary and special schools.


Teacher develops assessment task/s

as soon as intended curriculum has

been identified.

Teacher sequences

learning activities.

Teacher and students negotiate

elements of the assessment task/s

as the teacher enacts the

curriculum & students

experience it.

32


How can we practise IBL (through knowing our students)?Activity: Identify your learners and their needs

Reflect deeply on who your learners are. What strategies or resources do you use to create and maintain deep understandings about who your learners are and what their needs are?

Consider developing a ‘Diversity profile’ (see box below).

Diversity profile

The A4A Diversity profile (Nayler & Falls, 2009) refers to the ongoing and growing picture a teacher (or school) has of the students taught. See possible guiding questions below:

Q: Which groups are represented in my/our classes? How could I describe the groups of students in my classes in terms of gender, race, ethnicity, class, Indigeneity, where they live and so on?Q: Which groups are succeeding/not succeeding at which particular assessment tasks? Which groups are marginalised or silenced in various learning situations? What are the reasons for success or lack of success?Q: How can I find out more about the knowledge, interests, needs and aspirations of the young people I teach from the students themselves?Q: What data—systemic, school or teacher-generated—can I access to find out more about the knowledge, interests, needs and aspirations of the young people I teach?Q: What research can I access to find out more about the knowledge, interests, needs and aspirations of the young people I teach?Q: How can I build strategies (for finding out such information) into curriculum design, enactment and evaluation (e.g. students could conduct online surveys of their peers)?Q: In what ways do you identify, if at all, with the situations experienced by the classroom teachers referred to below?

Food for thought and action...Knowing your studentsI never feel threatened [by my students or their knowledge]. In fact, I feel enriched because the boys are able to speak their existence, their narrative, their stories, their experiences into being.

Some years ago a piece of work was brought to me as Head of English by a teacher who had refused to mark it—it was incredibly violent and incredibly bloody. Basically, it was about decapitation and disembowelling and set within the most beautiful, beautiful scenery. The teacher was very angry about the work and felt professionally insulted by it. And the more I looked at the work the more disquieted I became. I talked with the student who wrote the work and asked him to talk to me about what had promoted this piece of writing. I discovered that the student had been in a situation of civil war and he had actually seen members of his own family decapitated and disembowelled and for him this piece of writing was by way of catharsis. (‘Monica’ quoted in Nayler, 2005, p. 69)

More food for thought and action...Knowing your studentsI thought everyone lived a very similar life to what I had lived until I went to my first school which was in the country. I then realised that there were various realms...opportunities in the world, along with differing perspectives and prejudices. My first posting at this school helped to open my eyes a little. And then during this time I took a year off and went travelling and this, too, reinforced the point that the world was a very diverse place. (‘Alice’ quoted in Nayler, 2005, p. 79)


33


How can we practise IBL (through knowing our students)?Activity: Find out who your students areNote: This could constitute an activity in a learning/teaching unit in which students explore issues of self, identity, group identity, contemporary schooling and its capacity to meet student needs. It is presented in the professional resources section as it is regarded as a key activity to support teachers to know more about the students they teach.

Challenge students to negotiate ways in which they could investigate who they are as individuals, members of the class and members of the wider community, as well as how they could present their findings to you and other audiences identified by them.

Students could be invited to consider framing their investigation around finding out and articulating their:—interests—needs in terms of knowledge —aspirations/hopes/concerns currently and for the future—other areas regarded as important.

Students could be invited to consider the range of methodologies that could be used to find out this information (e.g. vox pops, interviews, focus groups of small numbers of students; online surveys and so on) from their peers and/or students in other year levels.

A practical example: What school kids want (Education Foundation, 2002) provides an excellent example of young people finding out from other young people at their school what it is they want from schooling. This film provides a useful stimulus for professional learning and action in at least two key ways:—it demonstrates a process whereby students investigate what’s important to other students—the subject matter raised by these particular Melbourne students provides stimulus for all educators in their questioning and rethinking in relation to schooling.

Food for thought and action...What school kids wantSome of the insights into young people’s perspectives on schooling from What school kids want (quoted in Zyngier, 2004 in review of this resource) include:

[I want to] learn about things, learn to take things in and form opinions. (Year 11 female, p. 5)And we should be able to learn by ourselves, we also should be able to learn with them, they should be able to bounce ideas off us. (Year 11 male, p. 5)

Instead of teachers teaching students, I want it to be people teaching people. (Year 11 male, p. 5)

Teachers who teach us, but talk to us as well. (Year 11 female, p. 5)

Excursions, experiments and real life experiences, not just copy this into your books. I think we should learn our passions, stuff we really want to learn. (Year 6 male, p. 6)

Teachers talk about the same thing over and over again or for a very long time. (Year 6 female, p. 7)

And a word from the reviewer of this resource, David Zyngier (2004, p. 9):What school kids want makes young people central players in the adventurous rethinking of schooling. It has important messages for policymakers, school principals, teachers, parents and all who are concerned about making schools work. It can be used to remind experienced and novice teachers alike about the centrality of students in our daily work lives, about the need to engage our students in meaningful, relevant, connected and intellectually challenging work.


34


How can we practise IBL (in terms of our curriculum, teaching and assessment)?Activity: Finding and acting on cSpaces (cSpaces = spaces for collaboration)

Consider the spaces available for collaboration with students in your design and enactment of the curriculum. Evaluate the extent to which you would hear the following statements in your context. Would you like to hear such some comments? If so, what action

do you need to take?


35

Curriculum

Assessment (and reporting) Teaching and learning

Respond to student knowledge, interests, needs & aspirations

to produce best possible learning

My teacher talked to us about what knowledge we needed and together we came up with a project that most of us thought would be really interesting. Some other kids are doing a different project but we’re all working on basically the same stuff.

We always ask ourselves—are we solving a problem—something that means something to someone?

We keep a portfolio which has a section on the strategies our teacher/s use—we get to say which ones we like…and which ones help us learn—and the ones that don’t!

According to our teacher, we’re the most important people when it comes to report cards but other people are interested in our learning as well.

I like how we get a say in what we’re going to learn, how we’re going to learn it and how we’re going to show what we’ve learnt—after all it’s our learning.

Right from the start we talked about what we need to know and what ways of working we need to show in our assessment tasks...I’m still talking with my friends and my teacher to work out exactly how I’ll show what I know and can do.

What we learn in class is always connected to our assessment task—that’s what we’re working towards.

In my friend’s class the teacher says: Right this is what you have to learn and this is how you’ll learn it—we’re way past that in our class!


How can we practise IBL (in terms of curriculum, teaching and assessment)?Activity: Use CAP to differentiate curriculum, pedagogies and assessment for individuals and groups of students (NB: these activities will be updated based on DiffeRentiate Framework (Nayler, currently under development).

Food for thought and action about differentiationIn a way, it’s just shaking up the classroom so it’s a better fit for more kids.

Carol Ann Tomlinson (quoted in UNESCO, 2004, p. 14)According to UNESCO (2004, p. 14):

In order to be fair to our students and facilitate learning of all students, we need to adapt or modify the curriculum so it ‘fits’ the students’ learning needs. Teachers differentiate the curriculum so they do not discriminate and teach to only a select group of students (i.e., only those students who are at, or near, year (grade) or age level ability in the prescribed curriculum). Teachers offer students a variety of learning experiences to meet their different learning needs.

Curriculum differentiation, then, is the process of modifying or adapting the curriculum according to the different ability levels of the students in one class.

Teachers can adapt or differentiate the curriculum by changing: the content, methods for teaching and learning content (sometimes referred to as the process), and, the methods of assessment (sometimes referred to as the products). (emphasis in original)

Use a range of strategies (e.g. ‘Find out who your students are’) to understand your students’ knowledge, understandings and skills, as well as their needs, interests and aspirations.

Within the context of the Australian Curriculum (and following UNESCO, 2004) take action in the following areas in order to differentiate to meet your students’ learning needs:

Curriculum—What big ideas and contexts will engage individuals and groups of students in my class and serve the content descriptions of the required curriculum?Assessment—What assessment modes (e.g. practical, written or oral) can I use that will serve the needs of individuals and groups of students to attain the achievement standards? What techniques within each of these modes (e.g. documentary as a practical assessment; log book as a written assessment; or an interview as an example of an oral assessment) can I support my students to utilise?6

Pedagogy—What pedagogies will support the learning of individuals and groups of students? How can I use a pedagogical framework (e.g. Productive Pedagogies, QSRLS, 2001) to develop a greater repertoire of strategies? What other differentiation resources are available? (See below.)

Try out strategies and gather data on what works and what does not work for specific students.

More food for thought and action...Other differentiation resourcesPopular differentiation resources include: three learning styles: visual, auditory and tactile or ‘doer’ (see UNESCO, 2004, p. 30) Gardner’s (1993) multiple intelligences which identify linguistic, logical-mathematical, musical,

spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal and naturalist ‘intelligences’.

A word of caution: We need to take into account the diversity of groups to which students belong beyond the groups based on ‘learning styles’ or ‘intelligences’. In other words, there is much about students, including how they learn and what they want to learn, that is influenced by their gender, ethnic, socio-economic class identities, as well as where they live. Rurality, for example, is a significant factor influencing student identity and patterns and levels of achievement.

6 See QSA (2008) p. 52.


36


How can we practise IBL (in terms of curriculum, teaching and assessment)?Activity: Use CAP to differentiate curriculum, pedagogies and assessment for individuals and groups of students cont’d

Food for thought...Indigenous perspectives and differentiationWhen developing school-based resources or selecting texts or materials, teachers should carefully evaluate their educational value for embedding Indigenous perspectives. In particular, it is essential that the materials selected are sensitive and adequate in their treatment of Aboriginal aspects and Torres Strait Islander aspects of the subject matter.In general, sound evaluation techniques recognise:

cultural diversity of Aboriginal communities and Torres Strait Islander communities across Australia

that some materials are site-specific and may not be suitable for use in other states that Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islander people should be consulted about the

appropriateness of including culturally sensitive issues or potentially distressing content in curriculum materials

that Aboriginal viewpoints and Torres Strait Islander viewpoints are reflected. (Queensland Studies Authority, 2007b, p. 1)

More food for thought...Indigenous perspectivesKnowing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community is knowing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students within the school (emphasis in original)....It is also important to understand the non-Indigenous students within the school and the historical relationships these students and their families have had with Indigenous people from the local area. Some issues may be quite sensitive and need to be addressed sensitively and carefully. It is important for teachers and students to value the process of sharing history in our country, and understand how past histories impact on contemporary society. (The State of Queensland (Department of Education, Training and the Arts, 2006, p. 28).

Activity: Use productive pedagogies to support IBLNote: Productive Pedagogies (QSRLS, 2001) provides an excellent framework with which to focus on both academic and social outcomes. See figure 13, Productive Pedagogies.

Consider a current or planned unit of work. As an inquirer into your own teaching practice, examine the ways in which you could enhance student learning and achievement through a greater focus on the dimensions of Productive Pedagogies. These dimensions include:—intellectual quality—connectedness [to the world and to students’ lives]—supportive classroom environments—recognition and valuing of difference.

Specifically, consider the ways in which the Productive Pedagogies can be used to support inquiry-based learning. For example:—intellectual rigour can be built through student use of questioning frameworks to pose their own questions—connectedness can be enhanced through students’ consideration of issues that are significant in their lives—a supportive classroom environment can be enhanced through a student survey of protocols considered to be useful in creating the best learning environment possible—always asking the question, ‘Whose interests are served/not served?’ is a useful strategy in an IBL classroom when exploring any topic/issue or phenomenon.

See the practical example, later in this section, of the ways in which the Productive Pedagogies can be utilised within the Australian Curriculum: Science (ACARA, 2011).


37


Figure 13: Productive Pedagogies

Intellectual quality 1. Higher-order thinking Is higher-order thinking occurring during the lesson? Is there evidence of conceptual depth, not content?

2. Deep knowledge Does the lesson cover operational fields in any depth, detail or level of specificity?

3. Deep understanding Do the work and response of the students provide evidence of depth of understanding of concepts or ideas?

4. Substantive conversation Does classroom talk lead to sustained conversational dialogue between students, and between teachers and students, to create or negotiate understanding of subject matter?

5. Knowledge as problematic Are students critiquing and second-guessing texts, ideas and knowledge?

6. Metalanguage Are aspects of language, grammar and technical vocabulary being foregrounded?

Connectedness 7. Knowledge integration Does the lesson integrate a range of subject areas?8. Background knowledge Are links with students’ background knowledge

made explicit?9. Connectedness to the world Is the lesson, the activity or task connected to

competencies or concepts beyond the classroom?10. Problem-based curriculum Is there a focus on identifying and solving

intellectual and/or real-world problems?

Supportive classroom environment

11. Student direction Do students determine specific activities or outcomes of the lesson?

12. Social support Is the classroom characterised by an atmosphere of mutual respect and support among teachers and students?

13. Academic engagement Are students engaged and on task during the lesson?

14. Explicit quality performance criteria Are the criteria for judging the range of student performance made explicit?

15. Self-regulation Is the direction of student behaviour implicit and self-regulatory?

Recognition of difference

16. Cultural knowledges Are non-dominant cultural knowledges valued?17. Inclusivity Are deliberate attempts made to increase the participation of the

diversity of students?18. Narrative Is the style of teaching principally narrative or is it expository?19. Group identity Does the teaching build a sense of community and identity?20. Citizenship Are attempts made to foster active citizenship within the

classroom?

Source: Education Queensland (2001) The Queensland School Reform Longitudinal Study: Teachers’ Summary. Brisbane, p. 6.


38

Professional resources for IBLHow can we practise IBL?Practical exampleFigure 14: IBL, Productive Pedagogies and the Australian Curriculum: Science (ACARA, 2011)

Year 7 Content descriptions: Science Inquiry SkillsDimensions of Productive Pedagogies (QSRLS, 2001)

Intellectual quality Connectedness Supportive classroom environment

Recognition and valuing of difference

Questioning and predicting: Identify questions and problems that can be investigated scientifically and make predictions based on scientific knowledge

Use Six thinking hats (or other framework) to devise questions.

Use a KWHL.Pose a real-life problem.

Provide for student choice e.g. topic, approaches.

Listen to narratives and pose questions using ‘CoRTing our guest’ activity in the ‘look’ phase.

Planning and conducting: Collaboratively and individually plan and conduct a range of investigation types, including fieldwork and experiments, ensuring safety and ethical guidelines are followed

Invite guest speaker from community to give feedback on research plan and enactment.

Use narratives as a data gathering method.

Planning and conducting: In fair tests, measure and control variables, and select equipment to collect data with accuracy appropriate to the task

Use fair test strategy: Change something; Measure something; Keep everything else the Same.7

Processing and analysing data and information: Construct and use a range of representations, including graphs, keys and models to represent and analyse patterns or relationships, including use of digital technologies as appropriate

Use ICTs (e.g. wiki) to collaborate online to share summaries and explanations of patterns.

Consider implications of issue/topic from those most adversely affected; ask ‘in whose interests’ questions.

Processing and analysing data and information: Summarise data from students’ own investigations and secondary sources, and use scientific understanding to identify relationships and draw conclusions

Evaluating: Reflect on the method used to investigate a question or to solve a problem, including evaluating the quality of the data collected, and identify improvements to the method

Develop school/class blog in which students share and evaluate investigative methods and alternatives.

Share student learning evident in ‘reflect through your own road map’ activity in the ‘reflect’ phase.

Evaluating : Use scientific knowledge and findings from investigations to evaluate claims

Communicating: Communicate ideas findings and solutions to problems using scientific language and representations using digital technologies as appropriate

Use metalanguage to reinforce text types and conventions for genre to be used e.g. report.

Present findings and co-plan action with community group.

Use explicit criteria in assessment; support students to pose questions in relation to what constitutes an A–grade response.

See figure 13, Productive Pedagogies, for details on each dimension.

7 A fair test mnemonic—‘Cows Moo Softly’ (QSCC, 1999, p. 35).


39


How can we practise IBL (through our teaching)?Activity: Look for the right inquiry model

The professional learning activities in this section are scoped and sequenced using the phases of TELSTAR. There are many other models, however. Most models have phases that engage students and support them to make explicit what they want and need to know and, therefore, to investigate. They are also designed to support students to take action and to reflect on what they have learnt and how they have learnt it. Resources on a number of inquiry models are provided over the next several pages.

Consider the following questions:—Which inquiry model suits your students’ interests, needs and aspirations?—Which inquiry model suits your students’ developmental levels? —Which inquiry model suits your learning area? —Which inquiry model suits the particular investigation being undertaken?

Food for thought and action...According to Audet (2008) most models have the following stages in which students:

ask an answerable question or identify a researchable problem develop a plan and take some form of action gather resources; analyze and summarize information draw conclusions and report findings reflect on the process.

Audet (2008, p. 14)


40


How can we practise IBL (through our teaching)?Activity: Look for the right inquiry model cont’d

Figure 15: Models of inquiry

Phase FocusENGAGE Engage students and elicit prior knowledge.

Diagnostic assessmentEXPLORE Provide hands-on experience of the

phenomenon.Formative assessment

EXPLAIN Develop scientific explanations for observations and represent developing conceptual understandingConsider current scientific explanations.

Formative assessmentELABORATE Extend understanding to a new context or

make connections to additional concepts through a student-planned investigation.

Summative assessment of the investigating outcomes

EVALUATE Students re-represent their understanding and reflect on their learning journey and teachers collect evidence about the achievement of outcomes.

Summative assessment of the conceptual outcomes


That's what we want so let's design it...

And to deliver it we'll need to...

Let's dream about how it could be...

We want to discover more about...

Discover Dream

DesignDeliver

Model: Action researchSource: Department of Education, Queensland. (1993). P–12 Environmental Education Curriculum Guide.

Model: 4D FrameworkSource: Adapted from:Limerick, Cunnington & Crowther (2002) drawing on work of Cooperrider & Srivastva, 1987; author’s words used to describe processes.Model: 5Es Source: PrimaryConnections (2006). Australian

Academy of Science and the Australian Government Department of Education, Science and Training. This work is based on Bybee (1997).

Model: 8WsWatching (exploring)

Wondering (questioning)Webbing (searching)Wiggling (evaluating)

Weaving (synthesizing)Wrapping (creating)

Waving (communicating)Wishing (assessing)

Source: Surfin' the Web: Project Ideas from A to Z by Lamb, Johnson & Smith in 1997 cited on Information age inquiry webpagehttp://virtualinquiry.com/

What’s up? (Identify the problem)

Just give me the facts! (Investigate the problem)

What does it all mean? (Evaluate the data)

What could happen? (List possible actions)

But if we do that—what then? (Predict outcomes)

This is IT! (Select best action)

Let’s hit the road! (Implement action)

How’d it go? (Evaluate action)

Identify a new problem and follow procedure [again!]

41

http://virtualinquiry.com/



Figure 16: TELSTAR model of inquiry

Inquiry phase

Overview of phase (and generic questions when using this model with students)

Tune in to the topic being studied.What makes this topic/issue/problem/phenomenon interesting? What makes this topic an

important one for me to investigate? What makes this an important topic for my community or the wider society?

Explore students’ knowledge, attitudes and questions, as well as the methodology to be used in the inquiry in order to formulate a BIG question (or hypothesis) and sub-questions.

What do I know (or think I know) already about this topic?What are my feelings or attitudes to this topic?

What do I need/want to find out about this topic?What questions (BIG and sub-questions) do I need to ask?

How will I go about investigating this topic? What resources might I need to investigate this topic? What ideas do I have now about how I will be able to demonstrate my new knowledge,

understandings and skills?

Look for information which addresses the questions or hypotheses.What evidence/information can I find to answer these questions?

What skills can I use to obtain this evidence?

Sort through information gathered to address questions or hypothesis.How can I process this information critically and constructively to see patterns (e.g. What’s the

same or different? What are the consequences?)?How can I understand complex ideas or concepts more clearly? What specific plans do I have

now for demonstrating my knowledge, understandings and skills?

Test information collected against major questions or hypotheses.Does my information help me to answer the BIG question? What evidence can I use to answer

my BIG question? What other information do I still need?

Act on findings.What real-life action can I take as a result of my findings? What actions will I take personally, as

a member of my family, and as a member of my school/community? What actions, if any, will I take beyond my school/community? What values will determine the action I take? Who will benefit from this action? Who will not benefit from this action? How will I continue to act in

relation to this topic/issue/phenomenon?How am I demonstrating my knowledge, understandings and skills?

Reflect on knowledge, attitudes, questions and methodology used.What did I learn from this investigation? How did I learn during this investigation? Which ways of

learning were most successful for me? How can I improve my learning skills?Have I changed my attitudes or values in relation to this topic? If so, in what ways have my

attitudes changed?

Source of TELSTAR: Queensland Department of Education (1994) and Victorian Ministry of Education (1987). The generic questions here are modified from Schultz (2007). Note: ‘I’ is used here but in relation to many investigations, the use of ‘we’ would be appropriate.Questions

How would you modify these questions to take into account your school’s specific values? How would you modify these questions to accommodate students’ developmental levels?


42



A basic overview of the inquiry process

Key steps include: Selection of a topic Generative question/s Understandings, skills and values Tuning in Finding out Sorting out Going further Drawing conclusions Reflecting and acting.

Four ‘pathways for inquiry’:1. Negotiated2. Play based3. Issue or problem based4. Shared inquiry units.

Source: Murdoch & Wilson (2008).

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander inquiry learning model

Inquiry learning is central to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies. It emphasises the process of investigation and inquiry as well as the management and communication of research protocols

and materials through the following phases:

Knowing and understanding

Managing and processing through critical inquiry

Reflecting on perspectives and processes Communicating

Source: The State of Queensland (QSA) (2009). (See document for graphic representation involving the above processes.)

Plan, do, reflect

Plan Do ReflectStudents and teachers collaborate to plan, for individual learning sessions or for a more extended period of time, what has to be done and how it will be done.

With support from the teacher, students complete the tasks.

Students and the teacher constructively and critically consider what they have learned and how they have learned it.

Open collaborative inquiry: A philosophy approach

CREATIVE PHASEExamine stimulus material.Think about questions & concepts.Provide and consider suggestions, ideas, and hypotheses.

CRITICAL PHASEMake implications; uncover assumptions; construct meaning.Test evidence; analyse and evaluate ideas.Reflect on process & content.

Source: Structure of community of inquiry developed by Buranda State School; adapted from: Cam (2006, p. 12).


43


How can we practise IBL (through our curriculum, teaching and assessment)?Practical exampleFigure 17: Using TELSTAR and the Australian Curriculum: History (ACARA, 2011)

BIG question: What was so great about Ancient Egypt?

Assessment task: Students prepare a travel itinerary for a group of young people who are travelling to Egypt and whose main goal is to discover the achievements of Ancient Egypt.

TELSTAR phases

Possible teaching/learning sequenceYear 7 Content descriptions: Historical knowledge and understanding: Depth study: Investigating the ancient past—EgyptYear 7 Content descriptions: Historical skills; see below

Tune in Tune into Ancient Egypt by engaging in appropriate resource in which the pharaohs, including Tutankhamen, are depicted.

Tune into Tutankhamen—‘Hot seat’ activity (whoever is in the hot seat responds as if she/he were the famous pharaoh; students ask yes/no questions to determine the name of the historical character.

Chronology, terms and concepts: Sequence historical events, developments and periodsChronology, terms and concepts: Use historical terms and concepts

Explore Teacher-led discussion about the concepts of continuity and change, and cause and effect that emerged through questions and answers.

‘Silent QuAK’ activity: In relation to Ancient Egypt and pharaohs specifically: What questions do we have? What are our attitudes? What do we know?

Collaborative development of a BIG question (and sub-questions) that:—builds on students’ interests, questions, attitudes and prior knowledge—addresses concepts of continuity and change, and cause and effect.

Possible BIG question: What was so great about Ancient Egypt?Possible sub-questions1. When and where did the Ancient Egyptian civilisation exist?2. In what ways could Ancient Egypt be described as ‘great’?3. Would everyone in society have had a positive view of society?4. What factors sustained Ancient Egypt (kept it going) for a long period of time?5. What sites would you include in a travel itinerary in order to provide evidence of the

achievements of Ancient Egypt?

Historical questions and research: Identify a range of questions about the past to inform a historical inquiry


44


Using TELSTAR and the Australian Curriculum: History cont’d

TELSTAR phases

Possible teaching/learning sequenceYear 7 Content descriptions: Historical knowledge and understanding: Depth study: Investigating the ancient past—EgyptYear 7 Content descriptions: Historical skills; see below

Look andSort

Teacher-led scoping of each of the sub-questions. Student investigation of sub-questions with range of activities to share and store

information.The extent to which students will research sub-questions independently or in small groups will depend on their experience with inquiry approaches and their research skills.A suggested site:http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/menu.html (retrieved 9 April, 2010)

Historical questions and research: Identify and locate relevant sources, using ICT and other methods

Students locate, select and organise four relevant historical sources by creating annotated bibliographies and annotations of websites using <www.diigo.com> (retrieved 17 April, 2010) in which students:

—identify the origin and purposes of the sources—identify fact and opinion in selected sections of sources (using diigo.com highlighting function).—share conclusions as to the usefulness of the sources.

Analysis and use of sources: Identify the origin and purpose of historical sources

Analysis and use of sources: Locate, compare, select and use information from a range of sources as evidence

Analysis and use of sources: Draw conclusions about the usefulness of sources

Analyse points of views, perspectives, values and attitudes evident in sources provided by the teacher (and in sources located by students) using ‘finding our voices’ activity:

—Whose voice is heard in the text?—What are you invited to understand?—Do you accept the invitation? Why or why not?—Who else might have a voice on this issue/event/situation? What might these viewpoints be?

Perspectives and interpretations: Identify and describe points of view, attitudes and values in primary and secondary sources

Use the silent card shuffle (see ‘sort’ activities) to sequence relevant historical events related to concepts under study.

Create a class wiki to share responses to sub-questions with students and teachers affirming, challenging and changing entries.

Sequence historical events, developments and periodsUse historical terms and concepts

Explanation and communication: Develop texts, particularly descriptions and explanations that use evidence from a range of sources that are acknowledged

Act Use <www.flicker.com> (retrieved 17 April, 2010) to develop and display travel itineraries.

Explanation and communication: Use a range of communication forms (oral, graphic, written) and digital technologies

Reflect Support students to reflect on what they have learnt and how they have learnt it by using one of the ‘reflect’ activities’.


45

http://www.flicker.com/

http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/menu.html


How can we practise IBL (through our curriculum, teaching and assessment)?Practical examples of inquiry modelsFigure 18: Practical examples of inquiry models in use

Learning area8 Practical example in which an inquiry models/approaches are used

English Wilhelm, J. (2007). Engaging readers and writers with inquiry. New York: Scholastic. See especially Chapter 3: Asking the guiding question: Reframing the existing curriculum into inquiry units. There’s a study guide for this book, A study guide for Engaging readers and writers with inquiry by Jeffrey D Wilhelm available at: <http://teacher.scholastic.com/products/scholasticprofessional/authors/pdfs/SG_Engaging_Readers.pdf> (retrieved 7 May, 2010).

Go to: < http://thereflectiveteacher.wordpress.com/2006/11/15/a-ha/> (retrieved 9 April, 2010) for thought-provoking ideas re the value of meaningful questions to engage students.

Science PrimaryConnections series: <http://www.science.org.au/primaryconnections/teaching-and-learning/> (retrieved 9 April, 2010); Curriculum Resource Unit Map for list of primary curriculum units available at: <http://www.science.org.au/primaryconnections/curriculum-resources/index.html> (retrieved 9 April, 2010).

From the How science works series: Using asthma on the run (teachers.tv): <http://www.teachers.tv/videos/37809> (retrieved 9 April, 2010). A UK teacher from Sacred Heart High School in Hammersmith uses the 'E model' to scope and sequence his teaching/learning unit. The 'E model' used here is based on: engage, elicit, explore, explain, elaborate and evaluate.

Investigating science through inquiry (Afterschool toolkit):<http://www.sedl.org/afterschool/toolkits/science/pr_investigating.html> (retrieved 9 April, 2010). Students learn science through producing their own trebuchet and specifically by doing, and asking and responding to questions.

History Adding value through inquiry: Independent study (Queensland School Curriculum Council, 2000): <http://www.qsa.qld.edu.au/downloads/early_middle/kla_sose_sbm_509.pdf> (retrieved 5 August, 2010). Developed by Jenny Nayler to support student demonstration of Level 5 Studies of Society and Environment core learning outcomes, check this out for its strong social justice focus. This module is designed to provide guidance for students to negotiate topics to be investigated and outcomes to be demonstrated through an independent study. Suggested activities assist students to explore values that were considered important around one hundred years ago in Australia, and to compare these with values that are widely held today.9

8 See References for details of Australian Curriculum materials developed by ACARA.9 Based on core learning outcomes of QSCC (2000). Studies of Society and Environment Years 1 to 10 Syllabus. Brisbane: The State of Queensland. The module would need to rewritten to accommodate current curriculum framework.


46

http://www.sedl.org/afterschool/toolkits/science/pr_investigating.html

http://www.teachers.tv/videos/37809

http://www.science.org.au/primaryconnections/curriculum-resources/index.html

http://www.science.org.au/primaryconnections/curriculum-resources/index.html

http://www.science.org.au/primaryconnections/teaching-and-learning/

http://thereflectiveteacher.wordpress.com/2006/11/15/a-ha/

http://teacher.scholastic.com/products/scholasticprofessional/authors/pdfs/SG_Engaging_Readers.pdf

http://teacher.scholastic.com/products/scholasticprofessional/authors/pdfs/SG_Engaging_Readers.pdf

Professional resources for IBLQ: How can IBL be incorporated into curriculum design and enactment?

How can we practise IBL (through our curriculum, teaching and assessment)?Activity: Plan your own inquiry-based unitNote: The five ‘elements for effective curriculum and assessment planning’ (QSA, 2011, Planning for implementing) used here include:

• identify curriculum• develop assessment• sequence teaching and learning• make judgments• use feedback.

You may choose to modify or enhance your own school or sector planning template with ideas here.

Identify the curriculum i.e. the content descriptions from the required curriculum framework (e.g. Australian Curriculum: Science, ACARA, 2011d).

andExplore who your students are: their needs, aspirations and interests, as well as their prior knowledge and skill base.

(Ideas: create and share mind maps of student needs and implications for teaching; develop and share hypotheses about how best to respond to student needs; support students to investigate—via an online survey or creation of a short film—their needs and interests, analyse and share their findings.)

Identify what you want your students to know and understand:………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Identify what you want your students to be able to do:……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Identify the concepts that you want to underpin the knowledge, understandings and skills in the teaching/learning unit.…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Develop an overview of the learning focus (or learning/teaching unit). Include the context for learning—the real-life context.

Decide on the BIG question that will guide the learning focus.

Decide whether the BIG question and/or the sub-questions will be: teacher generated collaboratively developed with whole group/small group or individuals proposed by individual students/small groups.

Devise the sub-questions:1. ...2. ...3. ...4. ...


47

Inquiry for a changeHow can we practise an IBL approach?Activity: Plan your own inquiry-based unit cont’d

Propose an assessment task (leaving room to negotiate mode, topics, conditions and so on with students) that would allow students to achieve the targeted knowledge, understandings and skills.

Decide the basis on which judgments will be made as to the quality of student work. Create a criteria sheet and share with students/collaboratively develop a criteria sheet with students.

Create an ‘indicative A’ response so what you need to teach is made very explicit.

Sequence the teaching and learning activities in order to support students to successfully complete the assessment task/s. Have you answered the question: What learning do I need to support in order for the full range of my students to achieve the knowledge, understandings and skills being assessed in this unit?

Consider the extent to which the inquiry will be guided by the teacher or involve independent student work (see A scaffolded approach to using inquiry models and Food for thought and action: When is a teacher ready to engage students in ‘negotiated inquiry’? Build in teacher guidance/student independence in the teaching/learning activities.

Inquiry model phase

Teaching/learning activities with specific strategies and resources to provide maximum access to the curriculum by all students (You might choose to indicate what most

students will do, what some will do and what a few will do.)Tune in

Explore

Look

Sort

Test

Act

Reflect

Note: You may substitute another model of inquiry such as the 5Es.

Make judgments about the quality of student work on the basis of criteria shared in task sheet at the outset of the unit.

Use feedback to clarify for students (and parents/carers) what they need to do in order to improve. Specifically, students need to know—as they are learning—what they need to know and understand, and be able to do to progress their learning. Decide when feedback will be given to students throughout the course of the unit on the basis of diagnostic, formative and summative assessment.


48

Professional resources for IBLHow can we practise IBL (through whole-school/strategic focus)?Activity: Look at a whole-school approach to using inquiry modelsFigure 19: A whole-school approach to using inquiry models

Yr levels10 Inquiry model

Level of student independence

Teaching/learning unit in which

inquiry model is used

Specific skills to be taught (ensure connections with your required

curriculum)

Prep–Year 2

Years 3–6

Years 7–10

Years 11–12

Key TELSTAR5 EsAction Research8 WsPlan, do, reflect

—Flying solo—Team player—Class act—Teacher direction

(See below for explanation of terms.)

Note: See models earlier in this section for full references. See figure 20 for explanation of terms related to level of student independence.

Activity: Consider the extent to which the inquiry will be guided by the teacher or involve independent student work Consider the extent to which your students need direction in their investigation and plan accordingly. Consider the ways in which you could increase student independence.

Figure 20: A scaffolded approach to using inquiry models

Teacher direction Student independence

Teacher directionof inquiry with explicit

discussion of steps but not of inquiry model

used

Class actTeacher direction of inquiry with explicit

discussion of steps and of inquiry model used

Team playerStudent–teacher

collaboration

Flying soloLargely independent

work

Food for thought and action…When is a teacher ready to engage students in ‘negotiated inquiry’?Teachers are ready when they:

• have plenty of experience with teacher-directed inquiry• feel comfortable about students engaging in collaborative research• recognize that students possess the social skills to work together• be assured that there are sufficient resources to accomplish teachers’ and students’ goals• are willing to deal with varying amounts of ambiguity and students generating questions and

objectives that take off in unanticipated and unpredictable directions. (Barell, 2007)

10 These year level groupings are based on the Australian curriculum.


49

Inquiry for a changeHow can we practise IBL?Practical examplesFigure 21: Possible whole-school approaches to the use of inquiry models

Yr levels11 Inquiry model Level of student independence

One model approach

Prep–Year 2 Plan, do, reflect Teacher direction

TELSTAR used

across the whole

school with varying

levels of student

independence.

Plan, do, reflect Teacher direction

5 Es Teacher direction

Years 3–6 5 Es Class act

TELSTAR & 5 Es Teacher direction; Class act

TELSTAR & 5 Es Team player; Class actTELSTAR & 5 Es Flying solo

Years 7–10 Action research Teacher direction

TELSTAR & 5 Es Teacher direction; Class act

TELSTAR & 5 Es Team player; Class act; Flying solo

Action research Team player; Flying soloYears 11–12 Note the range of inquiry tasks/projects required

across the curriculum in these years.

Note: The use of one model of inquiry throughout the school has many advantages including: greater commonality of language among teachers as they design, implement and review teaching/learning

units increased competence of students and teachers in relation to the use of an inquiry model.

Figure 22: Alignment of three models of inquiry

Inquiry phaseOverview of phase 5 Es

Plan, do, reflect

Tune in to the topic being studied.Engage

Pla

n

Explore students’ knowledge, attitudes and questions, as well as the methodology to be used in the inquiry in order to formulate a BIG question (or hypothesis) and sub-questions.

Explore

Look for information which addresses the questions or hypotheses.

Explain and elaborate

Do

Sort through information gathered to address questions or hypothesis.

Test information collected against major questions or hypotheses.

Act on findings.

EvaluateReflect on knowledge, attitudes, questions and methodology used.

Ref

lect

11 These year level groupings are based on the forthcoming Australian curriculum.


50

Professional resources for IBLHow can we practise IBL?Activity: Look at a whole-school approach to collating, sharing and reviewing inquiry-based learning strategies

The purpose of this activity is to collate, share and review teaching/learning strategies in order to target teaching to improve student learning and achievement. There is a strong focus here on identifying the thinking skills embedded in particular strategies.

Make links to the broader strategic direction by collaborating to complete the shaded area. As teachers design, implement and review their units they contribute examples of their IBL strategies using

the template below (or a modified version). The template should be stored in an easily accessible online environment.

Teachers identify the strategy, provide steps for use, possible resources, specific examples, if possible (available on school intranet or world-wide web), as well as identifying the thinking skills embedded in strategy.

Inquiry-based learning and teaching at (insert school name) Our vision for society is that... Our vision for our school is that... In relation to learning and teaching we believe that...Our Overarching Questions...guide our curriculum design. On the basis of these beliefs we use inquiry-based learning strategies which include those listed below. The

strategies listed here are organised using the TELSTAR model of inquiry.12 These strategies are shared by our teaching staff and we review these regularly in order to target teaching to meet the needs of individuals and groups in our school.

Model of inquiry phase and shared strategies used regularly with links to steps for use and resources

Specific examples Thinking skills embedded in this strategy

Tune in strategiesHot seat

P–Year 2Year 3–6Year 7–10

Gathering Counting Describing Matching Naming Reciting Selecting Recalling Telling

Processing Comparing Sorting Distinguishing Explaining (why) Classifying Analysing Inferring Reasoning Contrasting Solving

Applying Estimating Forecasting Applying a principle [Responding] to If.../then... Speculating Predicting Imagining Judging Evaluating

Source: Bellanca & Fogarty (1991, p. 75).

Explore strategiesP–Year 2Year 3–6Year 7–10

Look strategiesP–Year 2Year 3–6Year 7–10

Sort strategiesP–Year 2Year 3–6Year 7–10

Test strategiesP–Year 2Year 3–6Year 7–10

Act strategiesP–Year 2Year 3–6Year 7–10

Reflect strategiesP–Year 2Year 3–6Year 7–10

12 Source of TELSTAR strategy: Queensland Department of Education (1994) and Victorian Ministry of Education (1987).


51


Sort through your learnings to articulate your own set of IBL principlesActivity: Develop your own set of principles for IBL

Review your reflections made in the ‘tune in’ phase and throughout this professional learning investigation.

Consider what you have learnt about IBL through this professional learning investigation. Consider the examples of principles for IBL provided below. Note the different approaches to

framing principles that have been used throughout the investigation. For example, variation occurs with the title and sentence stems. Your challenge is to develop something that will suit your context.

In this phase your focus is on developing your own principles to guide and promote IBL in your classroom. In the ‘act’ phase consideration is given to collaboratively developing a set of principles with your year level, faculty team, or across the whole school.

A possible set of principles for IBL

Quality teaching and learning, through inquiry-based learning (IBL), is based on students:

1. exploring BIG questions that are personally meaningful to them and to society in general2. taking appropriate action3. actively constructing knowledge for themselves through posing, and responding to,

questions which involve a range of higher-order thinking processes4. taking a key role in their own learning through negotiation regarding areas of interest,

timing, forms of assessment and so on5. achieving the knowledge, understandings and skills of the required curriculum framework

through assessment for learning6. working collaboratively with their peers and with a range of relevant people and groups

within the broader community7. utilising a range of information and communication technologies (ICTs) for a variety of real-

life purposes8. reflecting creatively and critically throughout the investigation on what is being learnt and

how it is being learnt.

Real-life example

‘St M’s College’ principles

We believe that effective inquiry-based teaching and learning occurs when:1. there is clear demonstration of student achievement.2. active investigation of a BIG question engages students, and an inquiry model (such as 5Es

or TELSTAR) supports student inquiry.3. ICTs are embedded in the learning.4. students and teachers reflect deeply, critically and constructively on their own learning.5. collaborative partnerships are used to support deep and intellectually rigorous

understandings.6. evaluation techniques are used to more fully understand student and professional learning.


52


Sort through your learnings to articulate your own sets of IBL principles

My principles for inquiry-based learning (IBL)

I believe that successful inquiry-based learning occurs in my classroom when the students:

…

…

…

…

…

I believe that successful inquiry-based learning occurs in my classroom when I:

…

…

…

…

…

Food for thought and action…Inquiry is not a ‘method’ of doing science, history, or any other subject in which the obligatory first stage in a fixed, linear sequence is that of students each formulating questions to investigate. Rather, it is an approach to the chosen themes and topics in which the posing of real questions is positively encouraged whenever they occur and by whomever they are asked. Equally important as the hallmark of an inquiry approach is that all tentative answers are taken seriously and are investigated as rigorously as circumstances permit. (Wells, 1999 quoted in Audet, 2008, p. 5)

Note from the author: This book is based on the idea that BIG questions, rather than ‘themes and topics’ drive IBL.


53


Test your own IBL practice

Activity: Test your intended curriculum against your principles for IBL Consider a unit of intended curriculum against the set of principles below or against a set of

principles that you have developed based on your own research and practice. Modify your intended curriculum in order to enact the principles. Refine the principles if you consider that they may not be comprehensive enough to guide your

IBL practice.

Principles of inquiry-based learning are based on students: Stronglyevidenced

Soundly evidenced

Not evidenced

1. exploring BIG questions that are personally meaningful to them and to society in general

2. taking appropriate action in relation to the BIG questions

3. actively constructing knowledge for themselves through posing and responding to questions which involve a range of higher-order thinking processes

4. taking a key role in their own learning through negotiation regarding areas of interest, timing, forms of assessment and so on

5. achieving the knowledge, understandings and skills of the required curriculum framework through assessment as learning

6. working collaboratively with their peers and with a range of relevant people and groups within the broader community

7. utilising a range of information and communication technologies (ICTs) for a variety of real-life purposes

8. reflecting creatively and critically throughout the investigation on what is being learnt and how it is being learnt.


54


Act as a result of your professional learning investigationActivity: Develop an action plan

You could use the table below or the 4–D model for planning action. Your action might involve:

—refining your principles for IBL (and leading collaboration across your team and the whole school in relation to shared principles for IBL)—raising awareness and affirming practice among your colleagues (conduct a workshop using a range of activities used in Inquiry for a change; you could use the resource: ‘finding out how big “team inquiry” is at our school’)—planning further professional learning for yourself and collaborating with others to determine their needs—determining your focus for leading action within your school: individual teaching strategies; unit planning; or whole school approaches—determining what data you can collect to ascertain the extent to which IBL has improved student learning.

Resource: Develop an action plan

ActionImpact this might have on

student engagement, learning and achievement

Resources that might be needed

As an individual

As a member of a team within my school

As a member of my whole-school team

In another context: through study

as a member of a professional association

…


55


Act as a result of your professional learning investigation

Food for thought and action…

Talk does not cook rice. (Chinese proverb) Quoted in Pedersen, Walker & Wise (2005).

Resource: Plan action using the 4D model Work through the 4D model processes to plan action. Can you identify any blocking factors? What’s the solution? What resources might you need?

Figure 23: 4D Model

Source of 4D Model: Adapted from: Limerick, Cunnington & Crowther (2002) drawing on work of Cooperrider & Srivastva, 1987; author’s words used to describe processes.


That's what we want so let's design it...

And to deliver it we'll need to...

Let's dream about how it could be...

We want to discover more about...

1. Discover 2. Dream

3. Design4. Deliver

56


Act as a result of your professional learning investigationResource: Identify your focus area for action

Figure 24 suggests that there are three main levels of IBL practice. Identify where you want to put your focus.

Gain confidence, knowledge and skills in each level before embarking upon the next level.

Figure 24: Three levels of action to put IBL into practice

Teaching/learning strategies

Unit planning Whole school (or juncture) approaches

Use a range of strategies (e.g. KWL; graffiti board; teacher-led group brainstorming; discussion circles; silent conversation; a dedicated blog and so on) to find out what students already know at the beginning of a new unit.

Use a range of strategies to support student reflection (e.g. PMI).

Utilise questioning frameworks (e.g. Peavey & Hutchinson’s 1993 Strategic Questioning and support students to frame their own questions and to be aware of the frameworks they’re using).

Use Socratic learning circles (see Copeland, 2005).

Plan inquiry-based units around BIG questions that are meaningful for students personally and for society, and which address the required curriculum.

Organise the scope and sequence of your unit using an inquiry model that follows set steps for inquiry learning (e.g. TELSTAR, 5Es or action research). Record your teaching sequence in the unit planner under these steps.

Find out which inquiry models might be particularly suited to your curricular area e.g. in dance or in your phase of learning (e.g. Lamb, Johnson & Smith’s 1997 8Ws in the early phase of learning).

Plan the introduction of inquiry models at particular phases or year level groupings (e.g. in primary setting: 5Es introduced in Years 2–3, TELSTAR in Years 4–5 and action research in Years 6–7; in secondary only setting: 5Es in Year 8 Semester 1, TELSTAR in Year 8 Semester 2, action research in Year 9).

Adopt one inquiry model across the whole school. Focus on the level of teacher direction provided at various levels.

Think about discussing the use of inquiry models as part of your middle phase transition work between primary and secondary schools.


Level 1: Individual teaching strategies

Possible actions

Level 2: Sequencing of teaching strategies through inquiry

modelsPossible actions

Level 3: Whole-school approaches to the scope and sequence of specific teaching

strategies and modelsPossible actions

57



58


Act as a result of your professional learning investigation (to ascertain the extent to which your IBL practice has improved student learning)

Activity: RAISE the barNote: RAISE the bar is designed to scaffold an evaluation of the curriculum you have enacted and your students have experienced. This strategy can be used for individual professional learning and action but its best use is as a stimulus for teacher talk within a community of learners.

Useful evaluation is based on being clear about what is being evaluated and on what basis such judgment is being made. This strategy is based on a teacher judging the worth of their own teaching/learning unit by considering both the curriculum requirements, as well as the principles they have developed to design and implement teaching/learning units.

Work through the following questions.

Figure 25: RAISE the bar

Reflect on learning What have I learnt about aligning what I teach, how I teach and how I assess?

What have I learnt about a particular identified professional challenge (e.g. emphasising student inquiry rather than teaching as telling)?

Did students enjoy the unit? How do I know? Which student voices have I heard/not heard?

How would my students’ learning in this unit build their capacity for the relevant NAPLAN testing13 (e.g. how would my Year 8 Science unit contribute to student capacity in the Year 9 Literacy and Numeracy tests)?

What have I learnt about my students’ learning as a result of this unit? What have I learnt about what they know and can do? Which students (and groups of students) have achieved the targeted learnings? What patterns are evident?

What data can I draw on to ascertain the extent to which IBL has improved student learning and achievement?

Apply new understandings What new professional knowledge and skills will I apply to future teaching/learning opportunities?

Identify future applications When and how will I provide further opportunities for students to achieve the targeted learnings not already achieved?

How will I enhance future teaching/learning opportunities on the basis of how I’ve enacted my own IBL principles through this unit?

Search for evidence of the principles that guide your curriculum design and enactment

Consider the extent to which each of your principles was enacted in the teaching/learning unit (e.g. principles for effective inquiry-based learning). What can be improved in your curriculum design and enactment in the future?

Evaluate your teaching learning unit in order to

How would you sum up the overall worth of this teaching/learning unit?

RAISETHE BAR through higher expectations of your students.

Food for thought and action…Kemmis (1986, p. 118) describes curriculum evaluation as ‘the process of marshalling information and arguments which enable interested individuals and groups to participate in critical debate about a specific program’.

13 NAPLAN refers to the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy which involves testing of Australian students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 annually in relation to Reading, Writing, Language Conventions (Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation) and Numeracy.


59


Act as a result of your professional learning investigationResource: Find out how big ‘team inquiry’ is at your school

Working in a community of learners, invite colleagues to locate partners who practise the following strategies. This could be done through an online medium.

Challenge your colleagues to locate a different partner for each example. Also challenge them to talk about each example; recording these details.

Name of your colleague What they do Details of what they do

1. Uses ICTs to support student inquiry into topics that matter to students and to society.

2. Supports students to pose questions some of the time rather than just answering them.

3. Regards themselves as a learner and inquirer in their own field.

4. Poses problems for students to solve or supports students to pose problems.

5. Evaluates the success (or otherwise) of a learning activity or a unit in order to improve student learning in the future.

6. Reflects constructively and critically on their teaching practice.

7. Collaborates with colleagues to plan and support student learning that is inquiry-based.

8. Supports students to reflect critically and constructively on their learning.

9. Add your own teacher action...

10. Add your own teacher action...

Food for thought and action…A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. (Chinese saying).

What’s your next step going to be?


60


Reflect on what you have learnt and how you have learnt itActivity: Take a SWOT at this professional learning investigation

Take a SWOT at…

Strengths Weaknesses

Opportunities Tensions

Activity: Reflect and plan action using the traffic lights

Action at the traffic lights

I’m/we’re going to STOP

I’m/we’re going to CONTINUE

I’m/we’re going to START

Activity: Reflect on your practice using these generic questions

1. What am I/are we doing in relation to this practice/issue/question/puzzle? [What role am I playing in leading others?]

2. Why am I/are we doing this?

3. What are the effects of these practices? Who is most advantaged/least advantaged?

4. What alternatives are there to my/our own current practice?...What will I/we do? How will I/we monitor these changes in order to assess their outcomes?

Source of questions: Reid (2004).


61


Practical resources for IBL classroomsFigure 26 summarises the teaching activities described in each TELSTAR phase.

Figure 26: Teaching/learning activities in each TELSTAR phase

TELSTAR phases and teaching/learning activities

Tune

in

Graffiti page/wall Hot seat My perfect match Double circles Word associations Random input Letter from the outside world Tuning in with literature or media Mystery box Puzzle it out Stop & drop Artefacts on display Hypothetical reasoning Teaching approach: Independent investigation with student choice of

topic/issue/phenomenon Bingo tune in

Exp

lore

Silent QuAK Take a stand and justify Teaching approach: Creating the BIG question and the sub-questions Frame questions for intellectual rigour Creating hypotheses

Look

Evaluating web-based information Teaching approach: Using Web 2.0 in the classroom Learning from stimulus material CoRTing our guest Learning from the real world Finding our voices


62

Practical resources for IBL

Teaching/learning activities in each TELSTAR phase cont’dS

ort

Retrieval chart Themes from wordle Diamond ranking Cause and effect wheels Human bar graphing The last word World cafe Silent card shuffle

Test

Think–pair–share–square Walk and talk Self-assessment Self- and peer assessment

Act Postcard for action

Teaching approach: Use of e-Portfolios

Ref

lect

Sentence strips PMI Take a SWOT Teaching approach: Using strategies in many phases of TELSTAR So what? A TELSTAR reflection Teaching approach: Create your own reflection strategies Reflecting and planning action: Action at the traffic lights X marks the spot 3–2–1 Six thinking hats Evaluating teaching/learning activities Reflect through your own road map


63


Teaching/learning activities

‘Tuning in’ phase activities

PurposeThe purpose of the ‘tune in’ activities is to:

engage students in the topic generally (or the BIG question14) if this has been pre-determined provide a relaxed and less structured context in which students can consider what they think

they know, what their questions are and what their attitudes are in relation to the topic.

Tips Immerse the students as quickly and as deeply as possible in the topic. Avoid discussion of assessment or what the ‘unit’ is about. This doesn’t mean abandoning a

‘front-ending’ of assessment approach (see Professional resources). Discussion of assessment can still be flagged early in the teaching unit within the ‘explore’ phase.

Food for thought and action…As with all IBL activities which involve collaboration, it is suggested that the activity is followed up by two processes which involve discussion of the:

knowledge produced as a result of the activity process used to create the knowledge with teacher questions, according to the developmental

levels of the group, about whether the activity was enjoyable and why or why not, how the activity could be improved, and whose learning needs were served or not served and why. See below.

14 Note that the BIG question is referred to in the tune in phase within parentheses to indicate that it may not be formulated until the ‘explore’ phase.


Facilitate the learning activity

Ask general questions e.g. What suprised you? What do you want to know more about?Ask specific questions about the topic.

Facilitate explicit discussion of the

KNOWLEDGE produced

Invite students to provide feedback through a PMI (Plus, minus, interesting), SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities & tensions)

Invite feedback on PROCESS used in

activity.

64


‘Tuning in’ phase activitiesActivity: Graffiti page/wall

Invite students to think deeply about a topic (or specific BIG question based on targeted content descriptions from the Australian Curriculum or, for older students, one or more content descriptions).

Support students to brainstorm as many words and phrases as possible associated with the topic or BIG question.

Invite students to look for patterns: which words or phrases are repeated, what themes are evident and so on.

Ideas for differentiation/In order to gather information that will allow you to differentiate support for learning:—The above activity will provide information on what the class generally knows in relation to the topic/BIG question/content descriptions.—Invite students to record what they know in ways that will allow you to identify each student (e.g. specific coloured pens for particular students, use of a wiki and so on) in order to gather information that will allow you to differentiate for groups and individuals.

Food for thought and action…Make brainstorming in your classroom more dynamic with better results by using DOVE:

Defer judgement; anything goesOpt for original; different ideasVast number is neededExpand by piggybacking on others’ ideas.

Source: Bellanca and Fogarty (1991).

Food for thought and action…There are many variations possible in relation to all of the practical activities in this book. The key consideration is the framing of the activity to maximise engagement and learning for individuals and groups of students in the classroom. Here are a few ideas:

Change the mode: Is the activity best done in a written (by hand, texting, word-processing and so on), oral or more practical mode (e.g. building a model)?

Change the social context: Is the activity best done with a partner, small group (self-selected or teacher-selected) or whole group?

Activity: Hot seat Research a character—past or present—relevant to the investigation (or support student/s to

research a relevant character). Invite students to pose questions with teacher or guest responding in role. Students ask

closed questions, that is, those that can be answered with either a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ response. As an extension activity, a student or group of students could conduct the research, sit in the

‘hot seat’ and respond to their peers’ questions. Lead a discussion in which students share what they learnt about the character. Follow this

activity up with a KWL or a silent QuAK.


65


Tuning in’ phase activitiesActivity: My perfect match

Prepare a list of relevant terms, names, events and so on listing each on a separate card. Also make another set of cards with matching explanations, definitions and so on.

Distribute cards randomly (making sure that each student has one card and that another student in the room has the matching card) and invite students to find their partners with matching cards.

Students with matched pairs then must be able to justify to the whole group why their cards are a match.

As a further challenge activity invite the group to work collaboratively to ensure everyone has a correct match.

Activity: Double circles Invite students to select a partner (e.g. someone they do not know well) and, along with other

partners, form two concentric circles with partners facing each other. Provide students with a question or sentence stem for response by each partner for a brief

length of time. The people in the outer circle move to the right to form a new partnership for each new sentence stem.

If the topic is a sensitive one, remind participants to share only information in this activity that they would be happy to have shared with the whole group in the follow-up phase.

Invite people in the inner circle to join participants in the outer circle, making one large circle for the routine discussion of the knowledge that was produced and the process that was used. As a follow-up to discussion circles, the teacher might pose questions, such as, What was something interesting that someone said to you? What was something that was said that surprised you? and so on. As students respond to these and other teacher-directed questions, invite them to share the name of the person who made the comments to which they refer.

Activity: Word associations Share with students words, concepts and skills that are central to the learning/teaching unit. Invite them to work individually to consider the first word or two that comes to mind when they

hear the key word or phrase. Invite students to consider patterns, ideas and possible questions that emerge from this

analysis.


66


‘Tuning in’ phase activitiesActivity: Random input

Students select a card from a collection prepared by the teacher. (Each card has an every-day word.)

Students can work as a group to brainstorm how the selected word is similar or different from the topic/issue/phenomenon under study. Alternatively, students can work individually or in small groups to explore differences and similarities and then share their ideas with the whole group.

A practical example used by the author to introduce the topic of contemporary issues associated with the family involved the students considering differences and similarities between ‘the family’ and the randomly selected word, ‘glass’. Students responded by discussing:—the fragility of families—the way in which the break-down of families appeared to be an increasing phenomenon—measures that could be taken to maintain resiliency of families/to support families and so on.Source of ‘random input’ de Bono, 1972 (CoRT 4 Thinking Skills).

‘Making connections’ (Cam et al., 2007) offers a variation of this strategy. Students are given a table with two lists of terms. The teacher asks the students to select a term from each column and explore the ways they could be connected. The example provided is that ‘a coconut’ (from column 1) is like a crab (column 2) because they both have hard shells and are soft on the inside’ (p. 15).

Activity: Letter from the outside world Collaborate with a person or organisation beyond the classroom to send a letter (or other form

of communication such as email or a postcard) to the class. The open letter to the class could invite students to consider a particular issue or

phenomenon with the suggestion that they might visit the organisation, such as an environmental education centre.

Activity: Tuning in with literature or media Share with students an engaging and relevant extract from a DVD, YouTube, music CD,

television program, blog, fiction or non-fiction and so on that will stimulate their interest. Support student reflection through sentence stems such as:

—I was surprised by...—I’d like to know more about...—I already know that...Explicitly target higher-order thinking with further sentence stems such as:—I predict that...—A consequence of ...’s actions might be...—I think the most important thing/factor/idea/understanding was...

Activity: Mystery box Prepare a collection of items related to a topic (or invite a student or group of students to

prepare collection). Support students to work in small groups to identify the objects and predict the relationship of

each to the topic. Alternatively, students are invited to consider what the topic might be and what questions they might want to investigate.

A variation on this activity is to invite students to use a blind-fold as they select and initially identify the objects. This is especially useful when working with students in the early years but can be used productively with older students.

Students or the teacher can create a virtual museum box at:<http://museumbox.e2bn.org/>.At this site the user is challenged to consider creating a virtual box to build up an argument or to describe a person, event or historical period.

(Source: ‘St M’s College’)


67

http://museumbox.e2bn.org/


‘Tuning in’ phase activitiesActivity: Puzzle it out

Use a lateral thinking puzzle relevant to the learning/teaching unit.

A practical example…A hotel detective was walking along the corridor of a large hotel one day. Suddenly, he heard a woman’s voice cry out, ‘For God’s sake, don’t shoot me, John!’ Then there was a shot. He ran to the room from where the shot came and burst in. In one corner of the room, lay a woman who had been shot through the heart. In the middle of the floor was a gun that had been used to shoot her. On the other side of the room stood a postman, a lawyer and an accountant. The detective looked at them for a moment and then went up to the postman, grabbed him and said, ‘I’ am arresting you for the murder of that woman.’

It was, in fact, the postman who had murdered the woman, but how did the hotel detective know? Never before had he seen any of the people in the room.

Source: Sloane (1991).

Q: What is the topic/issue/phenomenon for which this puzzle might apply?

Invite students to discuss their strategies for solving the puzzle and what issues the puzzle raised.

Activity: Stop & Drop Provide resources (with which a particular and relevant activity is possible) without giving any

instructions. Students are encouraged to use problem solving strategies to work out what they need to do

or what it is possible to do with the resources. For example, magnetic and non-magnetic items can provided with students given the opportunity to explore the phenomenon of magnetism. Such activities provide a base for exploring student questions and what students think they know.

(Source: ‘St M’s College’)

Activity: Artefacts on display Gather a rich collection of artefacts related to your topic/issue/phenomenon. Local museums,

government departments, lending libraries and private individuals may have collections relevant to your work. Specialist organisations, such as the Returned Soldiers League (RSL) may be able to provide memorabilia for a topic related to Anzac Day.

Activities could include:—free-ranging discussion prompted by the artefacts—identification of the artefacts —higher-order thinking involving sequencing of electro-mechanical items (such as early to current model computing equipment) or household items (such as irons etc) according to the time of their use and function.


68


‘Tuning in’ phase activitiesActivity: Hypothetical reasoning

Provide students with examples of hypothetical statements related to the topic/issue/phenomenon under study. Use the sentence stem, If...then,...

Model an example for students, If everyone used fossil fuel then,...global warming would worsen rapidly/carbon emissions would increase/renewable energy use and research would stop.

Ask each pair to develop two responses to their statement. Place all statements with the relevant responses on the floor in a line and invite students to

stand next to their statement and responses. Ask students to move two places along the line of statements so that they are matched up with a new statement and its responses.

Ask students to collaborate with their partners to select which of the responses they prefer and to justify their responses.

Hypothetical statementsIf nobody shared, then...If everybody shared then...If brothers and sisters couldn’t cooperate, then...If we had no friends, then...If there was no money in the world, then...If people didn’t want anything, then...

(Source: Cam, Fynes-Clinton, Harrison, Hinton, Scholl & Vaseo, 2007, p. 26)

Teaching approach: Independent investigation with student choice of topic/issue/phenomenon

Some schools support students to engage in an independent investigation with student choice of topic/issue/phenomenon. The degree of student choice will be determined by the scope of the required curriculum and the students’ achievement of knowledge, understandings and skills to-date. These and other parameters might form the basis for student–teacher negotiation of a topic/BIG question, methods of investigation and demonstration of knowledge, understandings and skills.

Students could be supported to ‘tune in’ to their potential areas of investigation through sentence stems that might include:—If I could investigate anything it would be...—What I’d really like to know about is...—An area in which I’d really like to take some action is...—If that’s the curriculum we have to do (required curriculum displayed for middle and senior years students) then I’d like to...—Our school values (e.g. justice) give me an idea for investigating...

A possible stimulus for student investigation and action in relation to a topic that will benefit individuals and society is the 2000 film, Pay it forward. In this film the teacher invites his middle years class to carry out some action that: really helps people; something they can't do by themselves; and involves the recipient of the action ‘paying forward the action’ to three other people. The suggestion here is that students will investigate a topic/issue/phenomenon to determine the most productive action to undertake. Alternatively, issues of selflessness, taking action, helping people and so on could be discussed and acted upon in a more general way after seeing this film.

Activity: Creating a collage Invite students to gather a range of texts related to an identified topic. Include newspaper

items, photographs, quotes, books, articles and so on in hard or electronic copy. Create a collage (incorporating electronic resources). Use the display as a stimulus for brainstorming, participating in a ‘silent QuAK’ or completing

a KWL.


69


‘Tuning in’ phase activitiesActivity: Bingo tune in (that will provide questions for the explore phase)

Construct a bingo activity related to the topic/issue/phenomenon, using Bellanca and Fogarty’s (1991) ‘three-storey intellect’ which involves gathering, processing and applying thinking skills (outlined in more detail in ‘explore’ phase). Alternatively, have students create the bingo activity, introducing the ‘three-storey intellect’ when appropriate.

Students must find a person in the class who knows, understands or can do what is required for each specific bingo task.

The example below is based on the Australian Curriculum: Science (ACARA, 2011d) which includes the following from the Science understanding strand (sub-strand: Earth and space sciences) for Yr 5: The Earth is part of a system of planets orbiting around a star (the sun) which includes the following elaborations:

—identifying the planets of the solar system and comparing how long they take to orbit the sun—modelling the relative size of and distance between Earth, other planets in the solar system and the sun—recognising the role of the sun as a provider of energy for the Earth.

Tune into our topic with bingoYour task:

Find a person in the class who knows, understands or can do one of the following. Find a new person for each.Don’t forget to record their name and their response. ..........can tell me the name of the object that scientists use to view objects in space from Earth: ...............................

..........can name two planets in our solar system:...............................

.........can tell me the name of the first scientist to use a telescope to study objects in the solar system:...............................

..........can tell me which planet is known as the ‘Evening Star’ :...............................

..........can tell me the name of an object in space which is both a telescope and a satellite and was launched in space using a rocket:...............................

..........can tell me a really important difference between Earth and Jupiter:...............................

..........can tell me the name of the planet closest to the Sun and what the conditions are like there:...............................

..........can tell me why, if the ‘Evening Star’ is not a star but a planet, it appears so bright?

...............................

..........can tell me if the Earth takes 24 hours to spin on its axis, approximately how many hours of sunlight will there be: ...............................

Possible responses

Responses to:

Gatheringquestions

1. telescope 2. two of these: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus & Neptune.

3. Galileo Galilei (he discovered four of Jupiter's moons almost four hundred years ago!)

4. Venus

Processingquestions

5. Hubble Telescope

6. Jupiter is made up mostly of gas, whereas Earth has a solid crust.

7. Mercury and it’s hot (up to 4270C!)

Applyingquestions

8. Venus is covered with clouds and therefore reflects most of the sun that falls on its surface.

9. 12 hours of sunlight


70


‘Tuning in’ phase activities

Record other useful ‘tuning in’ activities here.


71


‘Exploring’ phase activities

PurposeThe purpose of the ‘explore’ activities is to:

find out more specifically what students think they know, their questions and their attitudes in relation to the topic or BIG question (or targeted content descriptions for older students).

make explicit for students themselves what they think they know, their questions and their attitudes in relation to the topic.

create, refine or confirm a BIG question for investigation and the sub-questions (balancing the needs of the required curriculum with student interests and achievements)

make explicit for students what they need to know and be able to do as a result of the investigation.

Tips Teacher-led summarising of student knowledge, attitudes and questions in relation to the

topic under investigation can be useful but it can also be overused. Invite students to brainstorm ‘what they know’ about the specific topic and then suggest that

this is what ‘we think we know’. A key focus on the investigation is not just finding out more in relation to a topic but to challenge our current knowledge.

Activity: Silent QuAK Prepare enough sets of the questions below so that all students can record their ideas easily

and simultaneosly. Place sheets on tables or create a mural by placing them on the wall. Invite students to record their ideas. If you choose to use a silent conversation, explain to

students that they must record their ideas in complete silence. Also invite students to continually peruse what is being recorded using the following symbols

where necessary: next to those comments with which they agree‘x’ next to those comments with which they disagree‘?’ when they need clarification (encourage students to provide further information next to

any of their comments to which a question mark has been added). Some teachers ask students initially to only to use the ‘’ and ‘?’ to avoid stifling students’

willingness to contribute.

What do you know (or think you know) in relation to…(insert topic

or the BIG question)?

What sub-questions would help us to find about more about…(insert topic or

the BIG question)?

What are your attitudes to…(insert topic or the BIG

question)?

Activity: Take a stand and justify Use this activity when you wish to support students to explore their attitudes and values about

a topic or BIG question that may be controversial. For example, the continuum is useful when exploring topics such as genetic engineering, nuclear power, stem cell research, global warming and so on. Just as it is useful for students (and their teacher) to be aware of what they think they know and what they want to know, it is useful to highlight attitudes and values at the outset of a topic. These attitudes and values can be re-visited throughout and at the conclusion of the investigation. This activity also highlights for students that other people may have perspectives on a topic that differ from their own.

Record two statements associated with the topic or BIG question. For example, students could be given the statements: Global warming is a serious issue which must be addressed and Global warming is not a serious issue and should not cause alarm.

Place a poster recording a statement at one end of an imaginary line and a poster with the other statement at the other end (or if the statements are simple enough for the developmental levels of the students the teacher could share these verbally).

The students are asked to locate themselves anywhere along a continuum according to which statement they think is more accurate and how accurate. Encourage students with the notion that anywhere along the continuum is an acceptable place to be.

Invite students to share their reasons for standing where they are with those nearby. Invite students from various points along the continuum to justify their choice.


72


‘Exploring’ phase activitiesTeaching approach: Creating the BIG question and the sub-questionsNote: A productive BIG question is one that balances students’ interests, needs, aspirations and current knowledge with the curriculum requirements. It is the teacher’s role to manage this tension. Figure 27 provides examples of the steps involved in:

—student–teacher collaboration in determining the BIG question—teacher direction in determining the BIG question

Figure 27 also makes reference to the creation of sub-questions. Sub-questions are those specific questions that are necessary to answer the BIG question.

Productive or generative BIG questions in an IBL classroom are those that are:—conceptual i.e. beyond descriptive elements, such as wind turbines and coal stations to ‘analytical concepts’, such as global warming15

—connected i.e. related to the world and to students’ lives.

Practical examples of conceptual and connected questions in a range of learning areas are provided later in this section.

Figure 27: Two options for determining the BIG question and sub-questions in the classroomStudent–teacher collaboration in determining the BIG question

Process Example

Tune

in

to the topic being studied Topic: Year 7 integrated unit: Energy use and global warming

Expl

ore

students’ knowledge, attitudes and questions in relation to the topic in order to formulate a BIG question (or hypothesis) and sub-questions.

What do you think you know about energy use/global warming? What questions do you have in relation to…? What are your attitudes to…?

Collaborative development—involving both teacher and students—of a BIG question that is both personally meaningful for students, meaningful for society and one that fulfils curriculum, assessment and reporting requirements.Subsequent collaborative development with students of sub-questions that help to answer the BIG question.

Teacher direction in determining the BIG questionProcess Example

Tune

in

to the topic through a teacher-developed BIG question

BIG question: What is global warming and is our energy use making it worse?

Expl

ore

students’ knowledge, attitudes and questions, in relation to the teacher-developed sub-questions.

Sub-questions What is global warming? What is energy? What are the sources of energy we use? Which energy sources contribute to global warming? Which

energy sources don’t contribute to global warming? What action is needed to reduce global warming?

NB: These questions are designed to find out what students think they know already, what other questions they have and their attitudes to the chosen topic.

Another variation to the above approach is for teachers and students to collaborate to create the sub-questions using the already developed BIG question.

15 See Gilbert & Vick (2004).


73


‘Exploring’ phase activitiesTeaching approach: Creating the BIG question and the sub-questions cont’d

Food for thought and action…What is a productive BIG question?Productive BIG questions balance students’ needs, interests, aspirations and current knowledge with the required curriculum. The required curriculum usually stipulates knowledge and understandings, and skills necessary to promote the development of rich conceptual knowledge. Productive BIG questions support this focus on concepts. Usually, but not always, open questions as opposed to closed questions, are preferable.

A school team, for example, proposed the following BIG question: Should the school canteen sell soft drink? Subsequent teacher talk led them to move on from this closed question, requiring a ‘yes’/’no’ response to a more productive question. Their new question, In what ways are the making and drinking of soft drink sustainable?, supported students to gather evidence in relation to the initial question. Importantly, the reworked question opened up opportunities for students to develop rich conceptual understandings in relation to sustainability. Further, the teaching team utilised a framework that conceptualised the environment as involving the personal, the social and the natural. The use of this framework scaffolded the creation of sub-questions.

The conceptual understandings which lead to rich learning by students are embedded or explicitly listed in the curriculum frameworks with which teachers are working. It is important to look for these and ensure that they ‘live’ through the curriculum designed at the classroom level. A final example reinforces this point. An early years teaching team proposed a BIG question, What’s unique about Australia? By expanding this question to What makes places in Australia special to you? the students were able to explore spiritual places, natural places, people-made places and so on—all dimensions that make a place special.

What makes a good inquiry question?

?The question:is written by students or in collaboration with students.is interesting, engaging to students and is written in student-friendly languageis an open question.is designed to support learning about concepts and involves higher-order thinking.serves the required curriculum.

Food for thought and action…Wilhelm (2007, p. 55) suggests that we ask conceptual questions and questions of application. He offers the following example: How does electricity work? (conceptual) How can we use various features of electricity to create a security system for the school? (application) He offers the following ‘tips for generating guiding questions’ (pp. 49–53):

Reframe a required standard, topic or text so it matters. Consider the heart of the matter. Look around the community. Consider the principle organising questions of the discipline you are studying. Ask questions [similar to] those practitioners use to guide their own work. Ask questions about quality that require students to make judgments. Ask ethical or moral questions that require judgment about particular concepts, issues or

the pursuit of particular kinds of knowledge. Ask questions of application. Solicit students’ help to generate a guiding question or sub-questions.


74


Historical periods can be reframed as inquiry by focusing on the major issues or ‘contact zones’—geographical and intellectual spaces of debate—of the time.


75


‘Exploring’ phase activitiesPractical examples: Getting conceptual and connected

(See references for details of relevant version of Australian Curriculum used here.)

Connected and conceptual BIG questions

Possible sub-questions

What actions m

ight be appropriate for me/us to take? W

hat have I learnt/how I have learnt during this investigation?

EnglishHow can you influence people on a topic that’s important to you?Year 8 Language & Literacy

—What are the main ideas and viewpoints in relation to my chosen topic?—What evidence have I got to back up my claims?—What texts (written, spoken and multi-modal) are appropriate to influence people on this topic?—What are the appropriate text structures and language features for a letter to the editor?—How effective is my letter to the editor on this topic?

How can we use picture books to help us understand complex issues?Yr 10 Language & LiteratureWhat would you do for love?Yr 10 Literature

—What do we learn about love from [insert name of novel]?—Specifically, what do we learn from the characters/from the plot?—How do these learnings connect with your views or experiences of the world in which you live?

MathematicsHow can we use linear functions to select the best mobile phone plan?16

Yr 8 Number and algebra

—How can we construct, analyse and interpret graphs of linear functions using the data provided for a range of mobile phone plans?—How can we construct, manipulate and solve linear equations related to each phone plan?—What criteria would you use to determine which phone plan is best for you? Which phone plan—of those represented—would be best for you? What evidence can you use to justify your claim?

How could we create a plan to make the best use of the rainwater collected from a roof?Yr 9: Measurement & geometry

How can we use mathematics to calculate: the volume of water that your family requires each year? the size of the tank/s needed to store this volume? the roof area required to collect this volume of water? whether you will have a surplus or deficit of water in any average

year?ScienceNB: SU = Science understanding; SHE = Science as a human endeavour; SIS = Science inquiry skills.Could we live under water?Yr 1 SU: Biological sciences + SIS

—What makes up an under-water environment?—What do animals need to live under water?—Could humans live under water? Why or why not?

What causes day and night?Y5 5 SU: Earth and space sciences + SIS

—What is day? What is night?—What are the two major ways in which the Earth moves? How often do these movements of the Earth repeat?—Which one of these movements do you think is responsible for causing day and night? Why is this?—If you have a light and a globe, how could you set these up to illustrate what causes day and night?

What sorts of energy can we use to reduce our global footprints?Yr 7 SU: Earth and spaces sciences; SHE: Use and influence of science + SIS

—What is global warming?—What sorts of energy use contribute to global warming?—What sorts of energy use do not contribute to global warming?—Whose interests are served/not served by actions to address global warming?

16 This BIG question and the sub-questions are based on ACARA work sample for Yr 8 (ACARA, 2010c).


76


‘Exploring’ phase activitiesPractical examples: Getting conceptual and connected cont’d

Science cont’dIs genetic engineering a better way to produce crops than traditional methods?Yr 10 SU: Biological sciences; SHE + SIS

—What is genetic engineering of crops?—Who is doing this and why?—What are the advantages and disadvantages of genetic engineering of crops?—Whose interests are served/not served by the use of genetic engineering?

What actions m

ight be appropriate for me/us to take? W

hat have I learnt/how I have learnt during this investigation?

HistoryNB: HK&U = Historical knowledge and understanding; HS = Historical skills.Who owns Australia?Yr 4 HK&U (First contacts) & HS

—When and why did Europeans settle in Australia?—What was the European approach to land ownership in Australia?—What was the Indigenous approach to land ownership?—What is the situation today in relation to land ownership?—Whose interests are served/not served by current land ownership arrangements?

Should people who commit crimes be given a second chance?Yr 5: HK&U (The Australian colonies) & HS

—Who were the convicts sent to Australia?—Why were they sent to Australia?—How did the convict population influence the growth of the colony and later the nation of Australia?— Whose interests are served/not served by the range of approaches to dealing with people who commit crimes?

How did the gold rushes contribute to our multi-cultural Australia?Yr 5: HK&U New Australians (The Australian colonies) & HS

—Which groups came to Australia during the gold rushes?—What were relations like between the newly arrived groups and groups already present in Australia (e.g. Indigenous people, British settlers)?—What significant events occurred among different groups during the gold rushes? What were the impacts of these events?(See resources at the end of this section.)

Which Indigenous traditions and cultures survive in the 21st century? What can we learn from these practices?Yr 6 HK&U (Australia as a nation) & HS

—What are the cultures, beliefs, languages and forms of social organisation of traditional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples?—Where can we learn about Indigenous traditions and cultures locally?—Which traditions and cultures survive and why?—Which Indigenous traditions and cultures have not survived and why?—Whose interests are served/not served by the survival of Indigenous practices?

The ancient world is ancient history, isn’t it? What can we learn from the ancient world?Yr 7: HK&U (The Mediterranean world: Egypt) & HS

—When and where did the Ancient Egyptian civilisation exist?—In what ways could Ancient Egypt be described as ‘great’?—Would everyone in society have had a positive view of society?—What factors sustained Ancient Egypt (kept it going) for a long period of time?—What sites would you include in a travel itinerary in order to provide evidence of the achievements of Ancient Egypt?

Should everyone have the right to vote?Yr 7: HK&U (The Mediterranean world: Greece) & HS

—What was the system of voting that emerged in Ancient Greece?—Why did this system emerge?—Who had the right to vote in Ancient Greece/who did not have the right to vote?—How is Australia’s system of voting similar to and different from that of Ancient Greece?—Whose interests are served/not served by our current voting system?


77


‘Exploring’ phase activitiesPractical examples: Getting conceptual and connected

HistoryWas family life great during the Industrial Revolution?Yr 9 HK&U Making a better world? Industrial Revolution

—What makes a great family life?—What was family life like during the Industrial Revolution in Britain? How did family life vary with social class?—How did family life in the Industrial Revolution, for various classes, differ from that before this time?—To what extent was family life great during the Industrial Revolution?

What’s worth fighting for?Yr 10: HK&U (World War II) & HS

—When was World War 2? What caused World War 2?—What were the reasons for Australia’s involvement?—What impact did this war have on Australia, Australians and the world?—What was the result of World War 2?

The examples below pertain to further learning areas not yet addressed in Australian Curriculum. As a result, no year levels are suggested. The focus here is on BIG questions that are conceptual and connected.

Connected and conceptual questions Possible sub-questions W

hat actions might be appropriate for m

e/us to take? What have I

learnt/how I have learnt during this investigation?

Health & Physical EducationWhat sorts of diets would allow us to feed the planet?ORWhat human diet is sustainable for the planet?

—What food groups are necessary for a balanced diet?—What diets are prevalent in selected Western countries and in selected developing nations?—What are the impacts of these diets?—What could be regarded as a sustainable diet?— Whose interests are served/not served by particular diets?

How can I plan a safe party?

—What are the effects of alcohol on young people?—What other factors might endanger young people at a party?—What are the legal requirements of those hosting parties?—What actions might promote a safe party?

GeographyWhat fashion labels exploit child or adult labour?

—Where are our clothes made by the brands you are investigating?—Who are the workers in these clothing factories?—What are the working conditions of the labour force (physical surroundings, payment, hours worked and so on)?—Have you identified examples of labour exploitation? If so, what action will you take?

What size population is sustainable for Australia?

—What is the population of Australia? Where do people live?—Where are the under-populated parts of Australia and why?—What size population is sustainable to Australia? What evidence supports this claim? How can we determine an optimal population size for Australia?—Whose interests are served/not served by the range of possible population targets?


78


‘Exploring’ phase activitiesGetting conceptual and connected: Practical examples cont’d

ResourcesBIG question: How did the gold rushes contribute to our multi-cultural Australia?

Websiteshttp://www.nma.gov.au/collections/collection_interactives/harvest_of_endurance_html_version/)?

Other web-based resources that might be relevant (TBC):http://www.cap.nsw.edu.au/bb_site_intro/stage3_Modules/gold/gold.htmlhttp://www.neutralbay-p.schools.nsw.edu.au/library/links.htm#goldhttp://www.neutralbay-p.schools.nsw.edu.au/library/gold/infogold.htmhttp://www.sbs.com.au/gold/story.php?storyid=49http://www.kidcyber.com.au/topics/gold.htmhttp://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/goldrush/http://www.primaryschool.com.au/humansocietyresults.php?kla=Human%20Society%20and%20Its%20Environment&unit=Goldhttp://www.teacherspet.net.au/notes.html#Findhttp://www.webquestdirect.com.au/goldforce/index.htmhttp://www.cap.nsw.edu.au/bb_site_intro/stage2_Modules/bushrangers/bushrangers.htmhttp://www.nma.gov.au/interactives/tlf/gold_rush_5-6/index.htmlhttp://images.google.com.au/imgres?imgurl=http://americanhistory.pppst.com/banner_gold_rush.gif&imgrefurl=http://americanhistory.pppst.com/goldrush.html&usg=__lz8v5kZ6DW3ljhOkKcvov8d0-i0=&h=291&w=709&sz=32&hl=en&start=54&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=zyjpgYdVxRtl5M:&tbnh=57&tbnw=140&prev=/images%3Fq%3DGold%2BRush%26start%3D42%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26ndsp%3D21%26tbs%3Disch:1Novels (Note: references incomplete) A trooper’s tale by McDonald, B. (1992). Pearson Primary. Eureka rebellion by Barrie Sheppard (2006). Fly a rebel flag: The battle at Eureka by Robyn Annear (2004). Black Dog Books. Careless wishes by Carole Wilkinson (2001). Rigby Heinemann.

Food for thought and action…You can tell whether a [person] is clever by his answers. You can tell whether a [person] is wise by [their] questions. (Naguib Mahfouz quoted in Audet, 2008a, p. 137)


79

http://images.google.com.au/imgres?imgurl=http://americanhistory.pppst.com/banner_gold_rush.gif&imgrefurl=http://americanhistory.pppst.com/goldrush.html&usg=__lz8v5kZ6DW3ljhOkKcvov8d0-i0=&h=291&w=709&sz=32&hl=en&start=54&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=zyjpgYdVxRtl5M:&tbnh=57&tbnw=140&prev=/images%3Fq%3DGold%2BRush%26start%3D42%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26ndsp%3D21%26tbs%3Disch:1



http://www.nma.gov.au/interactives/tlf/gold_rush_5-6/index.html

http://www.cap.nsw.edu.au/bb_site_intro/stage2_Modules/bushrangers/bushrangers.htm

http://www.webquestdirect.com.au/goldforce/index.htm

http://www.teacherspet.net.au/notes.html#Find

http://www.primaryschool.com.au/humansocietyresults.php?kla=Human%20Society%20and%20Its%20Environment&unit=Gold

http://www.primaryschool.com.au/humansocietyresults.php?kla=Human%20Society%20and%20Its%20Environment&unit=Gold

http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/goldrush/

http://www.kidcyber.com.au/topics/gold.htm

http://www.sbs.com.au/gold/story.php?storyid=49

http://www.neutralbay-p.schools.nsw.edu.au/library/gold/infogold.htm

http://www.neutralbay-p.schools.nsw.edu.au/library/links.htm#gold

http://www.cap.nsw.edu.au/bb_site_intro/stage3_Modules/gold/gold.html

http://www.nma.gov.au/collections/collection_interactives/harvest_of_endurance_html_version/

http://www.nma.gov.au/collections/collection_interactives/harvest_of_endurance_html_version/


‘Exploring’ phase activitiesActivity: Frame sub-questions for intellectual rigour

There are many ways to generate questions in the classroom: teacher generated; collaboratively developed; and independently generated by students.

Students can be given frameworks for the development of questions with pairs or groups of students working on one type of question.

Following is a series of questioning frameworks to support students’ generation of their own questions on a topic or to support them to generate sub-questions.

Bellanca & Fogarty’s Three-storey intellect (1991)

‘Gathering’ thinking skills are im

portant but increase the intellectual rigour of questions with a

focus on ‘processing’ and ‘applying’ skills.

Level of thinking Examples of specific processes

Examples of questions students could create (author-generated)

Gathering Counting How many can you identify…?Naming Can you name…?Reciting Can you recite…?Recalling Can you remember/recall…?Telling Can you tell…?Describing How would you describe...?Selecting Which of the following would you choose

for...?Matching Which explanation matches each term?Sorting Can you sort these items according to the

categories or headings provided…?Processing Comparing How are...and...similar?

Contrasting What is the difference between...and…?Classifying How can these animals be grouped?Analysing What theme or similar ideas come through

in your findings?Distinguishing How can you identify this as belonging to

this category?Explaining (why) How can you explain how this event

occurred?Inferring What can you conclude happened here?Reasoning How could you work through this problem?Solving What are three possible solutions to this

problem?Applying Estimating How much…would be required

to…?[Responding] to If.../thenForecasting

What do you consider might happen if we…?

Predicting What might happen if we...?Imagining What is the ideal situation in relation

to...?Judging Which is the best model on the basis

of the criteria?Evaluating How successful was the…?

NB: Increasing font size indicates increasing complexity of thinking skills.


80



Bloom’s taxonomy

Bloom et al.’s (1956) taxonomy of educational objectives has been used extensively by teachers to identify and scaffold student thinking skills. A newer version of the taxonomy was developed by Anderson & Krathwohl (2001). This updated version maintains the original levels, slightly changing the order and renaming three levels. The updated Bloom’s Taxonomy includes:

remembering (knowledge) understanding (comprehension) applying analysing evaluating creating (or to use their language ‘putting elements together to form a coherent or functional

whole’ (p. 84).Bloom’s Taxonomy remains a useful framework with which to scaffold students’ creation of questions, teacher-generated questions or those collaboratively developed.

Food for thought and action…It is important to consider the micro-skills that students need in order to complete a particular activity in an IBL classroom. Micro-skills might involve cognitive or social skills. For example, in order to complete the silent QuAK, the teacher might ensure that students have practised a ‘think–pair–share’. Students might also require practice in recording their ideas without talking.

Question matrices

A simple question matrix can include (as shown below): a series of verbs on the horizontal axis (e.g. is/are; can; did; will; would; might) who, when, where, why and how on the vertical axis. sample questions inserted to scaffold students’ creation of questions on a particular topic.

is/are can did will wouldWho

When

Where

Why

How

Source: This example is adapted from The State of Queensland (Department of Education, Training and the Arts), 2009.

Create your own matrix based on the following (source unknown): event, situation, choice, person, reason and means on the horizontal axis present, past, possibility, probability, prediction and imagination on the vertical axis.


81



Strategic questioningType ofstrategicquestioning

Knowledgebeingconstructed about...

BIG question: What are the impacts of land clearing?

1. Focus questions

the key facts to an understanding of the situation

Where, how and why is land being cleared? Who is involved in the process? What are the rates of land clearing in the area being studied? For what purposes is land cleared?

2. Observation questions

what can be observed about a situation

What evidence can you see of land clearing in this area? What do you know about land clearing in other areas? What do you know about the impact of land clearing on the

environment? What do you know about the state of the land prior to clearing? What do you know about the state of the land after the clearing?

3. Feeling questions

people’s feelings with regard to the situation

Who do you think has strong feelings about the clearing of land? What do you think the views of each of these groups would be? What are your feelings toward the clearing of land?

4. Visioning questions

people’s ideals, values and hopes for the future

What do we need to do to achieve a balance that will satisfy all groups who have strong views regarding land clearing?

Whose responsibility is it to bring about such a balance?

5.Personal inventory questions

your own attitudes to the issue

What is your view regarding land clearing?

6. Change questions

action for a better future

What do you need to do to clarify this situation and bring about a better situation?

Source: Adapted from Nayler (2000); source of ‘strategic questioning’: Peavey & Hutchinson (1993).

‘How’, ‘why’ and ‘in whose interests’ questions

Category Explanation Example‘How’ questions

These are technical questions and involve explanations of how particular phenomena occur

How are scarce resources allocated within the Australian and global contexts?

‘Why’ questions

These questions involve asking why something occurs.

Why is the Federal government involved in the allocation of scarce resources within Australia?

‘Critical questions’

These questions investigate whose interests are served by a particular event, practice or phenomenon.

Who wins as a result of uranium mining? Who loses as a result of uranium mining?

Source of categories: Habermas (1971).

Food for thought and action…One of the challenges in using an inquiry approach is asking appropriate and challenging questions which enable students to investigate a topic and use a variety of resources to find solutions and answers. It is also important for students to develop their own questioning skills so that they are able to participate successfully in an inquiry process. (Goldburg, 2007)


82



Socratic questions

Assumption probes What are you assuming? What is…assuming? What could we assume instead? You seem to be assuming… Do I understand you correctly? All of your reasoning depends on the idea that…rather than…. You seem to be assuming….How would you justify taking this for granted? Is it always the case? Why do you think the assumption holds here? Why would someone make this assumption?

Source: Paul (1995). A series of questions from Paul (1995) is included in Socratic Questions Activity Sheet from Department of Education, Science and Training, and Curriculum Corporation (2006), Success for boys: Planning guide and core module.

Activity: Creating hypotheses An hypothesis is a tentative or proposed explanation of a specific phenomenon e.g. Stem cell

research does not cause harm to anyone. Rather than having the students gather information in response to a BIG question you might

challenge them to investigate a topic by gathering information to prove, prove with qualifications, or disprove a relevant hypothesis. The hypothesis could be teacher-generated, collaboratively-developed with students or independently developed by students.

It is useful to support students to explore what they think they know, their attitudes and their questions and discuss these prior to creating possible hypotheses.

Food for thought and action…The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when [they] contemplate the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvellous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery every day. Never lose a holy curiosity.(Albert Einstein)

Activity: Front end assessment and understand it! This activity builds on the approach explored in the professional resources section and is

designed to make explicit to students what they need to demonstrate that they know and can do as part of their investigation.

Following consolidation of the BIG question that will drive the investigation and negotiation of the task (there may be multiple tasks associated with one investigation) share the task and criteria sheet or rubric with students.

According to the developmental level of your students and their previous experience with the explicit exploration of assessment requirements, use your professional judgment to select from the following activities:Teacher expositionProvide a brief reminder re the elements of the curriculum framework that are mandated (e.g. content descriptions and achievement standards from the Australian Curriculum)Think–pair–share—Support students to read the task description and the criteria sheet independently, considering the following sentence stems: I think the purpose of this task is to... I’m looking forward to... I’m unsure about... I’d like to know more about... and highlighting words, phrases or sentences for which they need clarification.—Invite students to share their responses with a partner.


83


—Invite students to share their responses with their class (e.g. through already established and familiar wiki, recording on butcher’s paper or on post-it notes or through a whole-class face-to-face discussion. Student examination of an indicative ‘A’ response to the task—Provide students with an indicative ‘A’ response which has been written by the teacher (or in collaboration with other teachers teaching the year level cohort).—Working in pairs or groups of three, students find evidence of an A–grade performance in the work sample of each criterion (or evidence of a lesser grade).—Two or three groups combine to share their findings, affirming or challenging other groups’ evidence as they see fit.—Teacher facilitates a whole-class sharing of findings with a focus on making explicit what information was gained that will be useful in creating a successful response to the task.—In order to gather information on students’ perceptions about their strengths and weaknesses in relation to the task, invite them to annotate a copy of their criteria sheet (teachers and students determine a process for recording and sharing that suits their resources and routines). Annotations made can be dated and the copy of the criteria sheet used several times for self- and peer assessment.Student assessment of a range of assessment samples NB: This strategy could be used later in the learning phase when the students have built up more field knowledge and have had experience with deconstructing and constructing texts relevant to their assessment task.—Distribute a range of assessment samples to students working in pair or groups of three students.


84



Record other useful ‘explore’ activities here.


85


‘Looking’ phase activities

Purpose The purpose of the ‘look’ activities is to:

support students to look for information which addresses the BIG question and the sub-questions.

Tips Students require a wide range of resources in order to gather sufficient information for their

investigations. Student investigation requires scaffolding of research skills, e.g. use of search engines on

world-wide web, use of catalogues and databases. It is important to determine what research skills students have and what is required to plan skill-based sessions.

Activity: Evaluating web-based information According to <www.VirtualSalt.com> (retrieved 17 April, 2010), credibility, accuracy,

reasonableness and support are important criteria for student consideration of material located on the world-wide web. Author-developed questions have been added to create the table below.

Upper middle phase students and senior students could use this table directly. For younger students, teachers could use this as a guide.

CARS: Evaluating web-based information

Credibility Who is the author? What are the author’s qualification, professional position, experience and so on? What interest does this person have in relation to the subject matter (academic, hobbyist, librarian, member of a professional association)?

What evidence is there of quality control (e.g. editing or review by peers, that is, other academics in university or members of a professional association)?

Warning signs: author name and details not provided; poor technical qualities (i.e. poor grammar and spelling).

Accuracy Has the information been published recently? Does the information seem to be comprehensive (that is, providing a

wide coverage of the topic)? Is the information appropriate for the audience who needs to access it?Warning signs: no publishing date provided; general statements not supported with evidence; lack of balanced viewpoint.

Reasonableness

Does the information present a balanced and fair argument? Does the author adopt an objective stance or, alternatively, is the author

explicit about any interest? Is the information believable? Is the information and line of argument consistent? What worldview or lens is used to present the information (e.g.

economic, religious, philosophical)?Warning signs: conflicts of interest; inconsistencies.

Support Are sources of information clearly and accurately documented? Is the information from this source supported by information from other

sources?Warning signs: Lack of sources; lack of corroboration from other sources.

Source: www.VirtualSalt.com (retrieved 17 April, 2010).


86

http://www.VirtualSalt.com/


‘Looking’ phase activitiesTeaching approach: Using Web 2.0 in IBL classrooms

According to Rhode (2007), Web 2.0 technologies emerged in the 1990s and involve new ‘architecture’. Visit <http://sites.google.com/site/slateconference/web2.0> (retrieved 17 April, 2010) to see examples of Web 2.0 tools under the categories below.

Investigate which specific programs you use/want to use—and are appropriate for use in the classroom*—in terms of the categories.

Web 2.0 tools

Type of Web 2.0 technology Specific programs I use/want to use in my IBL classroombloggingbookmarkingcollaborative Authorship/wikisconcept mapsmashupsnewsnotesphotopresentations/slidecastreferenceRSSsearchsocial networksvideo conferencingvideos

*See Christine Masters’ paper, Ethically using Web 2.0 at: http://itsymposiumtsv.wikispaces.com/ (retrieved 17 April, 2010). At this site, you will also find specific examples of programs related to each type of tool.

Wikoff (2008) offers information on innovative classroom uses of ICTs at: <http://learningischange.com/> (retrieved 17 April, 2010). At that site, you’ll find ‘101 tools and resources for authentic learning environments’.

Go to http://www.scootle.edu.au/ec/p/home for learning area based resources.

Food for thought and action…How do you know when you’ve integrated the technology well?

An outside observer sees the technology activity as a seamless part of the lesson. The reason for using the technology is obvious to you, the students, and others. The students are focusing on learning, not on the technology. You can describe how technology is helping a particular student. You would have difficulty accomplishing lesson objectives if the technology weren’t there. You can explain easily and concisely what the technology is supposed to contribute. All students are participating with the technology and benefiting from it.

How do you know when you HAVEN’T integrated technology well? You consistently see the technology as more trouble than it’s worth. You have trouble justifying cost and preparation time in terms of benefits to your students. Students spend more time trying to make the technology work than on learning the topic. The problem you were trying to address is still there.

Source: Roblyer (2004, p. E6).


87

http://www.scootle.edu.au/ec/p/home

http://learningischange.com/

http://itsymposiumtsv.wikispaces.com/

http://sites.google.com/site/slateconference/web2.0

Inquiry for a change‘Looking’ phase activitiesPractical example: ICT and scienceFigure 28: Generic assessment ICT-based strategies and Australian Curriculum: Science

Year 9 Content descriptions: Science inquiry skills(ACARA, 2011d) Innovative [diagnostic, formative & summative] assessment ideas that utilise ICTs

Questioning and predicting: Formulate questions or hypotheses that can be investigated scientifically

use a KWL (What I think I know, what I want to know and what I’ve learnt) via the wiki before the class even starts

post a key question each week on the class wiki (e.g. using www.wikispaces.com (retrieved 27 February, 2010) or a wiki within your school or organisation’s own learning management system)

put stimulus photos on <www.flickr.com> (retrieved 27 February 2010) and invite students to do so as well to support observations and predictions

Planning and conducting: Plan, select and use appropriate investigation methods, including field work and laboratory experimentation, to collect reliable data, assess risk and address ethical issues associated with these methods

the teacher or students creates, publishes & uses images online, e.g. upload photos showing range of investigation types with annotations using <www.flickr.com/> (retrieved 27 February, 2010)17

work with scientist, engineer and town planner to design bridge (or other construction) via a blog

record issue, plan for investigation, present findings and analysis of science project via blog and invite comments from class peers and beyond

Planning and conducting: Select and use appropriate equipment, including digital technologies, to systematically and accurately, collect and record data

investigate which blogs, wikis, websites etc have material relevant to your investigation and set up RSS feeds to keep you informed

interview a scientist via a VOIP (e.g. Skype) Processing and analysing data and information: Analyse patterns and trends in data,

including describing relationships between variables and identifying inconsistencies record issue, plan for investigation, present findings and analysis of science project via

blog and invite comments from class peers and beyond

Processing and analysing data and information: Use knowledge of scientific concepts to draw conclusions that are consistent with evidence

interview other students about knowledge and understanding gained, and specifically their explanations of scientific phenomenon and podcast interviews18

Evaluating: Evaluate conclusions, including identifying sources of uncertainty and possible alternative explanations, and describe specific ways to improve the quality of the data

students use a blog to reflect on what they’ve learnt and how they’ve learnt it

17 The teacher ‘regularly posts a photo from his Flickr account that either represents a [maths] topic his students are studying or a problem they need to solve. They then discuss the assignment in a blog...photos [are used] as writing prompts, journal entries, inquiry projects, and more’: <http://verity7math.blogspot.com/> (retrieved 27 February, 2010) (Richardson, 2006, p. 107).18 See Evaluating for engagement: Enhancing learning in the middle years (Nayler, 2009): students interviewing each other re their role in Kids Connect project and podcasting interviews.


88

http://verity7math.blogspot.com/

http://www.flickr.com/

http://www.wikispaces.com/

Practical resources for IBL Communicating: Communicate scientific ideas and information for a particular purpose,

including constructing evidence-based arguments and using appropriate scientific language, conventions and representations

create and maintain a class wiki (or individual wikis) to demonstrate learning challenge and change an entry on <www.wikipedia.org> (retrieved 27 February, 2010)

on basis of learnings select entries from assessment responses for an e-Portfolio


89


‘Looking’ phase activitiesActivity: Learning from stimulus material

Provide stimulus material to students related to the inquiry. Beyond the use of stimulus in hard copy, upload a podcast, document, video clip and so on to

the class wiki with:—a general question, ‘How does this material provide information you are looking for?’—specific questions related to the investigation—an invitation to students to pose questions.

Practical examplesIn April 2010 the eruption of the Icelandic volcano, Eyjafjallajokull, provided a key focus for IBL from a range of perspectives. Check out NASA’s picture of the day at: <http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap100419.html>. If you’re supporting your students to explore this issue, go to this superb collection of photos on the website of The Boston Globe’s at: http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/04/more_from_eyjafjallajokull.html This site reminds us that it’s not just about the rich and famous getting taxis in Europe to get home to the next engagement or the affluent going on, or returning from, holidays. These photos focus on the lives of Icelandic farmers and remind us of the impact the volcano had on the local population.

Activity: CoRTing our quest Guests to the classroom are a key source of information to students in the ‘look’ phase.

Preparation of relevant questions, as well as spontaneous questions, enhances the students’ learning experiences.

Introduce students to CoRT Thinking Skills (de Bono, 1972) over a period of time. CoRT 1 Thinking Skills, for example, focus on breadth whereas CoRT 4 Thinking Skills focus on creativity.

The specific purpose of this activity is to support students to draw on CoRT 1 Thinking Skills in order to develop a broad range of questions that can be posed to a classroom visitor. This process can be adapted to explore a topic, event or phenomenon.

CoRTing our guest!The purpose of this task is to devise a broad range of questions using CoRT 1 Thinking Skills as the stimulus.

Step 1: Select a CoRT 1 Thinking Skill e.g. Plus, minus and interesting (PMI) or Consequences and Sequels (C&S)Step 2: Link the CoRT 1 Thinking Skill with an issue, event or theme.Step 3: Frame a question; remove the CoRT jargon.

Examples based on the Premier being the classroom guest.Question 1Step 1: PMIStep 2: PMI + Premier’s roleStep 3: What do you consider to be your strengths as Premier?Question 2Step 1: C & SStep 2: C & S + Controversy over insert current controversy.Step 3: What do you think will be the consequences of this controversy on your leadership?

Source of CoRT Thinking Skills: de Bono (1972); strategy developed by author.


90

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/04/more_from_eyjafjallajokull.html

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap100419.html


‘Looking’ phase activitiesActivity: Learning from the real world

Contact people working in relevant fields to not only be guest speakers but to respond to student questions via negotiated media (e.g. blogs, email, forum) at agreed to intervals or times.

To register online for the Scientists in Schools Program or the Mathematicians in Schools Program and to access a range of resources go to: <www.scientistsinschools.edu.au> (retrieved 2 June, 2010). There are endless opportunities for schools to involve people with specific expertise from beyond the school in student learning.

Activity: Finding our voices Critical literacy is a key component of IBL classrooms at every level and in every learning

area. The questions below provide a straight-forward yet powerful lens with which students can

utilise higher-order thinking skills of analysis and evaluation. Specifically, these questions are designed to build cultural knowledges and inclusivity in the classroom.

‘Text’, as it is used here, is a very broad term. It refers to any material—in a written, oral, multi-media, visual or other medium.

Finding our voices in a text

1. Whose voice is heard in the text?

2. What are you invited to understand?

3. Do you accept the invitation? Why or why not?

4. Who else might have a voice on this issue/event/situation? What might these viewpoints be?

Source: Adapted from Nayler (1997).

Activity: Referencing your sources For any investigation that requires students to research and use the ideas of others a

bibliography is required. Follow your school or faculty requirements for system to be used. Scaffold students’ creation of their bibliographies by providing a recording sheet or framework

such as the one available from Global education at: <www.globaleducation.edna.edu.au>. Having recorded all of the references used, students need to place in alphabetical order according to the author.


91

http://www.globaleducation.edna.edu.au/globaled/go/pid/1873


‘Looking’ phase activities

Record other useful ‘look’ activities here.


92


‘Sorting’ phase activities

PurposeThe purpose of the ‘sort’ activities is to:

analyse information gathered so that the BIG question and the sub-questions can be answered.

make sense of information through establishing themes, patterns or ideas.

Activity: Retrieval chart Students highlight, electronically or by hand, themes, patterns or related ideas that are

evident in their information. Students collate the information they have collected in response to the BIG question and the

sub-questions. Students create a chart that uses sub-questions as headers. Students select appropriate ways to sort their information further e.g. using a graphic

organiser such as a Venn diagram to highlight what is similar or different, a mind map to show connections between ideas and so on.

Students could use a wiki to collaboratively develop a summary of the key findings when a common BIG question has been used.

Activity: Themes from wordle The wordle website (at www.wordle.net; retrieved 17 April, 2010) is widely used by teachers

and students to create and display key words or phrases related to topics under study. The aesthetics available can overwhelm the other potential uses of the site. Students or

teachers, for example, could place the text from their summary of an investigation into the ‘create’ function of wordle.net to analyse the key words and phrases that emerge.

Activity: Diamond ranking This is useful when students need to sort through which factors or causes are most

important in relation to the phenomenon being investigated. Students write each factor (or cause) on a separate card. Students prioritise which is the most important factor and locate it at the top of their

diamond template (see below). They then nominate the factor they consider to be least important, locating it at the bottom of the diamond. The next step involves deciding which factors are the next two most important factors and placing them as shown below. The remaining factors are located in the ‘second least important’ category.

Most important

Second most important

Third most important

Second least important

Least important

Source of this activity: Department of Education, Queensland (1992).


93

http://www.wordle.net/


‘Sorting’ phase activitiesActivity: Cause and effect wheels

This is a useful graphic organiser to highlight the consequences of an issue, event or phenomenon studied in an investigation.

Students write their issue, event or phenomenon in the middle of the page. For example, the phenomenon might be ‘Drought in Australia’.

The student lists each first order consequence with a single line (e.g. crops fail), followed by the second-order consequences linked to the relevant bubble with two lines (e.g. income for farmers falls) and then repeat for third-order consequences (e.g. people experience stress).

There are numerous internet sites available that provide tools for many types of graphic organisers.

Activity: Human bar graphing Graphing is an excellent way to represent information when comparisons are important.

Numerous software programs, including Microsoft Excel, are available for student creation of graphs, such as pie and bar graphs.

A novel and engaging form of graphing involves a student acting as the Y axis with post-it notes located on her/his body to indicate the intervals needed. Students stand to the appropriate height to represent the intervals of whatever is being represented.

The website (no longer available) http://www.teachers.tv/videos/37856 contained an example of ‘human graphing’ by a Year 3 class. The teacher conducted a survey of the students’ favourite school meals, from the previous five available, using a ‘tally master’ to record survey results in front of students. When the values are calculated for each type of meal, each of five students indicated the value of their allocated meal by standing at the appropriate height.

Food for thought and action… The focus in this section (and in other phases) is to illustrate some useful activities that suit the

particular phases. There are numerous online resources available that provide templates for graphic organisers, e.g.: <http://www.globaleducation.edna.edu.au/globaled/go/pid/1845> (retrieved 17 April, 2010). Given the ease of accessing high quality resources for graphic organisers online, no examples are provided here.

Find further activities suitable for this (and other) phases at:—<http://www.cap.nsw.edu.au/thinking-tools> (retrieved 11 January, 2012)—<https://bubbl.us/> (retrieved 11 January, 2012)—<http://www.web2access.org.uk/product/107/> (retrieved 11 January, 2012)—<http://www.mywebspiration.com/> (retrieved 11 January, 2012).

Activity: The last word(This activity is modified from Garmston, 2004 and quoted in Brady, 2006.)

A good time to use this is at the beginning of the ‘look’ phase as students start to inquire into a topic or towards the end of the ‘sort’ phase in order to consolidate some indepth understandings.

The teacher distributes stimulus material to students (e.g. an article, series of graphics) for home reading (or directs them to an electronic version if there is equity of access). Alternatively, a student might suggest a relevant resource for this activity.

Ask all students to identify one sentence of particular interest from the reading. Have the students work in groups of 4 to 6.

One person in each group is asked to read out their sentence with the next member (clockwise) speaking for one minute to react to that sentence. During this time no other group member can comment or interrupt. This process continues until each group member has had an opportunity to talk.

The student who started (and shared the sentence) has ‘the last word’. The student might make reference to comments from other group members.


94


http://www.teachers.tv/videos/37856


‘Sorting’ phase activitiesActivity: World cafe

A good time to use this is when students are preparing to complete an assessment item. The teacher designates a particular topic to each table (indicated through a written sign) and

invites students to join the table of their choice. One student records the key points made at the table. Students can move from table to table but must not interrupt the conversation as they depart

or arrive at a table. A student must pick up the pen and record the key points if no-one is doing so.

Students participate in a whole-group discussion in relation to the knowledge constructed as well as the process used to construct the knowledge.

Food for thought and action…Discussion occurs during all phases of the TELSTAR process but it is especially important in the ‘sort’ phase. It is beneficial to support students to have ‘substantive conversations’ (QSRLS, 2001) in a range of contexts, including:

one–on–one with the teacher or with a peer small groups working on the same or similar topics small groups working on unrelated topics whole-class discussion critical friends outside the class or school.

The above conversations can take place with a balance of face-to-face as well as through online media including blogs, wikis and email.

See Socratic circles (Copeland, 2005) following for an engaging and intellectually challenging way to support substantive conversations in the IBL classroom.

Socratic circles (Drawing on Copeland, 2005)

According to Copeland (2005, p. 31), the teacher’s role in the Socratic circle process involves:1. selecting the text for discussion2. keeping the discussion of the inner circle focused and moving [if necessary]3. directing feedback of the outer circle4. assessing and evaluating the individual student and group performances.

Volunteers participate in a Socratic circles discussion with four participants in the ‘inner circle’ and four in the ‘outer circle’. Using the ‘fishbowl approach’, each member of the outer circle observes (rubric can be provided) the participation of a nominated person in the inner circle. Discussion occurs for between 5 to 7 minutes. Participants in the outer circle provide feedback to those in the inner circle.

Source: Copeland (2005).

Activity: Silent card shuffle Prepare cards with each identifying a particular event related to topic under study. Students work silently in small groups to sequence the cards correctly. Each group takes a ‘gallery walk’ to look at what other groups have done and then returns to

their sequence to make changes, if necessary. These tasks are completed without talking.

Activity: Get the sequence right In a variation of the above activity, students can work with a partner or small group to

sequence historical events. Add a further challenge by requiring each partner or member of the small group to recreate the sequence.

Invite students to look for continuities and changes, as well as cause and effect relationships.(Source: St M’s College)


95


‘Sorting’ phase activitiesActivity: Four ‘A’s’ text protocol

Invite students to read the text silently, highlight what they consider to be key points and to record notes as needed.

Ask students to something in the text being examined:—in which the author makes a big Assumption—with which they Agree—with which they could Argue—to which they Aspire.

Working in small groups, participants take turns to share one ‘assumption’ until all ideas are shared. The process is repeated for the other ‘A’s’.

Facilitate a whole group discussion about what ideas were shared, as well as valuing divergent ideas.

Source: National School Reform Faculty homepage. Retrieved 13 January 2011, from <http://www.nsrfharmony.org/protocol/index.html > (adapted from Judith Gray, Seattle, WA 2005).


96

http://www.nsrfharmony.org/protocol/index.html


‘Sorting’ phase activitiesTeaching approach: Key concepts in teaching historical understandingTeaching and learning in relation to higher-order or complex concepts occurs throughout all of the TELSTAR phases. Most indepth engagement with such concepts, however, probably occurs during the ‘looking’ and ‘sorting’ phases. The table below lists the key concepts and definitions from the Australian Curriculum: History, simplified versions for use with younger students and some IBL strategies. Note that these concepts are embedded in the content descriptions and need to be taught in relation to the context of the specific learning focus.

Concepts for developing historical

understanding

Definitions from Australian Curriculum: History (ACARA, V2, 2011)

Simplified version of the ‘historical concepts’ suitable for use with young students

(Hoepper, 2011, p. 21)IBL strategies

1. Evidence In History…the information obtained from sources that is valuable for a particular inquiry…can be used to help construct a historical narrative, to support a hypothesis or to prove or disprove a conclusion.

Things that people made in the past still exist today. We can learn a lot from them.

Ask ‘who, what, when, where and why’. Use a 5W question matrix (explore) Use a real (tune in) or virtual museum box.

2. Continuity & change

Aspects of the past that remained the same over certain periods of time…[other aspects change].

As years pass, some things change and others stay the same. Some changes are good for people and environments; some are not.

Use ‘get the sequence right’ to support students to appreciate continuities and changes in relation to events.

3. Cause & effect

Used by historians to identify chains of events and developments over time, short term and long term.

Sometimes, people can make things happen deliberately. Sometimes, things happen that people didn’t intend

Create cause and effect wheels (sort). Go to Global education for a fishbone template.

Go to Global education for a flow chart template.

4. Perspective …point of view, the position from which [a person sees and understands] events going on around them. People in the past may have had different points of view about a particular event, depending on their age, gender, social position and their beliefs and values. For example a convict girl and an Aboriginal Elder would have had quite different perspectives on the arrival of the First Fleet in Australia. Historians also have perspectives and their can influence their interpretation of the past.

Compared with us, people in the past sometimes thought and acted in ways that can seem strange and puzzling to people today.

Use concept maps that:—identify the issue, event or phenomenon in the middle of the page—list key persons or groups with distinct perspectives around the middle—connect a text box to each perspective listing the major points—use this summary to support working through issues related to contestability and to promote empathy.


97




http://museumbox.e2bn.org/


Teaching approach: Key concepts in teaching historical understanding cont’d

Concepts for developing historical

understanding

Definitions from Australian Curriculum: History (ACARA, V2, 2011)

Simplified version of the ‘historical concepts’ suitable for use with young students

(Hoepper, 2011, p. 21)IBL strategies

5. Empathy …an understanding of the past from the point of view of a particular individual or group, including an appreciation of the circumstances they faced, and the motivations, values and attitudes behind their actions.

It can be very interesting (but sometimes very hard) to try to think and feel as people did in the past.

Thinking in context (see Food for thought and action on following page)—support students to brainstorm (and do further research, where appropriate) in terms of the context in which the event, person, group etc existed—categorise the brainstormed material into areas such as motivations, values etc.

6. Significance The importance that is assigned to particular aspects of the past, e.g. events, developments, movements and historical sites…includes an examination of the principles behind the selection of what should be investigated and remembered and involves consideration of questions such as: How did people in the past view the significance of an event? How important were the consequences of an event? What was the duration of the event? How relevant is it to the contemporary world?

Some things that happened in the past were very important. They affected how people lived in the past, and can even affect the way we live today.

Determine significance based on criteria—working collaboratively with students, establish criteria for considering something as significant (see Food for thought and action on following page)—continuing collaboratively, evaluate the extent to which the event, phenomenon etc meets the criteria.

7. Contestability …when particular interpretations about the past are open to debate, for example, as a result of a lack of evidence or different perspectives.

People who write histories often disagree about what really happened in the past.

Use ‘finding our voices’ activity in order to look at and sort through a range of interpretations.

Use the activity, ‘take a stand and justify’ for students to articulate their stance in relation to several identified positions regarding a contested issue.

Exploring student-created narratives—invite students to create their own narratives based on a range of sources related to a particular topic—consider the range of interpretations made by comparing narratives in order to gain a sense of how particular interpretations of the past are open to debate.

Source of definitions in column 3: Hoepper, B. (2011). Worth waiting for? The Australian Curriculum: History F–10. Primary and Middle Years Educator, 9(2), 19–27.


98


Food for thought and action…Concept: significancePartington’s (1980) criteria for historical significance include: Importance: to the people in the past Profundity: how deeply people's lives have been affected Quantity: how many lives have been affected Durability: for how long have people's lives been affected Relevance: in terms of the increased understanding of present life.

Concept: empathyWineburg and Fournier (1994) call for ‘contextualised thinking’ in history, as opposed to ‘imaginative thinking’ when developing empathy among students. In other words, we need to explore the context to understand more deeply why some actions were taken and why other actions were not taken.

The material here was drawn from the PGCE History at UEA: Learning to teach history in the secondary school webpage at <http://www.uea.ac.uk/~m242/historypgce/empathy/example.htm> (retrieved 7 March, 2012).

‘Sorting’ phase activities

Record other useful ‘sort’ activities here.


99

http://www.uea.ac.uk/~m242/historypgce/empathy/example.htm



100


‘Testing’ phase activities

PurposeThe purpose of the ‘test’ activities is to:

support students to test the information collected against the BIG question. Students and teachers work together to consider whether students have gathered sufficient and relevant information to develop deep knowledge, understandings of the relevant concepts, as well as appropriate skills.

support students to test their knowledge, understandings and ways of working generally against the specific questions they set out to investigate or to ‘test’ the extent to which their responses to the specific assessment task/s fulfil the requirements.

Tips All of the activities in this book should be used flexibly to suit particular contexts. Flexibility

applies to the broad TELSTAR phases as well. For example, reflection activities are useful throughout an investigation. Test activities are also useful throughout an investigation. Test activities can be thought of as formative assessment in which students are gathering feedback on their responses to tasks. An assessment for learning approach (Earl, 2003) means that students are learning as they complete assessment tasks. The key purpose of assessment is to learn—rather than to just get a snapshot of what a student knows and can do and what they do not know and cannot do at a particular point in time (summative assessment). So use these test activities whenever students want to test their ideas or responses to tasks.

Food for thought…When the cook tastes the soup, that’s formative; when the guests taste the soup, that’s summative. (Robert Stake, quoted in Earl, 2003)

Activity: Think–pair–share–square Working individually, students create a concept map which shows their BIG question in the

middle of the page/screen with their sub-questions arranged around the middle of the page. Students record their major findings in relation to sub-questions and then to the BIG question.

Students share their findings with a partner and refine their work if necessary. One pair of students collaborates with another pair to explore each other’s findings. The teacher encourages the students to ask each other questions, such as: What evidence do you have for this? What led you to think that? Could there be something else we don’t know about?

Facilitate a whole-group discussion. This strategy suits upper middle years students and senior students. For younger students,

the teacher could facilitate a joint-construction of a concept map that shows student findings. The strategy is also useful when a common BIG question is used throughout the class.

Activity: Walk and talk A good time to use this is when students are preparing to complete an assessment task. This

task is best suited to upper middle years or senior students. Students work in pairs. Students take time to gather their thoughts in relation to a topic about

which they need to have indepth knowledge. Both students walk together with Student 1 talking uninterrupted for 3 minutes (or other

designated time). Student 2 then talks uninterrupted. Students debrief with each other in relation to the process and the knowledge shared. Students participate in a whole-group discussion in relation to the knowledge constructed as

well as the process used to construct the knowledge.


101


‘Testing’ phase activities

Activity: Self- and peer assessment Given a front-ended assessment approach, students will have been working towards

successful completion of the IBL assessment task from the outset of the teaching/learning unit.

If necessary, review key criteria which have been explicitly outlined in the criteria sheet. Support students to make judgments as to the quality of their performance on the assessment

task, asking them to provide evidence of claims. Discuss findings generally with the whole group, and discuss any issues with individual

students. Support students to make modifications to their assessment response. Facilitate peer assessment with peers making judgments as to the quality of another student’s

work. Support students to make modifications to their assessment response.

Record other useful ‘test’ activities here.


102


‘Acting’ phase activities

PurposeThe purpose of ‘act’ activities is to:

support students to take action as a result of their learning to consolidate that learning. support students to take action to improve their own or others’ circumstances.

Tips Some inquiry models emphasise action more than others. It is important to note that ‘taking

action’ covers a broad range of activities e.g. demonstrating proficiency of a specific genre, demonstrating new knowledge or deeper understanding of a concept constitutes action.

Calder and Smith (1991, pp. 62–63) categorise action that is more aligned with influencing others. The four types of action they propose include:—action to inform others (e.g. display, newspaper articles, blogs and so on)—action to stimulate others to join (e.g. educating others through guest speakers)—action to direct change (e.g. debating issues publicly, making submissions to government agencies)—action to operate change (e.g. joining and/or raising money for local, national or global projects).

An action plan

Following our inquiry we think that we should take the following action…We think that we should inform others that…by…

We think that we should encourage others to join…because…

We think that we should take an active role in directing change by…because…

We think we should actually act by…because…

Activity: Postcard for action Organise for students to send postcards asking specific people to take action relevant to the

students’ investigation. As an alternative, the class could design and produce a postcard relevant to their

investigations. The teacher could invite students to record their personal goals in relation to their findings on

a postcard, retain the postcard for a negotiated period and then distribute to students. Students are then supported to evaluate the extent to which they have achieved their goals

and invited to consider subsequent action.

Food for thought and action…ICTs and action Students could represent their research findings or ‘assessment tasks’ using digital mind-

mapping software. Students could share their research findings or ‘assessment tasks’ through blogs, wikis,

discussion forums, emails and so on. The teacher could invite your ICT ‘expert’ (paid employee or student) to provide students with

a ‘tour’ of what’s possible in terms of responding to their assessment task. Be clear about the focus of the assessment and specifically the knowledge, understandings

and skills about which you need to gather evidence—is a written response necessary or could students record their findings or assessment task orally using digital media, for example?


103


Acting activities‘Acting’ phase activitiesActivity: Gallery walk

Invite students to consider how much they can learn from their peers. Support students to display the products of their learning and for other students to consider

the achievements of these products in a systematic way. Focus on sharing actions to be taken as a result of the investigation.

Invite students to collect one idea from 3 to 4 students. Facilitate whole group discussion. Turn this into a ‘guided gallery walk’ by having students provide a commentary to the whole

group as they proceed through the ‘gallery’ of student work.

Activity: Selling the action Invite students to reflect on their key learnings from their investigation. Individually, in pairs or in small groups challenge students to create a slogan that sums up

any action they would like to take as a result of their investigation. (Scaffold this with a whole group brainstorm, as well as exploring what makes a successful slogan.)

Display slogans in or beyond the classroom and take any other follow-up action decided upon.

Teaching approach: Use of e-Portfolios Support students to prepare and present e-Portfolios with the contents aligned with the

purpose. Students might prepare and present:—learning portfolios: collections of student work with reflective commentaries—assessment portfolios: collections selected by students in negotiation with the teacher to provide evidence of achievement against the required criteria—presentation portfolios: students select work samples that exemplify their school and/or extracurricular achievements.

Adapted from Bussitil-Reynaud et al. (2006) and Finger & Jamieson-Proctor (2009, p. 72).

Record other useful ‘act’ activities here.


104


‘Reflecting’ phase activities

PurposeThe purpose of the ‘reflect’ activities is to support students to think deeply and constructively in relation to:

what they have learnt. how they have learnt throughout the investigation what and how they need to learn to improve their achievement in the future.

Tips Reflection is a key student and teacher activity throughout the course of any investigation. It is

important that reflection occurs throughout the investigation. Accurate, timely and relevant teacher feedback throughout an investigation is a vital ingredient for

student reflection so that they can continue to improve their learning. Reflections can be: conducted verbally, in writing or graphically; shared with peers, the teacher, a

wider audience or for students themselves; recorded using pen and paper or recorded and shared electronically through a range of ICTs.

Activity: Sentence strips The teacher distributes prepared sentence stems and invites students to use these to reflect

individually, with a partner (within discussion circles) or with the whole class. Generic s Sentence stems could include:

—The most interesting thing I learnt was...—What I enjoyed most about this investigation was that...—I’d like to know more about...—I’d like to be able to...—I wished we’d learnt about...—Our investigation could have been improved by...—Something I learnt about my own way of learning is that...—In order to improve I need to know more about...—In order to improve I need to develop my skills in terms of...

Also include sentence stems that support reflection and action in relation to specific aspects of the investigation. Such stems could (depending on the developmental levels of students) include:—One of the most significant issues associated with stem cell research is...—An urgent action that needs to be taken by governments in relation to global warming is...—What the novel taught me about relationships is that...

Activity: PMI Invite students to consider the Plus, Minus and Interesting Factors related to the whole

investigation or particular elements of it.

Pluses Minuses Interesting Factors

Wha

t we

have

lear

ntH

ow w

e ha

ve le

arnt


105


‘Reflecting’ phase activitiesActivity: Take a SWOT at…

Use this activity to support student evaluation of the teaching/learning unit generally or of a specific element of it e.g. a field trip, using ICTs and so on.

The term, ‘tensions’ is used here as practice suggests that it invites more useful evaluative comments than does use of the term, ‘threats’.

Take a SWOT at…

Strengths Weaknesses

Opportunities Tensions

Teaching approach: Using strategies in many phases of TELSTAR As indicated earlier, many strategies in the Practical resources section can be used in several

phases of TELSTAR. The table below shows some of the ways in which a SWOT analysis can be used.

Tune in using a SWOT to consider what makes this topic/issue/problem/phenomenon an important one to investigate

Explore students’ attitudes using a SWOTLook at the relevance of sources using a SWOTSortTest the extent to which your evidence addresses the BIG question or hypothesisActReflect on how the investigation has been carried out.

Activity: So what?

So what reflection

Reflect on your learning So what have you learned?

So how have you learned it?

Apply new understandings So what?

Identify future applications So what’s next?


106


Reflecting’ phase activitiesActivity: A TELSTAR reflection

This strategy supports students to reflect explicitly using the TELSTAR phases and will help students to become more familiar with the inquiry model for future investigations.

The reflection invites students to reflect generally, as well as specifically.

Knowledge How has your knowledge changed as a result of this investigation?*

Attitudes How have your attitudes changes as a result of this investigation?*

Questions Did you answer all of your questions?* Were they the best questions to answer? How could they have been improved? What else would you like to know?

Process/model of inquiry What were the strengths and weaknesses of using the TELSTAR (or other model used)?

*Consider what you recorded in the ‘explore’ phase in order to make comparisons.

Teaching approach: Create your own ‘reflection’ strategies Step 1: Start with the general wording provided in the relevant curriculum framework from

which you are required to plan. (The example below is from the Essential Learnings by the end of Year 7 Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Reporting Framework, QSA, 2007a Year 7 SOSE.)

Step 2: Put into user-friendly language for students and present in a simple table. (Use at this stage if you like.)

Step 3: Adapt for the context for learning e.g. So what have you learnt about how advertising influences people’s choices?

Step 4: Modify the genre (teacher directed or student choice) to engage students.

Step 1 Step 2: Reflection – So what? Step 3 Step 4

Reflect on your learning

So what have you learnt and how have you learnt it?

How

can I make these general

reflective questions specific to our particular context for learning?

Modify the genre blog entry ‘road map’ cartoon personal journal letter email news item/feature article picture photographs with captions interview (written or audio) vox pops concept map or other

diagram

Apply new understandings

So what? How did you put into action your new understandings?

Identify future applications

So what’s next? How could you use these understandings in a future project, problem or activity?

Activity: Reflecting and planning action: Action at the traffic lights

Action at the traffic lights

I’m/we’re going to STOP

I’m/we’re going to CONTINUE

I’m/we’re going to START


107


Reflecting activitiesReflecting’ phase activitiesActivity: X marks the spot

Support students to reflect on the extent of their learning and to provide some examples of their learning.

How much I’ve learnt about [insert topic]…

Not much A fair bit lots

The most important things I’ve learnt are:

Source: Modified from Queensland Studies Authority Assessment Bank. Insect discovery, Science materials for Years 2 & 3. Go to www.qsa.qld.edu.au; logon required.

Food for thought and action…Reflections from a special school principal on reflectionOur ongoing professional inquiry includes questions about what ‘intellectual challenge’ looks like for our intellectually-impaired students. There’s a long tradition in special schools that involves the student choosing the ‘smiley face’ sticker—or some equivalent activity—to indicate a favoured activity. We are working to develop more sophisticated strategies that teachers can use in order to support their intellectually-impaired students to think deeply about what they have learnt and how they’ve learnt particular conceptual, procedural or factual knowledge.

One strategy includes what we call ‘symbolic babbling’. If the students are engaged in sensory play, such as mud play, we don’t want the activity to conclude without teacher scaffolding of student reflection. Using this strategy, the teacher encourages the students to make a selection from a range of labels to describe the activity, including ones not relevant to the task. The labels describe sensory observations, as well as observations related to the process itself. This approach moves away from a traditional approach in which students might be occupied in an activity as an end in itself—with students putting a smiley face sticker on the activity because they liked it! We believe strongly that deep reflection must be a goal for special education students as it is for other students.

Activity: 3–2–1 Invite students to think about:

—3 understandings they have gained through the investigation—2 new skills they have obtained or 2 skills they have enhanced—1 question they still have in relation to their own knowledge and understandings or skills.

Support students to share their learnings in small groups prior to whole-class discussion.

Activity: Six thinking hats Introduce or review de Bono’s (1990) six thinking hats as a way to focus on particular aspects

of a topic/issue/problem/phenomenon. Draw on a topic unrelated to the investigation to practise the strategy.

Support students to consider a specific aspect or the investigation generally using the questions below as a guide:—White hat thinking: What information have you learnt about...?—Black hat thinking: What problems are associated with...? —Yellow hat thinking: What benefits can you see in...?—Red hat thinking: What are your feelings about...?—Green hat thinking: What new or creative ideas do you have about...?—Blue hat thinking: Overall, what do you think about...?

How could we think about...differently? What were the strengths/areas for improvement in relation to your thinking on this topic?


108

http://www.qsa.qld.edu.au/


‘Reflecting’ phase activitiesActivity: Evaluating teaching/learning strategies

Provide students with a list of key activities they have used in the investigation. Invite students to evaluate whether specific activities were completed by them and whether

they helped them to learn (see example below). This activity could be conducted electronically with students keeping a profile of the

teaching/learning strategies that they consider work best for them. Students could rate each activity on a 1–10 scale or a scale using descriptors to gather more

specific information.

Reflecting on what you have learnedin the module, Adding value through inquiry: Independent study (QSCC, 2000)

Throughout this independent study, you were encouraged to: show that you were thinking carefully about values in historical sources clarify with your peers and your teachers how your research was going work with other students.

Complete the following table to help you clarify: which activities you participated in how participating in these activities helped you to learn.

Learning activities Completed by me

Helped me learn

1. Constructing my own definitions for terms such as ‘values’.2. Working in small groups.3. Participating in whole class discussion.4. Constructing my own questions to investigate what I wanted to know

about.5. Learning through problem-solving scenarios.6. Participating in activities that give a sense of what an experience feels

like — for example, being excluded.7. Analysing primary source documents, such as poems, posters, laws and

letters, written during the time period being studied.8. Analysing secondary source documents, that is, those written after the

event being studied.9. Responding to sentence stems — for example, completing the sentence

stem ‘I would like to know more about …’.10. Writing paragraphs to communicate key ideas.11. Constructing diagrams such as flow charts to communicate ideas.12. Participating in a forum to communicate ideas.13. Investigating a topic independently.14. Interviewing people to gather information.15. Debating what really happened in other times and places.16. Debating what is really happening in Australia today.17. Investigating a topic and developing focus questions.18. Gathering evidence.19. Creating a strategy to promote an idea or a value.20. Reflecting on how I learn.

Source: The State of Queensland (The Office of the Queensland School Curriculum Council). (2000). The approach draws on Allard, Cooper, Hildebrand & Wealands (1995).


109


‘Reflecting’ phase activitiesActivity: Map your reflectionsThis activity draws on Murdoch & Wilson’s (2008, pp. 94–95) ‘learning maps’.

The teacher provides students with a list of teaching/learning activities used in their inquiry (or creates this list with the class as they engage in each activity).

Students are asked to consider the extent to which they learnt from and enjoyed each activity (or activities selected by the teacher or a set number selected by the student). Depending on student age, time could be given to scaffold students’ recall of each activity.

Students rate each activity on a scale:—from 1 to 10 for those activities that helped them learn and which were enjoyable—from -1 to -10 for those activities that didn’t help them learn and which were not enjoyable.When the points are plotted either above (for positive reflections) or below (for negative reflections), students draw a ‘road’ connecting the points and fill in the spaces, elaborating on why they’ve given a particular rating.

My road map

10987654321-1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10

Activities

Activity: One phrase to capture it all Invite students to think of one phrase that captures the learning and achievement of the

completed investigation. Students then each work with a partner to negotiate what their agreed phrase will be. Each

pair joins another pair and repeats the process. This method of combining groups continues until all groups become one and a decision has

been made as to the shared phrase which captures the learning and achievement of the investigation.


110


‘Reflecting’ phase activities

Record other useful ‘reflect’ activities here.


111



112


Snapshots of teacher practice

Snapshot: Fizzy, fizzy, fizz—An investigation by middle years students

Exp

lore

pha

se—

deve

lopi

ng q

uest

ions

Development of BIG question: In what ways are the making and drinking of soft drink sustainable?Sub-questions negotiated with students under the headings of personal, natural and social environments*.

Personal environment—the physical, intellectual, emotional, spiritual and

ethical self

The natural environment—our world which includes the sun, air,

water, earth and the physical cycles that support life

The social environment—includes humans and the human-created world e.g. cultures associated with

advertising; schools as places of education and wellbeing

How does soft drink affect us physically?)

How does soft drink affect you? Why are soft drinks so

addictive and why do we like them so much?

What ingredients make soft drink unhealthy for us?

What is in caffeine and how does it affect me? Why is it in soft drink?

Is soft drink ever healthy for me? (look at particular brands)

Could we make soft drink that is healthy?

Does the making of soft drink affect our environment/planet?

How does the making or drinking of soft drink contribute to global warming?

How much energy is needed to make soft drink? How much green-house gas is given off?

What percentage of soft drink bottles or cans pollute our environment?

How do soft drink companies advertise? What strategies do they use to get us to buy soft drink?

Are soft drink companies truthful in marketing?

Who makes the decisions about soft drink in schools?

How much soft drink do people at our school drink each year?

Look

ing

phas

e ac

tiviti

es

taste experiment on popular brand soft-drink

ingredient experiment on popular brand soft-drink

food colouring in soft –drink experiment

caffeine and the effects on the human body (assessment)

kilojoules in soft drink

definition of energy and electricity

‘Lighting Up My Life’ (electric circuit investigation)

power station research project

carbon cycle diagram (Assessment)

pollution and fossil fuels energy use in soft-drink

can manufacture

school soft-drink survey Healthy Schools Policy

evaluation soft-drink companies

and market share symbols representing

different groups Hidden Agenda

(Assessment)

Act phase

Report to Parents’ & Friends’ meeting outcome of debates and learning.Meet with tuckshop convenor to discuss findings!

Teaching team reflection using a Plus, Minus and Interesting factors

P: Use of learning strategies (KWHL, Concentric Circles, Silent Conversations, RAPS strategy, Socratic Circles, Jig- Saw strategy, Fishbone etc).P: Provides a solid framework to work from (e.g. TELSTAR)P: Children engaged in learning (taking ownership of learning & real life).P: Engaging for teachers too!!P: Supports educational philosophy of learners who exit [school] as thinkers & problem solvers.P: Teaching philosophy: ‘guide on the side, not a sage on the stage’.P: Integrates ICT’s into learningP: Promotes ‘independent learning’.

M: Reliant on technology workingM: Sometimes the ‘process’ seemed more important than the actual investigation.M:Still a structured approach.

I: Starting from a unit already written is OK!I: Educators seem interested but find it difficult to make the ‘leap of faith’.I: Could year 1 teachers start inquiry process in a formal way?I: Does our unit planning approach support inquiry approach?I: Pressure of teaching for external testsI: ‘Let go’ of full control.I: Spent a long time on the LOOK phaseI: This is not a ‘soft’ teaching option, where students ‘do’ everything. Sound teaching pedagogy is required.


113


Snapshot: Which Indigenous traditions and culture still survive in the 21st century?

The following ‘Justification planning sheet’ provides an example of a teacher’s scaffolding of middle years students’ collation and testing of findings during the ‘sort’ and ‘test’ phases.

Justification planning sheetPresentation choice:Focus area:Reason for choosing the tradition Teacher’s

comments

Detailed description of the focus area including:

importance relevance meaning for the modern

Indigenous culture.Include places, sources, pictures and images.History of the tradition

How the tradition has changed over time

Evidence that the tradition still continues today

Details about how the Indigenous people have ensured this tradition has continued. How are they making sure it will continue in the future?How is the tradition evident in non-Indigenous society?

Internet sites, books and resources used in my research


114


Miscellaneous snapshots

Inquiry-based activities available online from the Australian Curriculum Studies Association website

What was it like learning maths when you were at school? (Numeracy resource for middle years)

Is it alright to steal if it makes you feel good? (Cross-curriculum for Lower primary)

Go to ACSA website at: http://www.acsa.edu.au/pages/index.asp (retrieved 14 April, 2010).

More food for thought and action…

ruMAD? is a pedagogical framework developed for Australian primary and secondary school students.…Through the inquiry-based ruMAD? Framework, students are immersed in a unique program of experiential, authentic and innovative learning. The process begins by identifying and establishing shared and important values as a group, then moves to identify community issues that are inconsistent or in conflict with those shared values and identifies which issues students are most passionate about.

Students explore possibilities for action through various levels of involvement in social change projects and lead the planning and implementation of their chosen projects. At its very core, ruMAD? is about change not charity.

(Levy, 2009)

For more information and resources related to this framework, and the work of the Foundation for Young Australians generally, go to: <http://www.fya.org.au/> (retrieved 2 June, 2010).


115

http://www.acsa.edu.au/pages/index.asp


References and other useful resourcesAhrendfelt, J. & Watkin, N. (2008). Innovate with ICT: Enhancing learning across the curriculum. New

York: Network Continuum.Allard, A., Cooper, M., Hildebrand, G. & Wealands, E. (1995). STAGES: Steps towards addressing

gender in educational settings. Carlton, Vic: Curriculum Corporation.Anderson, L.W. & Krathwohl, D.R. (Eds) (2001). A taxonomy for learning, teaching, and assessing: A

revision of Bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives. New York: Longman.Anderson Steeves, K. (2008). History: Uncovering the past through inquiry. In R. Audet & L. Jordan

(Eds.), Integrating inquiry across the curriculum, 65–83. Heatherton, Vic.: Hawker Brownlow Education.

Audet, R. (2008a). Curriculum integration: Capitalizing on student inquiry. In R. Audet & L. Jordan (Eds.), Integrating inquiry across the curriculum, 137–153. Heatherton, Vic.: Hawker Brownlow Education.

Audet, R. (2008b). Inquiry: A continuum of ideas, issues and practices. In R. Audet & L. Jordan (Eds.), Integrating inquiry across the curriculum, 5–15. Heatherton, Vic.: Hawker Brownlow Education.

Audet, R. & Jordan, L. (Eds.). (2008). Integrating inquiry across the curriculum. Heatherton, Vic.: Hawker Brownlow Education.

Australian Academy of Science and the Australian Government Department of Education, Science and Training (2006). Marvellous micro-organisms. PrimaryConnections Series, Canberra.

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (2011a). Australian Curriculum: English. Retrieved 12 February 2012, from <www.australiancurriculum.edu.au>.

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (2010b). Australian Curriculum: History. Retrieved 10 January 2012, from <www.australiancurriculum.edu.au>.

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (2011c). Australian Curriculum: Mathematics. Retrieved 10 January 2012, from <www.australiancurriculum.edu.au>.

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (2010d). Australian Curriculum: Science. Retrieved 10 January 2012, from <www.australiancurriculum.edu.au>.

Barell, J. (2007). Problem-based learning: An inquiry approach. (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Bellanca, J. & Fogarty, R. (1991). Blueprints for thinking in the cooperative classroom. Cheltenham, Vic.: Hawker Brownlow Education.

Bellanca, J. & Fogarty, R. (2005). How to integrate the curricula. (2nd ed.). Moorabbin, VIC: Hawker Brownlow Education.

Bigelow, B., Harvey, B., Karp, S. & Miller, L. (2001). Rethinking our classrooms: Teaching for equity and justice. Milwaukee, WI: Rethinking Schools.

Brady, L. (2006). Collaborative learning in action. Frenchs Forest, NSW: Pearson Educational Australia.Bybee, R.W. (1997). Achieving scientific literacy: From purposes to practical action. Portsmouth, NH:

Heinemann.Cam, P (2006). 20 thinking tools: Collaborative inquiry for the classroom, Camberwell, Vic: ACER Press.Cam, P., Fynes-Clinton, L., Harrison, K., Hinton, L., Scholl, R. & Vaseo, S. (2007). Philosophy with

young children: A classroom handbook. Deakin West, ACT: ACSA.Copeland, M. (2005). Socratic circles: Fostering critical and creative thinking in middle and high

school. Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers.Clarke, O. (2005). Engaging the digital natives. Primary and Middle Years Educator, 3(3), pp. 20–25.Darling-Hammond, L., Barron, B., Pearson, P., Schoenfeld, A., Stage, E., Zimmerman, T., Cervetti, G.

& Tilson, J. (2008). Powerful learning: What we know about teaching for understanding. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

de Bono, E. (1972). CoRT 1 Breadth: Teacher’s handbook. Sydney: Pergamon Press.de Bono, E. (1972). CoRT 4 Creativity: Teacher’s handbook. Sydney: Pergamon Press.de Bono, E. (1990). Six thinking hats. London: Penguin.Drake, S. (2007). Creating standards-based integrated curriculum. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin

Press.Department of Education, Queensland (1993). P–12 Environmental education curriculum guide.

Brisbane.Department of Education, Queensland (1992). Teaching for ecologically sustainable development:

Guidelines for Years 11–12 Geography. Brisbane.Department of Education and Training (2009). Tomorrow’s citizens: Skills for success in the 21st


116

References

century <http://www.learningplace.com.au/uploads/documents/store/doc_760_2751_Citizen_Role_Descriptors.pdf> (retrieved 25 May, 2010).

Department of Education, Science and Training, and Curriculum Corporation (2006). Success for boys: Planning guide and core module. Canberra.

Dewey, J. (1933). To be completed.Earl, L. (2003). Assessment as learning: Using classroom assessment to maximise student learning.

Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.Earth Charter in action website. Retrieved 1 February 2009, from<http://www.earthcharterinaction.org/2000/10/the_earth_charter.html>. Earth Charter International

(2007). Using the Earth Charter in education: Summary of guidelines and suggested pedagogies. Center for Education for Sustainable Development at UPEACE: San Jose, Costa Rica.

Eisner, E. (1983). The art and craft of teaching. Educational Leadership, 40(4), 4–13.Finger, G. & Jamieson-Proctor, R. (2009). Assessment issues and new technologies: ePortfolio

possibilities. In C. Wyatt-Smith & J. Joy Cuming (Eds.). Educational assessment in the 21st century: Connecting theory and practice, pp. 63–81. New York: Springer.

Singleton, G. (illustrator). (2007). 501 science experiments. Heatherton, Vic: Hinkler Books Pty Ltd.Fogarty, R. (2005). How to integrate the curricula. (2nd ed.). Moorabbin, Vic: Hawker Brownlow

Education.Freakley, M., Burgh, G. & Tilt MacSporran, L. (2008). Values education in schools: A resource book

for student inquiry. Camberwell, Vic: ACER Press.Gardner, H. (1993). Multiple intelligences: The theory in practice. New York: Basic Books.Gilbert, R. & Vick, M. (2004). The knowledge base for studying society and environment. In R. Gilbert

(Ed.). Studying society and environment: A guide for teachers (3rd ed.). Southbank: Vic: Thomson/Social Science Press.

Global education webpage. Templates. Retrieved 12 January 2012, from <http://www.globaleducation.edna.edu.au/globaled/go/pid/1845>.

Goldburg, P. (2007). Inquiry learning in Study of Religion . Curriculum Matters, 7(2), 26–28.Gordon, K. (2000). A Practical Guide to Primary Schools in Using Inquiry Approaches in Studies of

Society and Environment. Brisbane: Queensland School Curriculum Council. Retrieved 29 January 2010, from <http://www.qsa.qld.edu.au/downloads/publications/research_qscc_sose_primary_00.doc>.

Gore, J. (1990). Pedagogy as text in physical education teacher education: Beyond the preferred reading. In D. Kirk & R. Tinning (Eds). Physical education curriculum and culture: Critical issues in the contemporary crisis, 101–138, London: Falmer Press.

Gregory, G. & Kuzmich, L. (2004). Data driven differentiation in the standards-based classroom. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Hamston, J. & Murdoch, K. (1996). Planning integrated units of work for social education : integrating socially. Armadale, Vic: Eleanor Curtain.

Hayes Jacobs, H. (2007). What is curriculum mapping? Retrieved 18 February 2009, from <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8etEUVzo2GE>.

Hoepper, B. (2007). ‘Being more, not having more’: Education for global change. Social Alternatives, 26(3), Third Quarter, pp. 26–30.

Hoepper, B. (2011). Worth waiting for? The Australian Curriculum: History F–10. Primary and Middle Years Educator, 9(2), 19–27.Hoepper, B. & Land, R. (1997). Planning investigations in R. Gilbert (Ed.) Studying Society and

Environment: A Handbook for Teachers. Melbourne: Macmillan.Kaagan, S. (200). Murrumba schools with IDEAS: Facilitators’ training day. Professional development

session organised by the University of Southern Queensland and Education Department, Queensland (28 June).

Kemmis, S., Cole, P. & Suggett, D. (1983). Orientations to curriculum and transition: Towards the socially-critical school. Melbourne: Victorian Institute of Secondary Education.

Kemmis, S. & McTaggart, R. (1982). The action research planner. Geelong, Vic.: Deakin University.Kids connect website. Retrieved 18 February 2009, from

<http://www.kids-connect.net/Brisbane2008/>.Levy, J. (2009). ruMAD? Young people leading social change: A journey into new digital learning possibilities.

Primary and Middle Years Educator, 7, 12–19.Lusted, D. (1986). Pedagogy: Critical accounts of media education. Screen, 27(5), 2–14.


117

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8etEUVzo2GE

http://pan.search.qld.gov.au/search/click.cgi?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.qsa.qld.edu.au%2Fdownloads%2Fpublications%2Fresearch_qscc_sose_primary_00.doc&rank=5&collection=qld-gov

http://www.learningplace.com.au/uploads/documents/store/doc_760_2751_Citizen_Role_Descriptors.pdf

http://www.learningplace.com.au/uploads/documents/store/doc_760_2751_Citizen_Role_Descriptors.pdf


Mannison, M. (1992). Interactive teaching strategies. Brisbane: Nice Business. Martin, R., Sexton, C. & Franklin, T. (2005). Teaching science for all children: Inquiry lessons for

constructing understanding. Boston, MA: Pearson.Marzano, R., Norford, J., Paynter, D., Pickering, D. & Gaddy, B. (2001). A handbook for classroom

instruction that works. Alexandria. VA: ASCD.*Mazano, R., Pickering, J. & Pollock, J. (2001). Classroom instruction that works: Research-based

strategies for increasing student achievement. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (2008). Melbourne

Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians, MCEETYA. Retrieved 22 March 2011, from <www.mceecdya.edu.au/verve/_resources/National_Declaration_on_the_Educational_Goals_for_Young_Australians.pdf>.

Moline, S. (1995). I see what you mean: Children at work with visual information. Melbourne: Longman.

Murdoch, K. (2004). What makes a good inquiry unit? EQ Australia, Autumn. Murdoch, K. & Hamston, J. (1996). Planning integrated units of work for social education: Integrating

socially. Armadale, Vic.: Eleanor Curtain. Murdoch, K. & Hornsby, D. (1997). Planning curriculum connections: Whole-school planning for

integrated curriculum. Armadale, Vic: Elanor Curtin. Murdoch, K. & Wilson, J. (2008). Creating a learner-centred primary classroom: Learner-centred

strategic teaching. (2nd ed.). London: Routledge. Nalder, J. (in press). Digital mind-mapping and visual organizers: A journey into new digital learning

possibilities. Primary and Middle Years Educator.National School Reform Faculty homepage. Retrieved 29 February 2012, from

<http://www.nsrfharmony.org/protocol/a_z.html>.Nayler, J. (Ed.) (1997). Gender up front: Strategies for a gender focus across the key learning areas.

Caloundra, Qld: Association of Women Educators.This resource contains detailed teaching/learning units across all key learning areas (with the exception of LOTE and The Arts). All units are scoped and sequenced using the TELSTAR model and all have a strong social justice focus. Readers should note that this resource was the result of a National Professional Development Project (DEETYA) to explore the use of the outcomes-oriented national statements and profiles (Australian Education Council, 1994).

Nayler, J. (2000). Inquiry Approaches in Secondary Studies of Society and Environment Key Learning Area, Occasional Paper, Queensland School Curriculum Council, Brisbane. Retrieved 29 January 2010, from <http://www.qsa.qld.edu.au/downloads/publications/research_qscc_sose_secondary_00.doc>

Nayler, J. (2005). Pedagogies: Storylines and storyspaces. Flaxton, Qld: Post Pressed. Nayler, J. (2009a). Evaluating for engagement: Enhancing learning in the middle years. Deakin West,

ACT: Australian Curriculum Studies Association. Nayler, J. (2009b). St D’s classroom talk. Unpublished materials.Nayler, J. & Falls, S. (2009). Aligning for Achievement: Supporting use of the Queensland Curriculum,

Assessment and Reporting Framework. Module 3: Planning for alignment: What is fair coverage? Professional learning program.

Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (1997). Web resource on the Science Inquiry Model. Retrieved 3 February 2009, from <http://www.nwrel.org/msec/science_inq/index.html>.

NSW Country Areas Program. Tools and strategies webpage, Question matrix. Retrieved 8 February 2010, from <http://www.cap.nsw.edu.au/QI/TOOLS/pqr/questionmatirx.htm>.

Orlich, D., Harder, R., Callahan, R. & Gibson, H. (2001). Teaching strategies: A guide to better instruction. (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Partington, G. (1980). The idea of an historical education, Slough, NFER: 112–116.Pataray-Ching, J., Roberson, M. Misconceptions about a curriculum-as-inquiry framework. Language

Arts, 79(6), 498–505. Retrieved 6 July 2010 from <http://www.carolinaschoolforinquiry.org/documents/CSI_WhyInquiryCurr.pdf>.

Paul, R. (1995). Critical thinking: How to prepare students for a rapidly changing world. Santa Rosa, CA: Foundations for Critical Thinking.

Pay it forward (motion picture) (2000). Warner Bros in association with Bel-Air Entertainment.Peavey, F. & Hutchinson, V. (1993). Strategic questioning for personal and social change. San

Francisco, CA: Action Research Issues Association Inc.Pedersen, A., Walker, I. & Wise, M. (2005). ‘Talk does not cook rice’: Beyond anti-racism rhetoric to


118

http://www.carolinaschoolforinquiry.org/documents/CSI_WhyInquiryCurr.pdf

http://www.cap.nsw.edu.au/QI/TOOLS/pqr/questionmatirx.htm

http://www.nwrel.org/msec/science_inq/index.html

http://pan.search.qld.gov.au/search/click.cgi?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.qsa.qld.edu.au%2Fdownloads%2Fpublications%2Fresearch_qscc_sose_secondary_00.doc&rank=12&collection=qld-gov

References

strategies for social action. Australian Psychologist, 40(1), 20–30.PGCE History at UEA: Learning to teach history in the secondary school webpage. > Retrieved 7

March 2012 from <http://www.uea.ac.uk/~m242/historypgce/empathy/example.htm>.Queensland Studies Authority (2007a). Queensland Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting

Framework. Brisbane: QSA.Queensland Studies Authority (2007b). Indigenous perspectives: Guidelines (Selecting and

Evaluating resources). Retrieved 11 February 2009 from <http://www.qsa.qld.edu.au/downloads/syllabus/indigenous_g008_0712.pdf>.

Queensland Studies Authority (2011). Planning for implementing: Australian Curriculum P–10 (draft). Retrieved 25 January 2011, from http://www.qsa.qld.edu.au/downloads/early_middle/ac_plan_implementing.pdf

Queensland Studies Authority Assessment Bank. Insect discovery, Science materials for Years 2 & 3. Retrieved 6 July 2010, from <www.qsa.qld.edu.au>.

Queensland Department of Education (1994). Social investigators: An approach to active and informed citizenship for years 8–10. Brisbane (video).

Queensland Studies Authority (2008). Building student success: A guide to the Queensland Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Framework. Brisbane: QSA.

Reid, A. (2004). Towards a culture of inquiry in DECS. Occasional Paper Series. No. 1. Adelaide: Department of Education and Children’s Services, South Australia. Retrieved 8 December, from < http://www.decs.sa.gov.au/learnerwellbeing/files/links/link_72576.pdf>.

Rhode, J. F. (2007, Oct. 5). Web 2.0 gizmos and gadgets: Moving beyond the walls of Blackboard. Presented at the 2007 SLATE Conference, Chicago, IL. Retrieved 11 February 2010, from <http://sites.google.com/site/slateconference/web2.0>.

Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

Roblyer, M.D. (2004). Integrating educational technology into teaching (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.

Schultz, J. (2007). The future of SOSE? Integrative inquiry in the answer. The Social Educator. December.

Sloane, Pl (1991). Lateral thinking puzzlers. New York: Sterling Publishing Co Inc.Smyth, J. (1994). The practical and political dimensions of teaching. Education Links, 43, 4–8.The State of Queensland (Department of Education, Training and the Arts). (2006). Embedding Aboriginal and

Torres Strait Islander perspectives in schools: P–12 guidelines for administrators and educators. Brisbane.

The State of Queensland (Department of Education, Training and the Arts) (2009). Q150 unit: Arrivals and icons – Teacher guide (Year 5). Brisbane.

The State of Queensland (QSA) (2009). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Draft Senior Syllabus. Brisbane.The State of Queensland (Department of Education) (2001). The Queensland School Reform

Longitudinal Study. Brisbane: Author. The State of Queensland (Department of Education) (2001). The Queensland School Reform

Longitudinal Study: Teachers’ Summary. Brisbane. The State of Queensland (Education Queensland). The New Basics Project. Retrieved 24 July 2010,

from <http://education.qld.gov.au/corporate/newbasics/html/curric-org/curricorg.html>.The State of Queensland (The Office of the Queensland School Curriculum Council). (2000). Adding

value through inquiry: Independent study. Curriculum Module. Brisbane. Retrieved 28 January 2010, from <http://www.qsa.qld.edu.au/downloads/p-9/kla_sose_sbm_509.pdf>.

United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (2004). Changing teaching practices: Using curriculum differentiation to respond to students’ diversity. UNESCO: Paris. Retrieved 7 February 2011, from <http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0013/001365/136583e.pdf>.

Victorian Ministry of Education (1987). The Social Education Framework: P–10. Melbourne.Watkins, R. (2005). 75 e-learning activities: Making online learning interactive. San Francisco: John

Wiley & Sons.What school kids want (video recording) (2002). Melbourne: Education Foundation.Wilhelm, J. (2007). Engaging readers and writers with inquiry: Promoting deep understandings in

language arts and the content areas with guiding questions. New York: Scholastic. See A study guide for Engaging readers and writers with inquiry. Retrieved 22 April, 2010, from <http://teacher.scholastic.com/products/scholasticprofessional/authors/pdfs/SG_Engaging_Readers.pdf>.


119

http://education.qld.gov.au/corporate/newbasics/html/curric-org/curricorg.html

http://www.qsa.qld.edu.au/

http://www.qsa.qld.edu.au/downloads/early_middle/ac_plan_implementing.pdf

http://www.uea.ac.uk/~m242/historypgce/empathy/example.htm


Wilson, J. & Wing Jan, L. (2008). Smart thinking: Developing reflection and metacognition. Carlton South, Vic: Curriculum Corporation.

Wilson, J. & Wing Jan, L. (2009). Focus on inquiry: A practical approach to curriculum planning. (2nd ed.). Carlton South, Vic: Curriculum Corporation.

Wikoff, B. (2008). 101 tools and resources for authentic learning environments. Retrieved 11 February 2010, from <http://learningischange.com/>.

Wolk, S. (2007). Why go to school? Phi Delta Kappan, May, pp. 648–658.Wordle website. Retrieved 31 January 210, from <http://www.wordle.net>.Zyngier, D. (2004). Putting young people at the centre of the discussion: A review. Primary and

Middle Years Educator, 2(2), pp. 3–10.

File name: /tt/file_convert/5d0c062988c993ee3a8b800c/document.docx


120

cnshistory.weebly.comcnshistory.weebly.com/uploads/1/0/3/9/10391716/inquiry_for_a_chang… · web...

Documents