Inquiry – creating classrooms where children wonder

Monday, Nov. 19 Taylor Park and Chaffey Burke, Burnaby

Faye Brownlie www.slideshare.net

Learning Intentions •  I  have  a  be(er  understanding  of  inquiry  based  teaching  and  learning  

•  I  have  a  plan  to  determine  which  social  and  thinking  skills  my  students  need,  and  a  plan  to  explicitly  teach  these  

•  I  have  an  inquiry  based  strategy  to  try  

Inquiry based teaching … •  Is  problem  or  ques=on  driven  •  Encourages  collabora=on  •  Makes  kids  into  explorers  and  discoverers  

•  Requires  kids  to  think  •  Puts  teachers  in  nonconven=onal  roles  

–  Steph  Harvey  and  Harvey  Daniels,  2009  

Inquiry based teaching … •  Requires  explicit  teaching  of  social  skills  and  comprehension  skills  

•  Is  open-­‐ended  •  Is  inclusive  •  Can  permeate  a  day  

•  Is  fun  

•  American  5th  graders  spend  91%  of  their  day  either  listening  to  a  teacher  talk  or  working  alone  (Pianta  &  Belsky,  2007).  

•  10  years  aTer  high  school,  graduates  who  had  honed  their  teamwork  skills  while  s=ll  in  high  school  had  significantly  higher  earnings  than  those  who  failed  to  do  so  (Science  Daily  2008).  

•  Crea=ng  meaningful  and  ambiguous  tasks  that  reflect  how  knowledge  is  used  in  the  field  

•  Engaging  students  in  ac=ve  learning  so  they  will  apply  and  test  what  they  know  

– Powerful  Learning:    What  We  Know  about  Teaching  for  Understanding  (2008)  Darling-­‐Hammond,  Pearson,  Barron,  Schoenfeld  

Sarah  says  that  when  she  babysits,  she  earns  $5  an  hour  plus  a  flat  rate  of  $10  to  feed  the  children  dinner.    How  can  you  represent  rela=on  this  in  an  equa=on?  Sarah  earned  $45  for  babysiang  on  Saturday.    How  many  hours  did  she  work?    How  did  you  figure  it  out?  

h(p://schwakidaschoolthought.blogspot.ca/  h(p://schwakidaschoolthought.blogspot.ca/search?updated-­‐max=2012-­‐03-­‐01T21:09:00-­‐08:00&max-­‐results=7  

Math:    Geometry  Problem  Solving  

h(p://wonderopolis.org  

Math  Centres  –  gr.  ½  -­‐  co-­‐teaching  Michelle  Hikada  

•  4  groups  •  1  with  Michelle,  working  on  graphing  (direct  teaching,  new  material)  

•  1  making  pa(erns  with  different  materials  (prac=ce)  

•  1  making  pa(erns  with  s=ckers  (prac=ce)  

•  1  graphing  in  partners  (prac=ce)  

•  With  your  partner,  choose  a  bucket  of  materials  and  make  a  bar  graph.  

•  Ask  (and  answer)  at  least  3  ques=ons  about  your  graph.  

•  Make  another  graph  with  a  different  material.  

What? So What? •  2  column  notes  

•  Essen=al  ques=on:  – How  does  where  you  live  affect  how  you  live?  

K-3 Collaborative Study •  Goal:    to  help  students  use  their  own  ques=ons  to  develop  a  real  understanding  about  insects  

•  Teachers:  •  Lisa  Schwartz-­‐K/1  •  Colleen  Reimer  -­‐  1/2  •  Louesa  Neuman  -­‐  2/3  

The Process: Modelling

•  Brainstorm-­‐Categorize  (know)  •  Read  (wonder  and  discover)  •  “Insect  Absolutes”  -­‐  developed  as  a  class  (learned)  

•  Own  flip  books  -­‐  content  criteria  

3 classes, 3 insects K/1  -­‐  ants  

1/2  -­‐  bu(erflies  

2/3  -­‐  bees  

Guided Practice •  Read  •  Generate  class  ques=ons  •  Read  in  3’s  and  4’s  to  answer  ques=ons  •  Take  notes  •  Class  discussion  •  A/B  partners:explain  and  coach  •  Write  •  3  D  model  

•  What’s  next?    -­‐  individual  study  –  stay  tuned  for  February…