Inquiry in Action

Examples/Process

Inquiry is the main focus in this classroom and students become more responsible for their learning. Hear about the role of the teacher and students in sustaining the inquiries and achieving learning goals. Assessment processes are highlighted in the video as well.

Guiding Questions

What is the role of the teacher in different stages of the inquiry process? How does assessment fit into the inquiry process?

Students conduct an integrated Inquiry into the interrelationships between people (the students) and the environment (natural and built features). They ask questions and gather information and reflect on how they can give back to nature (responsible citizenship). This investigation links Social Studies and Science and Technology curricula.

Guiding Questions

How can your schoolyard and community environment function as an outdoor inquiry classroom? What “primary resources” does your community offer that your students can access during their inquiry? David W. Barnes’ book, “My School is Alive!” was used as the inspiration for this inquiry, what fiction or non-fiction books do you have access to that you can use?

Students begin this video by explaining their inquiry questions and investigations. Later the teacher explains her role as a conductor of the inquiry. She focuses on monitoring student progress and mini-lessons offering lessons based on student needs.

Guiding Questions

How comfortable are you with the role of “conductor” in the inquiry process? What checkpoints can you include to ensure student success?

Watch this clip to see how parents have responded to an inquiry based based program. Students also explain how they are evaluated and they provide some insight into their process for learning.

Guiding Questions

What strategies do you use to communicate the inquiry process with your school community?

Skills/Thinking

This video focuses on strategies teachers can use with students to enable them to analyze different types of evidence. Students analyze current images and maps in addition to historical images and maps. The focus is on reasoning using observations and inferences.

Guiding Questions

What approaches do you use to support interpreting and anlzying skills in your classes? How do the strategies in the video promote engagement and critical thinking? (making decision using criteria)

Teachers develop an understanding of how to support students as they create their own success criteria for constructing deeper inquiry questions. Students learn how to shift from asking basic questions to developing questions that build a solid foundation for inquiry. Students reflect on and evaluate their own inquiry questions.

Guiding Questions

How does success criteria support students learning? How does developing success criteria for inquiry questions challenge students to reflect on their own thought process?

The Concepts of Historical Thinking are introduced as students express their understanding of Continuity and Change. They present their research results, generated from their inquiry questions. Students describe how historical topics and themes are reflected as historical progression, or regression.

Guiding Questions

How does your overall guiding question support historical thinking? (Historical Significance, Cause and Consequence, Continuity and Change, Historical Perspective) Which teaching and learning strategies will allow students to demonstrate their understanding of the Concepts of Historical Thinking?

This video explores disciplinary thinking and the importance of critical thinking within SSHG inquiries. Support ideas for struggling students are also explored.

Guiding Questions

How do you incorporate disciplinary thinking in daily lessons?