21ST CENTURY SKILLSLAST UPDATED: 08.29.13

The term 21st century skills refers to a broad set of knowledge, skills, work habits, and character traits that are believed—by educators, school reformers, college professors, employers, and others—to be critically important to success in today’s world, particularly in collegiate programs and modern careers. Generally speaking, 21st century skills can be applied in all academic subject areas, and in all educational, career, and civic settings throughout a student’s life.It should be noted that the “21st century skills” concept encompasses a wide-ranging and amorphous body of knowledge and skills that is not easy to define and that has not yet been officially codified and categorized. While the term is widely used in education, it is not always defined consistently, which can lead to confusion and divergent interpretations. In addition, a number of related terms—including applied skills, cross-curricular skills,cross-disciplinary skills, interdisciplinary skills, transferable skills,transversal skills, noncognitive skills, and soft skills, among others—are also widely used in reference to the general forms of knowledge and skill commonly associated with 21st century skills. While these terms may not be strictly synonymous, and they may have divergent and highly specific meanings in certain technical contexts, these diverse skills are being addressed in this one entry for the purposes of practicality and usefulness.While the specific skills deemed to be “21st century skills” may be defined, categorized, and determined differently from person to person or place to place, the term does reflect a general—if somewhat loose and shifting—consensus. The following list provides a brief, illustrative overview of the knowledge, skills, work habits, and character traits commonly associated with 21st century skills: Critical thinking, problem solving, reasoning, analysis,

interpretation, conceptual synthesis Research practices, interrogative questioning

Creativity, artistry, curiosity, imagination, innovation, personal expression

Perseverance, self-direction, planning, self-discipline, adaptability, initiative

Oral and written communication, public speaking and presenting, listening

Leadership, teamwork, collaboration, cooperation, using virtual workspaces

Information and communication technology (ITC) literacy, media and internet literacy, visual interpretation, data interpretation and analysis, computer programming

Civic literacy, social-justice awareness, ethical literacy Economic literacy, financial literacy, entrepreneurialism Global and multicultural literacy, humanitarianism Scientific literacy, technical reasoning, using the scientific method Environmental and conservation literacy, ecosystems understanding Health and wellness literacy, including nutrition, diet, exercise, and

public health and safetyWhile many individuals and organizations have proposed definitions of 21st century skills, and most states have adopted learning standards that include or address cross-disciplinary skills, the following are three popular models that can serve to illustrate the concept and its applications in education: Framework for 21 st   Century Learning  (The Partnership for

21st Century Skills) Four Keys to College and Career Readiness  (David T. Conley

and the Educational Policy Improvement Center) Seven Survival Skills  (Tony Wagner and the Change Leadership

Group at the Harvard Graduate School of Education)For related discussions, see content knowledge and learning standards.

ReformGenerally speaking, the 21st century skills concept is motivated by the belief that teaching students the most relevant, useful, in-demand, and

universally applicable skills should be prioritized in today’s schools, and by the related belief that many schools may not sufficiently prioritize such skills or effectively teach them to students. The basic idea is that students, who will come of age in the 21st century, need to be taught different skills than those learned by students in the 20th century, and that the skills they learn should reflect the specific demands that will placed upon them in a complex, competitive, knowledge-based, information-age, technology-driven economy and society.While 21st century skills are relevant to all areas of schooling and academic study, and the skills may be taught in a wide variety of in-school and outside-of-school settings, there are a few primary ways in which 21st century skills intersect with efforts to improve schools: Teachers may be more intentional about teaching cross-disciplinary

skills in subject-area courses. For example, in a science course students might be required to learn research methods that can also be applied in other disciplines; articulate technical scientific concepts in verbal, written, and graphic forms; present lab results to a panel of working scientists; or use sophisticated technologies, software programs, and multimedia applications as an extension of an assigned project.

States, accrediting organizations, and schools may require 21st century skills to be taught and assessed in courses. For example, states can adopt learning standards that explicitly describe cross-disciplinary skills, and assessments may be designed or modified to evaluate whether students have learned and mastered certain skills.

Schools and teachers may use educational approaches that inherently encourage or facilitate the acquisition of cross-disciplinary skills. For example, educational strategies such as authentic learning, demonstrations of learning, andproject-based learning tend to be cross-disciplinary in nature, and students—in the process of completing a research project, for example—may have to use a variety of applied skills, multiple technologies, and new ways of analyzing and processing information, while also taking initiative, thinking creatively, planning out the process, and working collaboratively in teams with other students.

Schools may allow students to pursue alternative learning pathways in which students earn academic credit and satisfy graduation requirements by completing an internship, apprenticeship, or volunteer experience, for example. In this case, students might acquire a variety of practical, job-related skills and work habits, while

also completing academic coursework and meeting the same learning standards required of students in more traditional academic courses.

21st CENTURY EDUCATIONWe are living in an age where creativity, knowledge and innovation are powering the world at an ever increasing pace. The genesis of these changes is information and communications technology. Creative, innovative, entrepreneurial, digitally adept and adaptable people are now the major socio-economic drivers of the 21st Century. The growth of the knowledge economy is surpassing traditional resource based industries and investors are increasingly locating new enterprises where they can find highly skilled labour pools. Outsourcing and collaboration across virtual networks are becoming mainstays of businesses that need to be constantly innovative to stay competitive and relevant to their customers

The fast paced advancements in information and communication technologies are dramatically impacting economies, societies, governance models and individuals on “digital planet earth.” Many economic, social and environmental opportunities and challenges are increasingly complex and require global solutions. At the same time new immigrants are selecting their new locations and homes based on the quality of education in the area. The quality of learning in schools is now a site selector for both business and immigration

Government and public education leaders must ask: How is public education adapting to these new realities and are we adjusting fast enough to keep pace? Are we preparing our youth for life and work in the 21st Century the right way?

Students will need high level competencies and skills if they are to find the best employment opportunities. The fact is that many of today’s targeted learning outcomes and instructional practices are antiquated and ill-suited for the 21st Century reality. Too many outcomes in curricula are forcing teachers to focus on content coverage versus depth of understanding. Meanwhile, most students have to “power down” when they enter school environments which are ill-equipped to meet their learning styles and technological prowess. A growing number of today’s “digital kids” are disengaging from their learning, citing boredom and lack of relevance. At the same time, many believe students are graduating without the skills needed in today’s society and are calling for a significant shift in the learning opportunities our youth are being offered in our public schools.

Industrial-era models of learning are simply fading in relevance, ill-equipped to meet the needs of today’s “digital generation”, whose brains are hard-wired to the “digital landscape” within which they are living. Public education must evolve on an urgent basis to meet the needs of these new-millennium learners or risk becoming irrelevant.

The 21st Century learning model calls for a significant paradigm shift in what is taught, how it is taught and how progress is assessed. This is an exciting and inspiring model of learning, where creative and innovative thinking and the application of knowledge are the hallmarks of success, versus high levels of content coverage and the regurgitation of facts. The integration of digital technology with pedagogy is an essential element of the 21st Century learning model, and where it

is being implemented effectively it is engaging both students and teachers and facilitating a customized and student-interest-based approach to learning.

The new learning model calls for the integration of 21st Century learning competencies into curriculum outcomes and the creation of ICT-rich learning environments. The OECD, European Union, UNESCO, Partnership for 21st Century Skills in the United States, and numerous other international agencies and authors have all identified these competencies as essential to positioning students for success in the 21st Century. And all are calling for these competencies to be core outcomes of public education.

The question is “how”? 21st Century Learning Associates is comprised of a team with extensive knowledge and experience in 21st Century learning models and the processes needed to transform public education. Our services are designed to help you move your education system and your people to where learning needs to be for students in the 21st Century.

Inquiry-based learning (also enquiry-based learning in British English)[1] starts by posing questions, problems or scenarios -- rather than simply presenting established facts or portraying a smooth path to knowledge. The process is often assisted by a facilitator. Inquirers will identify and research issues and questions to develop their knowledge or solutions. Inquiry-based learning includes problem-based learning, and is generally used in small scale investigations and projects, as well as research.[2]

nquiry learning emphasizes constructivist ideas of learning, where knowledge is built from experience and process, especially socially based experience. Under this premise learning develops best in group situations.[citation needed] Progress and outcomes are generally assessed by how well people develop experimental and analytic skills, and often how well they work in groups

1. tackling real-world questions, issues and controversies 2. ✦developing questioning, research and communication skills 3. ✦solving problems or creating solutions4. ✦collaborating within and beyond the classroom 5. ✦developing deep understanding of content knowledge 6. ✦participating in the public creation and improvement of ideas and knowledge

Inquiry is a umbrella term that covers a number of other approaches to teaching and learning. Teaching practices that utilize a disposition of inquiry learning include:

1.1. ✦problem-based learning: learning that starts with an ill-structured problem

or case-study2. ✦project-based learning: students create a project or presentation as a

demonstration of their understanding3. ✦design-based learning: learning through the working design of a solution

to a complex problem 

Lately, there have been a bunch of buzzwords floating around the education world that all seem to mean the same thing. You’ve probably heard them: problem-based learning, project-based learning and inquiry-based learning. Is there a difference? How will you know which one to do in your classroom?First, let’s start with what they have in common. All of these methods place an emphasis on teaching process, not just content. They require students to make discoveries for authentic audiences and purposes. Using these methods will help you meet the Common Core State Standards, which are all about helping students become independent thinkers who can gather information on their own and use knowledge for real-world tasks.So you know you want to try one of these teaching methods, but how do you decide which one? Here’s a cheat sheet to understanding the subtle differences and deciding which one is right for you.Project-based learning

Definition: Students create a written, oral, visual or multimedia project with an authentic audience and purpose. Project-based learning is usually done in English, social studies or foreign-language class.

Example: Teacher Heather Wolpert-Gawron’s ELA students wanted to fix the broken bell at their school. They developed a thesis, organized a petition, wrote letters and prepared an oral statement that was read to the principal. Teaching Tip: Make sure your project doesn’t just have students regurgitate knowledge. For example, don’t have students make a map that displays information from a textbook. Have students discover their own findings for their projects. For More Info: Edutopia’s Project-Based Learning Professional Development Guide includes a variety of student examples.

Problem-based learning Definition: Students investigate and solve a real-world problem. To do so, students must identify what they already know and what they need to learn, and then they find and apply knowledge. Problem-based learning often takes place in math and science class. It doesn’t necessarily include a project at the end so it doesn’t always take as long as project-based learning. Example: Nancy Sulla, author of “Students Taking Charge: Inside the Learner-Active, Technology-Infused Classroom,” gives this science example: Researchers are conflicted on whether we can use certain types of bacteria to clean up radioactive pollution in water. Have students use the scientific method, evaluate data on bacteria, and decide how one bacteria or a combination of them would work effectively as microscopic radioactive pollution eaters. Teaching Tip: Make sure you choose a problem that is open-ended and has no one right answer. For More Info: This site from the University of Delaware offers a variety of problems from which teachers can choose.

Inquiry-based learning Definition: Students explore a question in-depth and ask further questions to gather knowledge. This method is often done in science but can be done in any subject area. The term “inquiry” has been around for years; some people say that problem-based learning is just the new term for the same thing. Example: Teacher Winnifred Bolinsky used inquiry-based learning to help students understand the physics principle of inertia.

Teaching Tip: Give students a variety of ways to gather knowledge — not just on the computer but through hands-on learning. For More Info: Examples and video clips of inquiry-based learning can be found onThirteen’s Edonline site

AUTHENTIC LEARNINGLAST UPDATED: 09.16.13In education, the term authentic learning refers to a wide variety of educational and instructional techniques focused on connecting what students are taught in school to real-world issues, problems, and applications. The basic idea is that students are more likely to be interested in what they are learning, more motivated to learn new concepts and skills, and better prepared to succeed in college, careers, and adulthood if what they are learning mirrors real-life contexts, equips them with practical and useful skills, and addresses topics that are relevant and applicable to their lives outside of school. For related discussions, see 21st century skills, relevance, and rigor.

. Inquiry Based Learning

 

"Tell me and I forget,

Show me and I remember,

Involve me and I understand."

1.0. Introduction: The Definition of Inquiry

"Inquiry in its most simplistic form is to ask others to make their thinking process visible and asking for help in seeing any gaps or limits in our thinking" (Smith, 1987). It is an old technique. Considering ancient Western culture, Socrates, Aristotle and Plato were all masters of the inquiry processes. That heritage has given us modes of teaching in which students are vitally involved in the learning and creating processes.

1.1. The Origins of Inquiry Based Learning

Inquiry has always been a part of education as a pedagogical method. Orlich et al. (1990) states that it predates Socrates and his way of leading students to self-knowledge through agressive questioning. J. Richard Suchmanis accepted to be the originator of an inquiry teaching program that was widely used throughout the United States and he once said "inquiry is the way people learn when they are left alone." That is, he developed inquiry training to teach students a process for investigating and explaning unusual phenomena. Based on a conception of scientific method, it attempts to teach students some of the skills and language of scholarly inquiry (Suchman, 1962). Meanwhile, John Dewey's reform of the educational system led to the first inquiry-based learning methods in the United States. Dewey advocated child-centered learning based on real-world experiences. As a result, these efforts seriously attempted to turn the traditional approach into the learning through investigation with a spotlight on developing reasoning abilities.

1.2. A Brief Explanation of Inquiry Based Learning

Inquiry Based Learning is a student-centered approach to learning that encourages students to create personal knowledge by questioning. It leads the students to ask questions and make discoveries. That is, inquiry teaches us how to learn independently. According to the type of learning of Dewey, as mentioned by Tompkins (Dewey cited in Tompkins, 2001 : 32), " What

children know and what they want to learn are not just constraints on what can be taught, they are the very foundation for learning". Tompkins (2001) goes on saying that the following four primary interests of the child are still appropriate starting points:

1) the child's instinctive desire to find things out

2) in conversation: the propensity children have to communicate

3) in construction: their delight in making things

4) in their gifts of artistic expression.

People may think that these are the natural resources but, as Dewey (1942, p. 46) recognized "Schooling is not just about the individual. It is the coming together of the child's interests with those of the society ".

Inquiry Based Learning can be used with children of all ages, but lower level students may have some difficulties in this style of learning. For very young learners, the content of the problem should be simplified in order for this approach to be more useful so that they can handle the inquiry process itself (Suchman, 1962). It is more advicable to use this approach with the higher level students since older students are better able to handle the inquiry process. Moreover, Orlich et al. (1990) point out that this approach is widely used in teaching science, because inquiry experiences can provide valuable opportunities for students to improve their understanding of both science content and scientific practices although inquiry learning can be applied to all disciplines. Also, it shouldn't be forgotten that further support for the use of IBL comes from the strong theoretical underpinnings of the approach including constructivism, problem based learning, project based learning and the like.

The process of inquiring (see Table 1) begins with the teacher selecting a problem or a puzzling situation to the learner. Once a problem has been selected, the teacher conducts research on the problem. Then, s/he explains the process to the class and present the problem. The students gather data by questioning and they develop a theory. If the class accepts the theory as a solution, it is verified. After this step, the students explain the theory and state the rules associated with it. Afterwards, the students are expected to analyze the process to see how they can form more effective questioning techniques. Finally, the teacher tests to determine whether the students have understood the theory and whether they are able to generalize the rules to other situations or not.

Table 1 : The Process of Inquiry

Select a Problem and Conduct Research

Introduce the Process and Present the Problem

Gather Data

Develop a Theory and Verify

Explain the Theory and State the Rules

Analyze the Process

Evaluate

1.3. Characteristics of Inquiry Based Learning

Inquiry Based Learning is completely different from the traditional approaches in which not students but the teacher is in the center of the learning. It certainly requires a greater time than traditional teaching methods.

As mentioned by Preskill and Torres (1999), the following are the characteristics of Inquiry Based Learning:

IBL focuses students' inquiry on questions that are challenging, debatable and difficult to solve.

It teaches students specific procedures, strategies, or processes essential to the attempts at answering the focus questions.

It structures lessons to include opportunities for students to access information that is crucial to the inquiry.

It structures the lessons so that students have opportunities to work with peers.

It sequences a series of activities and lessons so that they work together involving students toward a general goal.

It builds into lessons the opportunities for performance.

It involves students in the process of deriving standards for performance.

It relies on authentic assessment of learning.

1.4. Inductive Inquiry

Inductive Inquiry is a process that allows the students to observe specifics and then infer generalizations about the entire group of particulars. Orlich et al.(1990, p. 281) make a similar explanation of it in the following way: " Inductive Inquiry is a method that teachers use when they present sets of data or situations and then ask the students to infer a conclusion, generalization, or a pattern of relationships". Inductive Inquiry may be approached in at least two different ways: guided and unguided. Lee S. Shulman and Pinchas Tamir (1973) provided a classic, easy-to-use matrix illustrating that if the teacher wishes to provide the basic elements of the lesson –that is, the specifics– but wants the students to make the generalizations, then the teacher is conducting a guided inductive lesson. If the teacher decides to allow the students to provide the cases and to make the generalizations, the process may be labeled unguided inductive inquiry.

1.4.1. Guided Inductive Inquiry

Guided Inductive Inquiry is a type of Inquiry Based Learning. When this inquiry type is used, students work independently to determine the methods that can be applied to successfully investigate a problem posed by the teacher. That is, deductive teaching gradually turns into the teaching less structured and more open to alternative solutions. In this inquiry type, the teacher provides the basic elements of the lesson – with the help of pictures or by writing them on cards – and then wants the students to make the generalizations. For students to be able to make generalizations, the teacher should ask simple questions such as ‘Where have we seen before?' since these kinds of questions require them to do the generalizing rather than the teacher's simply presenting the generalization.

1.5. Questioning Strategies for Inquiry Teaching

"We really want children to be explorers and investigators and we want them to try to dictate for themselves what the problem they should be exploring is and what ways they are going to go about exploring that problem."

"Dr. Thomas M. Dana, Pennysylvania State University"

According to Mary Alice Gunter, Thomas H. Estes & Jan Schwab (2003), as children grow, they inevitably get the idea that becoming a grown-up means leaving the world of questioning for the world of knowing. Gunter et al. also think that schools institutionalize the departure from questions to answers since success becomes measured by putting the right answer into the blank or circling the correct response, knowing positively what is true and what is false. In short, almost all questions at school have one right answer, but unfortunately the questions having no answer do

not often arise. "The basic formula for good teaching is to present facts to students and then encourage them to think and ask questions of the data" (Walter Bateman, 1990). What is important is to ask the right question. For this reason, a teacher should know how to use the most important tools s/he has - that is, questions – strategically.

According to Christensen (1991), some types of questions limit learning whereas other questions encourage learning (see Table 2). Probing questions offering a forced choice may be less effective than probing questions remaining open. For ex., asking ‘ Is that because of A or B ?' is usually less effective than ‘ What led you to that conclusion ?'.

Table 2: Questions That Limit and Support Learning

Questions that limit learning Questions that support learning

You agree, don't you? Do you have a different idea?

Is that because of X or Y? What led you to that conclusion?

So you think X? (active listening ) What evidence from the case leads you to that statement?

Don't you agree with John Doe? What is your concern?

I think you are totally wrong about that I think it is X because of Y and Z evidence.

Do you have a different interpretation?

Questions can be used for various purposes. One of the most important purposes is to engage students in inquiry. This also involves creating interest, generating curiosity, assessing prior knowledge and raising questions to initiate inquiry. Responding strategically to student ideas is another important point in using questions. The way the teacher responds to student ideas during the inquiry process affects the students. By using three main ways, teachers can respond strategically to student ideas: accepting student responses, extending student responses, probing student responses (see Table 3).

Table 3: Questioning Strategies for Inquiry Teaching

1. Using Questions to Engage Students in Inquiry

a) Creating Motivation and Interest

b) Questioning to Assess Prior Knowledge

c) Questioning to Initiate Inquiry

2. Responding Strategically to Student Ideas

a) Accepting Student Responses

b) Extending Student Responses

c) Probing Student Responses

1. 6. Sample Activities for Inquiry Teaching

Building on a highly complicated background, the pedagogical implications of IBL could be seen as an underlying principle of the lesson plan of a teacher. It provides students the opportunity to construct the understanding necessary to supply deeper learning. Some examples for science education and a useful activity that will help you are presented in this section.

Table 4: Examples for Science Education

Ex. 1)

Course : physics

Aim : To make learners formulate their own ideas.

Action : Discussing if it is a good idea to continue to develop and build new nuclear power plants?

Ex. 2)

Course : earth science

Aim : To enable them to find things out on their own, and to generate hypothesis

Action : Letting learners interpreting a set of dinosaur footprints, and generate several alternative hypotheses to explain the pattern of the prints.

Ex. 3)

Course : biology

Aim : To elicit them to analyze data

Action : Taking students on a field trip to collect leaves from different trees. Students are asked to create a classification system using the leaves.

Ex. 4)

Course : chemistry

Aim : To make them gain the ability for problem solving, making inferences, generating hypothesis, drawing conclusions

Action : Giving students an unknown substance, and asking them to use scientific tests to determine the composition of the material.

In each of the above situations, the teacher creates a situation in the classroom in which students are asked to formulate their own ideas, state their opinion on a significant issue, or to find things out on their own, as it happens in the life itself. It differentiates from traditional teaching model in that the teacher engages students to learn science information or skills. In each of the above scenarios, the student is encouraged to ask questions, analyze specimens or data, draw conclusions, make inferences, or generate hypotheses. In a nutshell, the student is viewed as an inquirer, a seeker of information, and a problem solver, which is the heart of the inquiry model of teaching.

Sample Activity:

In a language teaching class depending on IBL, an instructor composes a problem statement in order for the students to think about it, do research and solve that problem. The students' task is to discover why Shaltoonians' physical appearance does not change while they become different people every day in terms of all the other things. As the students conduct their inquiry, the instructor answer the students' questions by following a fact sheet that gives the teacher further information about the problem. More detailed information about the activity is presented below step by step.

Table 5: Information about the Activity

Level: Intermediateupwards Duration: 40 minutes

Skill(s) and language Targeted: Research, Speaking

Aim: To urge students to do research, To teach them to learn on their own

Students Need to Know: Intermediate level language competencies

Source: Feride Onan,2007

Techniques: Asking questions, encouraging the students for reasoning and questioning on a problem and/or an ethical situation, and lead them to do so through an identified procedure.

Before the activity: In order to prepare the students to the activity, the teacher should ask them whether they have read the Kurt Vonnegut's book and if there is someone who has read it, she asks her ideas about the book. If no one has read it, then the teacher should mention what it is about shortly.

Table 6: Procedure of the Activity

Step 1

An English teacher selects a discrepant event on Chapter 6 of Kurt Vonnegut's "Venus on the Half Shell" and she formulates the following problem situation:

1. "Simon, a space traveler from Earth, visited the planet Shaltoon. He was disconcerted to find that the Shaltoonians had different voices and personalities every day. Apparently, they were different people every day, except for their physical appearance, which remained unchanged ."

Step 2

The teacher reads the short excerpt above from the book to present the problem to the students. The students are asked to explain the principle behind the unusual phenomenon.

Step 3

The students gather data about what may cause the Shaltoonians to be different people every day and they ask questions to their teacher. One important point here is that the questions which students ask should be the ones that the teacher can respond with only ‘Yes' or ‘No'.

Step 5

The students explain their theory.

Step 6

1. They also explain the reasons for their developing such a theory.

Step 7

The teacher tests to determine if the students have understood the theory.

At the end of the lesson, learners review the process and get to a conclusion. Namely, the problem has been solved and all the students have been active in this course of action. This activity shows IBL enables the students to be at the interior side of their learning through inquisition. Also, studies carried out in this field indicate that learners achieve autonomy with the help of inquiry and their learning become more permanent.

2. Conclusion: The Evaluation of Inquiry Based Learning

IBL provides the students with a learning environment in which they are at the center of their learning. In this respect, it plays a very important role in language teaching. In IBL, it is easy to find such an environment because, in this type of learning, people ask some questions stemming from their curiosity and they search for answers to these questions through inquiry. That is, they learn on their own. In fact, it is the only thing that makes learning permanent.

Although it plays a very important role in language teaching, it is not used so much because there are few people who know it. To increase the use of IBL, there are many things to do. Firstly, teachers should be aware of the importance of IBL and use it in their lessons so that their learning can be more permanent. Secondly, they should always encourage the students to inquire and motivate them to do it. Then, students should be given research works or any other opportunities that will lead them to inquire. Finally, teachers should always guide the students.

However, some criticisms stand against IBL. Some teachers expressed concern that there was a neglect of traditional skills; and there was a fairly widespread public concern that the students should actually be exposed to diverse perspectives and be involved in inquiry that examined the basics tenets of our culture (Dow, 1975; Conlan, 1975). This shows IBL has not been adapted by some teachers yet. Kliebard (1986) proposes that, as with Bruner's MACOS curriculum, teachers and the community felt uncomfortable with the lack of a well-defined content that students will

"have" when they leave school, and thus the inquiry approach became increasingly constrained by detailed content specifications.

It is clear that the inquiry approach, when properly implemented, can result in students involving lessons actively. For that reason, language teaching and teacher training programs must include inquiry based activities and take IBL into consideration in order to show teachers how to use inquiry successfully.

2.1. Why should Inquiry Based Learning be used in language teaching?

After all the theoretical information, it would be better to explain the reasons for using this approach in order for you to be convinced that it is really necessary to benefit from this teaching style in language teaching. The reasons are given below with their explanations in order for them to be more understandable.

1) IBL incorporates principles of good learning and teaching.

It is student-directed, fosters intrinsic motivation, and promotes active learning and deep learning. It draws on students' existing knowledge, encourages reflection on the teaching/learning process and develops collegial learning skills. Since the process involves timely feedback, it can support teacher trainees' self-assessment and peer-assessment. That is, these students are developing knowledge within a context, and also developing skills in deploying their new knowledge. In this way, teacher trainees are developing transferable skills that are valuable to their life after formal education.

2) IBL mirrors professional social work practice.

It is clear that group work not only assists teacher trainees to develop good interpersonal skills but also prepares them for the co-operative teamwork essential to social work and interdisciplinary work settings. Namely, the approach is readily recognised by practice teachers that teach and assess students on practice placements as promoting the links between practice and theory. This shows us how much IBL is important in language teaching.

3) IBL is consistent with the University's Learning and Teaching Strategy.

It is useful to be able to relate teaching to case scenarios. It enables to apply theory to practice. What is more, this emphasises vocational relevance, employability and life-long learning; the promotion of active learning and the encouragement of reflection on learning and teaching.

Key Implications of IBL for Teachers

Bringing life into the classroom  

1. Thinking about and discussing life-like situations

2. Placing an interest as a teaser campaign does

Autonomy

1. Self-access projects

2. Letting students work on the activities on their own

Questioning

1. Socratic-Questioning

2. Increasing curiosity

Process-based evaluation

1. Portfolios

What Is Authentic Learning ?Authentic learning typically focuses on real-world, complex problems and their solutions ,

using role-playing exercises, problem-based activities, case studies, and participation in

virtual communities of practice. The learning environments are inherently multidisciplinary .

They are “not constructed in order to teach geometry or to teach philosophy. A learning

environment is similar to some ‘real world’ application or discipline: managing a city, building

a house, flying an airplane, setting a budget, solving a crime, for example.”4

Going beyond

2 Authentic Learning for the 21st Century

content, authentic learning intentionally brings into play multiple disciplines, multiple

perspectives, ways of working, habits of mind, and community .

Students immersed in authentic learning activities cultivate the kinds of “portable skills” that

newcomers to any discipline have the most difficulty acquiring on their own :

• The judgment to distinguish reliable from unreliable information

• The patience to follow longer arguments

• The synthetic ability to recognize relevant patterns in unfamiliar contexts

• The flexibility to work across disciplinary and cultural boundaries to generate innovative

solutions5

Learning researchers have distilled the essence of the authentic learning experience down to

10 design elements, providing educators with a useful checklist that can be adapted to any

subject matter domain.6

1 .Real-world relevance: Authentic activities match the real-world tasks of professionals in

practice as nearly as possible. Learning rises to the level of authenticity when it asks

students to work actively with abstract concepts, facts, and formulae inside a realistic—

and highly social—context mimicking “the ordinary practices of the [disciplinary] culture.”7

2 .Ill-defined problem: Challenges cannot be solved easily by the application of an existing

algorithm; instead, authentic activities are relatively undefined and open to multiple

interpretations, requiring students to identify for themselves the tasks and subtasks

needed to complete the major task .

3 .Sustained investigation: Problems cannot be solved in a matter of minutes or even hours .

Instead, authentic activities comprise complex tasks to be investigated by students over a

sustained period of time, requiring significant investment of time and intellectual

resources .

4 .Multiple sources and perspectives: Learners are not given a list of resources. Authentic

activities provide the opportunity for students to examine the task from a variety of

theoretical and practical perspectives, using a variety of resources, and requires students

to distinguish relevant from irrelevant information in the process .

5 .Collaboration: Success is not achievable by an individual learner working alone .

Authentic activities make collaboration integral to the task, both within the course and in

the real world .

6 .Reflection (metacognition): Authentic activities enable learners to make choices and

reflect on their learning, both individually and as a team or community .

7 .Interdisciplinary perspective: Relevance is not confined to a single domain or subject

matter specialization. Instead, authentic activities have consequences that extend

beyond a particular discipline, encouraging students to adopt diverse roles and think in

interdisciplinary terms .

8 .Integrated assessment: Assessment is not merely summative in authentic activities but is

woven seamlessly into the major task in a manner that reflects real-world evaluation

processes .

Polished products: Conclusions are not merely exercises or substeps in preparation for

something else. Authentic activities culminate in the creation of a whole product, valuable

in its own right .

10 .Multiple interpretations and outcomes: Rather than yielding a single correct answer

obtained by the application of rules and procedures, authentic activities allow for diverse

interpretations and competing solutions.

Five key elements differentiate cooperative learning from simply putting students into groups to learn (Johnson et al., 2006).

1. Positive Interdependence: You'll know when you've succeeded in structuring positive interdependence when students perceive that they "sink or swim together." This can be achieved through mutual goals, division of labor, dividing materials, roles, and by making part of each student's grade dependent on the performance of the rest of the group. Group members must believe that each person's efforts benefit not only him- or herself, but all group members as well.

2. Individual Accountability: The essence of individual accountability in cooperative learning is "students learn together, but perform alone." This ensures that no one can "hitch-hike" on the work of others. A lesson's goals must be clear enough that students are able to measure whether (a) the group is successful in achieving them, and (b) individual members are successful in achieving them as well.

3. Face-to-Face (Promotive) Interaction: Important cognitive activities and interpersonal dynamics only occur when students promote each other's learning. This includes oral explanations of how to solve problems, discussing the nature of the concepts being learned, and connecting present learning with past knowledge. It is through face-to-face, promotive interaction that members become personally committed to each other as well as to their mutual goals.

4. Interpersonal and Small Group Social Skills: In cooperative learning groups, students learn academic subject matter (taskwork) and also interpersonal and small group skills (teamwork). Thus, a group must know how to provide effective leadership, decision-making, trust-building, communication, and conflict management. Given the complexity of these skills, teachers can encourage much higher performance by teaching cooperative skill components within cooperative lessons. As students develop these skills, later group projects will probably run more smoothly and efficiently than early ones.

5. Group Processing: After completing their task, students must be given time and procedures for analyzing how well their learning groups are functioning and how well social skills are being employed. Group processing involves both taskwork and teamwork, with an eye to improving it on the next project.

Cooperative learning is an approach to organize classroom activities into academic and social learning experiences. It differs from group work, and it has been described as "structuring positive interdependence."[1][2] Students must work in groups to complete tasks collectively toward academic goals. Unlike individual learning, which can be competitive in nature, students learning cooperatively capitalize on one another’s resources and skills (asking one another for information, evaluating one another’s ideas, monitoring one another’s work, etc.).[3][4] Furthermore, the teacher's role changes from giving information to facilitating students' learning.[5][6] Everyone succeeds when the group succeeds. Ross and Smyth (1995) describe successful cooperative learning tasks as intellectually demanding,

creative, open-ended, and involve higher order thinking tasks.[7] Five essential elements are identified for the successful incorporation of cooperative learning in the classroom.

The Benefits of Inquiry-Based Instruction (Back to top)

 

 

teaches problem-solving, critical thinking skills, and disciplinary content promotes the transfer of concepts to new problem questions

teaches students how to learn and builds self-directed learning skills

develops student ownership of their inquiry and enhances student interest in the subject matter

Criteria for a successful inquiry(Back to top)(borrowed from Jeffrey Wilhelm, author of "You Gotta Be The Book" and "Hyperlearning")

1. Start with a guided exploration of a topic as a whole class.2. Proceed to student small group inquiry about an open-ended, debatable, contended issue.3. Encourage students to ask personally relevant and socially significant questions.4. Work in groups to achieve diversity of views.5. Predict, set goals, define outcomes.6. Find or create information...look for patterns.7. Instruction serves as a guide to help students meet their goals.8. Create a tangible artifact that addresses the issue, answers questions, and makes learning visible and accountable.9. Learning is actualized and accountable in the design accomplishment.10. Arrive at a conclusion...take a stand...take action.11. Document, justify, and share conclusion with larger audience.

Key Components of the Inquiry Process(Back to top)(elements adapted from Jeffrey Wilhelm's work on inquiry-based instruction)

1. Activating Prior Knowledge

KWL

Opinionaires

Engaging students in a conversation about what they

already know

By bringing the students' own background and experiences to the learning table, students will find ways to connect to the topic and will have activated some basis for creating meaning with the text they are reading. The personal connection to learning increases a student's motivation to explore, read, and struggle with difficulties as they arise.

2. Providing Background Information

articles museum exhibits audio recording videos book primary source material web site photograph art 

Students need to know something about the topic to be able to perceive and formulate meaningful inquiries.

3. Defining Outcomes for which students will be held accountable.

For example:

Technology: conduct research on the web; create PowerPoint presentations or web sites; communicate using e-mail; import photos and clip art for presentations; use digital camera, digital audio recorder, and video recorder.

Reading: identify main idea and authors point of view; identify key concepts; increase understanding of vocabulary; extract meaning between the lines (infer)

Inquiry: define problem question; find and gather data; analyze, compare, organize, and synthesize data; create a proposition; support proposition (facts, stats, examples, expert authority, logic and reasoning); propose solutions and action steps

Team: listen, consider others' ideas, encourage, provide coaching, affirm, question, cooperate, demonstrate individual responsibility, avoid put-downs, engage in dialogue

Project Management: set goals, agree on tasks and roles, meet deadlines, prioritize tasks

Students need to know up front exactly what's expected of them.

4. Modeling Design Product Outcomes (technology, art); Providing Frameworks

Show students a PowerPoint presentation, a web site, a proposition-support framework, a museum exhibit, a choreographed dance performance, etc.Students need to see models of what it is they are being asked to do. They must have a supporting structure which provides a grounding for

their creations, but doesn't limit their creativity.

5. Establishing a general topic or inquiry

ex- What happens when the structure around people breaks down? (unit on the great depression)

ex- How are human beings adversely impacting our planet? (exploring environmental issues which impact the Amazon Rain Forest)

A broad problem question or topic provides students with a general focus for selecting more specific inquiries.

6. Student teams conduct background research and define focused problem questions within broader inquiry or topic

Without a knowledge base or some degree of familiarity with the topic, it will be difficult for students to develop relevant inquiries within the broad topic area. Students need to be provided with background material and/or guided to research their own background material. This base will enable them to begin to formulate a big picture understanding of the broad topic area, and then to select a specific inquiry interest which connects to the broader topic.

7. Establish and communicate inquiry presentation framework.

Example: Proposition-Support Framework

a) state problem questionb) develop proposition which can be argued c) provide background information d) support proposition with:

facts statistics

examples

expert authority

logic and reasoning

e) propose solutions and action ideas8. Refer students back to expected outcomes and inquiry framework to create

alignment between their presentations and intended outcomes.9. Ask students a lot of questions to help them refine their thinking and guide their

research.10 Support technology (PowerPoint, Web Site, Hyperstudio) and art design product

creation.11. Empower students to coach and train one another within their teams.12. Provide a forum for student presentations which includes students, teachers, parents,

and community members.13. Provide vehicles for student participation in action projects which connect their

learning to specific action.14. Incorporate ongoing, meaningful peer and teacher assessment.

15 Reflect on what worked and what didn't, and try it again.

Criteria for Problem Question Selection(Back to top)1. Is it personally relevant and socially significant? Is the student truly interested in the question? 2. Is it researchable? 3. Is it big enough and small enough?

 

Inquiry-Based Instruction: Theory(Back to top)

Activity #1: Read theory and rational behind inquiry-based instruction. Reflect on your own learning experiences. Write a journal reflection on your learning experiences and how they are different from or similar to an inquiry-based approach to learning.

 

Inquiry-Based Instruction: Exploring the components of the inquiry-based learning process.(Back to top)

 

Step #1: Accessing Prior Student Knowledge

Activity #2: Complete the following opinionaire on the Amazon. This opinionaire is an example of a technique for accessing prior student knowledge.

 

Activity Name: Survivor: The Amazon Challenge

 

Task: Pretend you are lost in the deep recesses of the Amazon rainforest. The only way out is to convince locals that you know what you’re talking about when it comes to the Amazon. Fortunately for you, they are a forgiving group, and are willing to help you along the way. But first, you and your team are on your own to answer these questions. Good luck!

Survivor: The Amazon Challenge

Within your team, answer the following questions to the best of your ability. For those questions you answer that are not correct, you will have a second opportunity to answer correctly by using the Amazon Student Research link at www.ctcexpeditions.org. Good luck!

 

§ For indigenous cultures that are on the endangered cultures list, what is the maximum number of living members they must have to be placed on the list?

 

§ How many species of fish have been found in the Amazon basin?

 

§ Match the following medicinal plants with their characteristics:

 

     A. Amazon Cats Claw 1. Fights AIDS and cancer

     B. Valerium 2. Balances blood sugar; helps diabetics

     C. Guarana Shrub 3. Helps with sleep disorders

     D. Pata de Vaca 4. 5 times more caffeine than coffee

 

§ The Amazon basin holds ________ per cent of the world’s fresh water (5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30), and the Amazon River pours 55 million gallons of water per ________ (second, minute, hour, day) into the ________ (Atlantic, Pacific, Indian) Ocean.

 

§ The Amazon is home to the only species of freshwater sharks. True/False

 

§ Of all the animals that local Amazon River dwellers talk about the most in terms of fearing physical injury, this Amazon River species tops the list. What is it?

 

§ The original Amazon rainforest has been cut back by ________ (4-7; 7-10; 11-14; 13-16; 18-21; 25-30) per cent. The current rate of deforestation in the Amazon is roughly 13,000 acres per day or ________ (5, 8, 11, 14, 20, 26, 33) football fields per minute.

 

§ What role does the tambaqui fish play in regenerating the Amazon rainforest?

 

§ Which Brazilian city in the heart of the Amazon was once the richest city in the

world, and how did it achieve that status?

 

§ Name that Amazon animal: It is slow as molasses, swims in the water, and eats like a monkey.

 

To find answers to the questions you couldn’t answer, click onwww.ctcexpeditions.org.

 

 

 

 

Activity #3: Complete the following KWL grid. What do you know about the Amazon? What do you want to know? What have you learned?(Back to top)

 

 

Use this chart during your study of the Amazon. First write what you know about the Amazon. Then write what you would like to know about the Amazon. At the end of your study write the most important things you learned.

 

Amazon KWL

 

What I know What I want to know What I’ve learned

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Step #2 – Building Background Knowledge

Activity #4: Click on the link below to access the On-Line Expeditions Amazon 2003 web site. Go to: Amazon Student Research and do a general exploratory review of listed web site links under the different curricular themes. Begin thinking about a particular inquiry or question you would like to explore. Again go to: www.ctcexpeditions.org   (Back to top)

 

 

Activity #5: Select one additional resource to build background knowledge. Review the material you select and consider an inquiry or question you would like to explore.Go to: Amazon Curriculum Starter Kit   (Back to top)

 

Step #3 – Developing Your Inquiry 

Activity #6: Develop a question that you would like to pursue within a particular discipline that relates to the broad theme of the Amazon. Consider the following criteria for developing your question:   (Back to top)

 

1. Is it personally relevant to you and socially significant? Are you truly interested in the question?

2. Is it researchable?

3. Is it big enough to find information and small enough to be manageable?

4. Is it an issue that can be argued for or against?

 

Examples:

 

Is deforestation in the Amazon something we in Chicago should be concerned about? Why or why not?

 

Is organic food more nutritious than conventionally-raised food?

Are the daily administrative, student, and teacher behaviors at my school helping to conserve or degrade our natural environment?      Back