Inquiry-based teaching is not daunting. Just do it!

Pete (my partner in crime) wrote a great blog post on our website - Inquiry-based about our PKE project and our work with the inquiry approach to teaching and learning. I'm publishing it here, in the hopes that followers of this blog will also follow our work on our website. Enjoy!

 Some of the constant comments we hear after a workshop are that the teachers love the techniques, can't believe how engaged their kids were, and how motivated the students were to complete the explorations.  Unfortunately, close on the heels of these positive comments is a tepid suggestion that 'maybe I'll try it next year when I have more time'.  The truth is, it's not difficult to make the change from a coverage approach to an inquiry approach. 

Start off small.  Think of some really neat topic in your curriculum that you enjoy teaching.  Ask your class to create a list of questions that they have always wondered about the topic, or ask them to create a mind-map of ideas or questions they associate with the topic.  Then, ask them to think of ways you might explore together.  You, the teacher, will be learning along with them.  (As an aside, I can honestly say that in my classroom we have now tipped the balance:  the students end up teaching me more than I teach them on new explorations.  After all, there are 27 of them researching and writing, and only one of me.) 

Gather some simple materials to get started.  Show a few videos, read a few books together, or take a field trip to build some excitement and background knowledge.  This gives you lots of time to determine what mini-lessons you might want to include (we are responsible for a curriculum, after all).  Now the real fun begins.

Set up some teams or groups in your room and give them fun names.  Mix and match like crazy and don't worry about setting up just the right combination.  The students will all bring something to the table that is going to build a satisfying whole.  Create a rotation of activities that the group can rotate through and make sure of one vitally important element:  every group presents their work to the class.  The students will feel the excitement of preparing to teach their peers and rise to the challenge, I guarantee it.  They may stumble and hesitate, but end result will be that their work has an audience, is appreciated, and is the stepping stone for greater success down the line. 

See, it's not that hard.  Get started today!

Pete Douglas

Inquiry For Teachers and Students

Our experience with the "Provincial Knowledge Exchange" (PKE) program funded by the Ontario Ministry of Education and supported by our board has been very rewarding. This unique Professional Development (PD) opportunity for teachers has provided time for us to work with them in their classroom and explore the 'Inquiry Approach' to teaching.

Pete and I continue to follow a template for our "Day of Inquiry" with teachers and students:

1. Introduce the theme and topic for the day by sharing a "Learn 360" movie clip and a mentor text. This step helps students to develop background knowledge and gives us information about their understanding of the theme. 

2. We model questioning and record our learning as a group on chart paper. We also start a vocabulary list that the teacher can continue working on when we leave. 

 

3. Students in groups of 5 or 6 are given a bucket with informational text for research, chart paper and post-it notes to record their questions and new learning.

4. Once students have a list of questions and new learning, each group shares their information to the class.

5. Next,  each group is given an opportunity to explore and they are provided with hands on activities. We work on a station rotation,  giving each group a chance to move from one station to the next.

6. During the station exploration, teachers help students to think critically and we guide questions that promote curiosity and wonder.

7. Finally, each group shares their learning and presents to the class. In the clip below, students use the iPad to take pictures of information they learn. Then, they transfer the information to the Explain Everything App to create a slide/audio presentation.

Frogs by Justin

Special thanks to  
Danielle Parent - our Primary Level partner and  
Judith Gatt - our Principal.
We appreciate your support!
 

Do you have questions about the inquiry approach to teaching?

What do you think about this unique PD opportunity for teachers?

Collaborating and Learning

Our school began using the Fountas & Pinnell Leveled Literacy Intervention System (LLI) in the winter of 2011. It's an early intervention system for small groups that we purchased to supplement our literacy program and to support our lowest achieving students in the early grades. It has been very successful for student learning and unexpectedly, it has been a great source of Professional Development for our teachers.

Through creative planning with a supportive principal, we were able to collaborate and learn all about the LLI system as a team. We were given time to meet twice monthly to discuss lessons, students and our own learning. We also collaborated with our sister school and started a professional book club using "When Readers Struggle - Teaching That Works" by Gay Su Pinnell & Irene Fountas to expand our knowledge and understanding of how children learn to read.

Not only has this system been successful in supporting our lowest achieving students but the material and resources provided by this program gave teachers a solid knowledge and understanding of what an effective guided reading lesson looks like in a classroom. The lessons in the program provide teachers with powerful, daily, small-group instruction that they were able to put into practice and embed into their classroom literacy instruction. This process helped to enhance effective literacy practices at our school. 

Have you found unexpected PD opportunities in your school? Please share!

Inquiry Teaching & Learning!

Building Background Knowledge

Collaborating!

As part of our PKE project, we've been visiting classrooms to provide authentic hands-on learning for teachers and their students.  Danielle Parent and I spent "A Day of Inquiry" with this grade one teacher and her students.

We  began the day by introducing the topic of "Welcome to our Community."  We showed short video clips from Learn 360, read a text about "Community Helpers," we recorded new words and new learning on a chart together.

Students were put into 4 groups of 5, and they were given post-it notes and a basket of books to do their own research. They had to record questions and new learning, then they presented their findings to the class. This strategy helps to build the background knowledge necessary when beginning an inquiry.

Why do firefighters work out?

We found out a lot about our Community Helpers!

Sharing our findings!

Next, we introduced 4 centres! Each centre was 30 minutes with a 5 minute presentation of their work.

Smart Board Centre

Storytelling using Felt Board App & Explain Everything App

Plasticine Community Helpers and Tools

Building a Community

The day went by quickly and these grade one students were asking us to come back. Their teacher was impressed with her students' level of engagement throughout the day.

Providing authentic hands-on learning to teachers and their students about the inquiry approach to teaching and learning is inspiring. We learn so much from each other!

Are you using the inquiry approach to teaching and learning? 

Please share, we would love to hear from you!

The Power of Student Voice

EXCITING learning is happening in this Grade 4/5 class! Where to begin? There is so much to share. It all started when Pete read one of our favourite books Should There Be Zoos? A Persuasive Text by Tony Stead.

Our original plan for the students was to learn about the features of persuasive writing so that we could write our own persuasive e-book. However, we were quickly sidetracked when during our brainstorming session, a student asked "Should there be an outdoor rink in town?"

After a lot of discussion and a vote, the class decided that our community needed an outdoor rink. So the inquiry began...How do we convince/persuade Town Council and the people of our community that we need an outdoor rink?

Students worked diligently on a variety of work stations that helped them to learn and build a persuasive argument.

6 Stations to Explore Outdoor Rinks

1. iMovie Commercials - Students watched commercials, worked on story boards, and created short video clips.
2. Spreadsheets - Students researched the cost of building and running an outdoor rink. They worked on building a budget for the rink, they created pie charts and summarized the information. 
3. Constructing Models - Students had to plan and organize the building of a model rink. They measured, cut, drilled, glued and painted to create amazing models.
4. Writing Letters - Students wrote persuasive letters to the editor, to Town Council and posted them on our blog - http://kidblog.org/MrDsKids
5. Researching Location - Students worked on mapping and used google earth plus photos of the town to recommend and find the best locations
6. Podcast - Students had to pick an ice skating Canadian athlete and they researched his/her career.  They each took active roles in writing and creating dialogue for a "live" interview. They recorded the interview using Garage Band.

 

The final presentation of all their work was presented to the Mayor of our town.  He was impressed with the details and specific information the students provided. The Mayor has invited the class to attend a Council meeting soon. They are  learning about Municipal Government and the role it plays in a community. 

                                                                                                                                                                                

                                                          

Students felt their voices were heard and they were proud of their work! 

Stay tuned......

Does your class have a passion?

An Inquiry into SNOW!

#Kinderchat: An Inquiry into SNOW! Check out my guest blog post!

Movie Making

In October I wrote about implementing iPads in our school. It's been a slow process but the students are loving them! One of their favourites is the iMovie app. This week, Pete's class was challenged to produce a one minute silent film. The students worked in groups of three and they were able to collaborate and create great little movie clips.  A couple of students shared their learning with me and the steps they took for making a silent movie.

Evan: Mr. Douglas showed us lessons on the Smartboard, about camera angles.

Keith: We had to plan the angles on our story board and then we had to figure out how to use close up shots and different angles with the iPad camera.

Storyboard

Evan: Tyson was the camera man. We had to edit, cut, produce and plan together.

Working together

Keith: I liked the idea that we did not have to write a script because the movie is silent.

Silent Film - "The School Cheat" produced and created by Tyson, Keith and Evan. Special guest Mr. Leblanc, the student teacher in our class.

The students enjoy using the iPad and absolutely love the idea of successfully completing an iMovie, that has a professional look. This was a week long project and at the end of the week, we had a Film Festival. One comment heard by Pete (classroom teacher) was "I LOVE SCHOOL!" And that...is what it's all about.