Inquiry Based Instruction Culture of Inquiry

Kimberly Scheideman

MY S

UM

MER

INQ

UIR

Y P

RO

JEC

T

DinnerWe have always loved the lobster

dinners, and never had one of

our own. We decided to plan a lobster feast and needed to figure

out where we could purchase them from, who

we would involve, and how

to cook them.

MO

RE S

UM

MER

INQ

UIR

Y

Building a ShedWe needed a

shed where we camp. We

needed to plan what we were

building, how to build it, materials needed, how to

meet the requirements of the campground regulations, and who would be

involved.

INQ

UIR

Y IN

OU

R LIV

ES How was inquiry part of your life this summer?

Your Inquiry Process Planning Retrieving Processing Creating Sharing Evaluating

How long did you spend in each phase?What skills did you use?

Planning

Topic: Sandcastle Building Contest

Area for inquiry: What to build

Possible Information Sources: Peers, parents, stores, flyers

Criteria: Past experiences

Time frame: Since last summer

Retrieving

Planned to get the brochure about the event

Decided on a theme Gathered sand toys

and decorations Decided who was

going to do what Time frame: 1 week

Processing

Focus was to win Checked out the

competition to make sure their plan was superior

Judged the competition for advantages/ disadvantages

Tweaked plan Time frame: 2 hours

Creating

Organized tools Began creating their

sand castle Made revisions for

things that were not working to plan (i.e. Moat)

Improvised to enhance

Time frame: 45 minutes

Sharing

Presented their sand castle to the judges

Walked around and looked at other sand castles

Were respectful of all participants

Learned new ways of building sand castles

Time frame: 15 minutes

Evaluating

Did not win, but got a lollipop instead

Evaluated the possible reasons they did not win

Planned what they were going to do differently next year

Time frame: Until next summer’s competition

What does a Culture of Inquiry

look like?

Classroom Culture of Inquiry

Teaching Language

Great Resources

Engaging Environment

Differentiated Instruction

Big Ideas

Authenticity and RelevancePurpose

Passion, curiosity, and fun Take action

Harvey, S., & Daniels, H. (2009)

Planning for Inquiry

Culture of Inquiry

Inquiry Model

Third Space*

• A way of being

• A guiding process

• A place where we merge curriculum and personal interests

*Kuhltau, C. C., Maniotes, L. K., & Caspari, A. K., 2007

Resources

Alberta Learning. (2004). Focus on inquiry: A teacher's guide to implementing inquiry-based learning. Edmonton, Alberta, Canada: Retrieved from http://www.education.alberta.ca/media/313361/focusoninquiry.pdf

Harvey, S., & Daniels, H. (2009). Comprehension and collaboration: Inquiry circles in action. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Parker, D. (2007). In Graham B. (Ed.), Planning for inquiry: It's not an oxymoron!. Urbana, Illinois: National Council of Teachers of English.