developing enquiry skills
TRANSCRIPT
Developing Enquiry Skills
Alan Parkinson Secondary Curriculum Development Leader
Geographical AssociationTony Cassidy
Kirk Hallam Community Technology College
“But why ?”• Questioning is part of basic
human curiosity• It starts early...
“A curriculum, to be truly educational, will lead the
students to unanticipated, rather than predicted,
outcomes”John McKernan
Enquiry: more than just curiosity about what’s out there...
“If the curriculum is a cake, then
enquiry is the baking
powder that makes it rise...”
John Widdowson
ask geographical
questions
justify conclusions
creative ways of using and
applying geographical
skills
plan enquiries solve
problems and make
decisions
essential skills and processes in geography that pupils need to learn to make progress
QCA (2007a) Programme of study: Geography key stage 3 http://www.qca.org.uk/secondarycurriculumreview/subject/ks3/geography/index.htm
National Curriculum(Geography)
http://daviderogers.blogspot.com
Enquiry? ‘In my opinion geographical enquiry is
poorly understood but is at the heart of
geographical thinking. For me it is the framework that
geographers use to understand the complex
world’
Tom Biebrach
‘To me the point of an enquiry is to find an
answer that you don't yet know. You can only
have a worthwhile enquiry if you have a
worthwhile question that is capable of being
answered’
Ian Murray
‘Finding out why and how‘
Head of Humanities Harry Carlton School
…enquiry must be part of every
lesson…
Famine : Google Images : WikipediaA famine is a widespread shortage of food that may apply to any faunal species, which phenomenon is usually accompanied by regional malnutrition, starvation, epidemic, and increased mortality. Famines in modern time are typically linked to overpopulation, as the number of humans exceeds regional carrying capacity.Historically, famines have occurred among the poor because of agricultural problems such as drought, crop failure, or pestilence. A famine can be made worse by increased human population, war, or economic policies which place the poor at a disadvantage.[1] Epidemics can reduce available labor. Changing weather patterns, the ineffectiveness of medieval governments in dealing with crises, wars, and epidemic diseases like the Black Death helped to cause hundreds of famines in Europe during the Middle Ages, including 95 in Britain and 75 in France.[2]
[3] In France, the Hundred Years' War, crop failures and epidemics reduced the population by two-thirds.[4] Although most famines coincide with regional shortages of food, famine infrequently has occurred amid plenty or on account of acts of economic or military policy that have deprived certain populations of sufficient food to ensure survival.
Enabling global learning....Questioning the world
G2: two enquiry based articles in recent weeks...
QCAGeographical enquiry•requires the development of a range of investigative skills both inside and outside the classroom•emphasises the importance of geographical questions as a focus for teaching and learning activities•requires pupils to undertake sequences of enquiry, as well as learning to develop their own enquiry sequences•emphasises the need for pupils to develop a range of subject-specific skills, together with more general personal, social and study skills•requires pupils to become skilled at communicating and presenting geographical ideas in a variety of ways to different audiences
Who lives in a place like this ?
Liz Taylor – Homerton College, University of Cambridge
ENQUIRY QUESTIONSTG Article: Summer 2008
(delegates have copy)
1. Question must have ‘pith’ and ‘rigour’
2. Sufficient knowledge-building must take place to be able to provide a
good answer3. Over time, pupils should develop enquiry sequences, as their research
skills develop
“There are no right or wrong answers...”
Margaret Roberts – GA President
What does enquiry look like ?
TASC – wheelDifferent stages
Some possible enquiry questions...The ‘HOOK’
(Animoto.com)FREE account for educators...
Starting it simple… asking questions.
Every lesson should involve enquiry- students are
presented with key questions to be answered as they ‘travel’ through a
lesson.
http://transl8it.com/cgi-win/index.pl
How did Hurricane Katrina form?
whch areas did it fx?
wot impact did it hav?
wot lessons cn b learnt frm Hurricane
Katrina?
Starting it simple… asking questions.
Adding comments/thoughts with speech bubbles
in PowerPoint.
Starting it simple… asking questions.
Adding comments with the record sound tool in PowerPoint.
A soundscape can be produced.
Surrounding the image with
questions- on paper, IWB, or by
PowerPoint.
Using these questions and
comments to produce creative
writing/presentations or as a starter for ‘formal’ enquiry.
Hot seating the character.
Using my senses.
Toilet roll
First Aid kit
Paper work
Insect
Repellent
Host Gifts
Sun cream
Starting it simple…asking questions.Which country
and why?
Starting it simple…asking questions.
Which country and why?
Starting it simple…asking questions.
How’s school different?
Starting it simple… validating sources.
How many trees were felled in the Great UK Storm of 1987?
•Teacher generates questions.
•Students asked to find the answers, but validate them through a number of sources.
Starting it simple… developing presentation techniques.
Linking home, school and the global.
Leading through the cycle… Teacher leads students through the process of
enquiry.
New techniques are introduced.
• Questionnaire•Mapping of good
and bad management.• Annotating photos taken with their mobile phones!• Environmental
audits.
How well managed is our lake?
Connecting to the global…•Links with Toyota
City.•Students and
teachers both go on yearly exchanges.•Students and
teachers follow the curriculum during their visits.
•In Geography we ask them about school
life!•We have also developed email
links.
Would we like schooling Japanese style?
A more complex approach…
Key Stage 4 Students write to
Wanda Lust, who’s
planning to lead an
expedition to
Antarctica, she asks their advice.
A more complex approach…
Andrew Cooney, the youngest person to walk to the South Pole works with students for
an afternoon.
http://www.andrewcooney.co.uk/
The audience… students produce a presentation. Students are
given six lessons to produce a
response to Wanda.
They are supported with Internet links
via our Intranet and external
blog.
Andrew is also happy to have
questions emailed to him.
A more complex approach…Wanda
reappears later asking whether Coke
is an ethical company.
Students like the
continuation of
character.With thanks- Raise my Voice- Fickr
www.flickr.com
Using the Net…
We sometimes take the opportunity to encourage staff to contribute to our enquires, via the department blogs. This may also
encourage a wider response from a global audience.
Deciding on appropriate formats… One aspect of developing a successful
enquiry is the range of
presentation options that
can be used to enthuse
students.
Formal writing
Presentation
Movie
Website
Newspaper article
Letter…
Citizenship Project- What’s special about our area?
Enquiry and actions...Tying enquiry to participation:
investigationStudent-centred enquiries...
Earth Hour Video – 2 minutes long...
What would enquiry involve ?
How about enquiry questions that you have used ?
Controlled Assessment“one big enquiry”....
With thanks to:David Rogers, Priory School, Portsmouth for slides 8, 9
and 10 Liz Taylor – Teaching Geography article – Summer
2008
http://www.geography.org.uk/projects/gtip/thinkpieces/geographicalenquiry
- Gill Davidson
Margaret Roberts & GA colleagues