Session 15

Inquiry based learning- Wesley college model.


Teacher Inquiry.

Things to do at each stage:

Getting Hooked

Introduce a scenario where a major problem or issue needs to be tackled.  Ensure that the problem/issue is set in a real-life/authentic context.  “We must help solve this problem because…” Stress the urgent nature and importance of the children’s learning showing how their input could make a difference.  The children will also need to know who their information is for so they can incorporate their audience’s needs in their final presentation.   An achievement rubric should be developed here (with the class) outlining all levels of achievement—the children can then set their own goals for this task.

Knowledge Bomb

Introduce a range of resources where the children can explore and find relevant information.  They will need to check that their information is true by finding another source of information which says the same thing.  Encourage the use of a variety of information types—internet, specialised books, encyclopaedias and real life experiences or visits from experts too.  Keep the children focussed—they still have to find answers for the initial problem/issue and justify those.

Construct/Create

Using thinking tools e.g. thinking hats, SOLO Taxonomy as well as the information gathered by the

children, make a decision about the best course of action or best solution to the problem/issue.  Key Question = Have we looked at this from all angles/perspectives?  Does our solution suit everyone, most people or just our target audience?  What new knowledge have I created by looking at this problem differently?

Communicate

This decision needs to be presented in the best way for the targeted audience.  What are their needs?  What type of language should we use to get our message across?  What media/technology can we use to give our presentation impact?  

Reflect

Did we achieve what we set out to do—according to the initial achievement rubric/according to our personal goals?  Did we follow an accurate plan during our research?

Did our initial plans change?  Why?

What parts of the Inquiry did we do well?  What parts did we not do so well?  What do we need to learn in order to make our Inquiry learning more effective/efficient next time?  Complete the Inquiry Process

Assessment Task from the Inquiry Process Rubric—Share this with a friend , the teacher or the class.