Category: Free Inquiry

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Free Inquiry Update: Some Inquiry Teachers and Materials

This week I took a break from reading the Inquiry Mindset book. Instead, I researched different teacher’s Instagram accounts that follow the inquiry-based model of teaching. The first thing I noticed was that there are many more elementary teacher accounts than high school. I think this is because once students get to high school, most of the exploration is more individual and on the computers.

Here is a list of accounts that stood out to me:

The three teachers above teach in either kindergarten or grade one classrooms. One commonality between the accounts is that they all seem to use mostly wooden materials like this: https://www.instagram.com/islandpegdolls/?hl=en Additionally, I saw that most classroom’s materials were very organic. I decided to do some more research into why that is…

Here is an explanation of the characteristics your materials in an inquiry-based classroom should have:

Relationship between materials and environment in children’s learning

“According to Vygotsky ([1930–1935] 1978), the types of materials teachers choose for children to use mediate children’s development of higher mental processes. In addition, how and where materials are placed in the environment influences how children can use those materials (Kozulin et al. 2003). Furthermore, experiences with materials shape the development of shared meaning between individuals, giving shared meaning to symbolic cognitive tools such as letters, numbers, or words.”

“Open-ended materials offer meaningful ways for children to deepen their understanding of a concept, build creativity, and heighten their cognitive abilities (Daly & Beloglovsky 2015). When children use different materials (clay, wire, etc.) to explore the same concept, they learn more about the concept because of the affordances that each medium possesses. Foreman (1994) defines affordances as “the relationship between the transformable properties of a medium and the child’s desire to use that property to make symbols” (4). Some mediums are better than others when representing a concept, because of both the child’s ability to manipulate the medium and the medium’s potential to symbolize the concept.”

I highly recommend that you follow the instagram accounts that I linked above. They are all so inspiring and give so much insight into what and inquiry classroom looks like.

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Chapter 8 Reflection

During my reading this week, I learned about the power of the teacher-librarian. It was so amazing to learn about the role that teacher-librarians have in the inquiry learning process. As Trevor MacKenzie and Rebecca Bathurst-Hunt describe on pg. 109, the library I remember was one where you would quietly grab a book or two of your choice, sign it out from the librarian, and either head back to the classroom to read or find a spot in the library. Then in high school, as our school shifted to an X model, the library changed into a seminar space. This meant that our library was a communal workspace where students would on assignments during our spare blocks. Therefore, the library and all of its resources were essentially overlooked. Additionally, our school librarian only worked two days out of the week. So, the thought of going to the librarian for help would have never crossed my mind. 

Now, to learn that teacher-librarians hold so much power in children’s learning process is really inspiring and makes you appreciate how far things have come.

To summarize, Trevor MacKenzie and Rebecca Bathurst-Hunt claim that teacher-librarians:

  • help learners collaborate by teaching them the proper language to do so
  • help learners communicate their needs
  • help learners become familiar with the library learning space
  • can design their space in a way that promotes inquiry
  • help nurture learners’ research skills by guiding them through the process
  • help fellow teachers find resources and scaffold their teachings

All of this information is from:

MacKenzie, T., & Bathurst-Hunt, R. (2018). Inquiry mindset: Nurturing the dreams, wonders & curiosities of our youngest learners. EdTechTeam Press.

https://www.trevormackenzie.com

http://rebeccabathursthunt.com

 

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Questions in Inquiry-Based Learning

This week, I learned about the role of questions in inquiry learning communities. Trevor MacKenzie and Rebecca Bathurst-Hunt argue that “questions are the heart of inquiry classroom and the foundation of the inquiry mindset we are nurturing in our learners.” Questions develop students’ universal need for agency, so prioritizing them is essential. From my reading of chapter 7, I also learned about an ‘essential question’. An essential question has many characteristics. To name a few, they should provoke deep thought, result in an original answer, should help students conduct problem-related research, though, they may not have an answer. The overall question must also be meaningful to the student because they are more likely to be engaged with it when they are.

I also read about different ways of honouring students’ questions. The first example is through a ‘curiosity jar’. A curiosity jar is a tool used in the classroom for students to write down their questions or wonders and put them inside the jar. Then, once the jar has some questions the teacher can use them to lead lessons. At carpet time, teachers can pull out the questions and ask the students questions about the question so that they are leading the process.  I also really liked the idea of the ‘living library’. In this method, students’ questions are answered by experts based on the question. For example, a child might wonder “how many houses a mailperson delivers to every day”. The teacher then reaches out to a mailperson in the community to answer the question. Doing this shows two things: that the teacher is also on the learning journey with the student and that information can be accessed from sources other than the internet.

Overall, I learned that there are so many ways to acknowledge students’ questions in the classroom. I am really looking forward to implementing the strategies in this book in my future classroom.

All of this information is from:

MacKenzie, T., & Bathurst-Hunt, R. (2018). Inquiry mindset: Nurturing the dreams, wonders & curiosities of our youngest learners. EdTechTeam Press.

https://www.trevormackenzie.com

http://rebeccabathursthunt.com

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Week 5 Reflection and Inquiry Update

I really enjoyed this week’s class which was lead by a guest host Trevor MacKenzie. Because my free inquiry project for EDCI 336 is based on his book Inquiry Mindset, it was really cool to be able to meet him “in person”. He began the class by introducing the four types of inquiry; structured, controlled, guided, and free. He then shared with us an image of a swimming pool that depicts the structure of these various types of inquiry. As I have already learned about the types of inquiry through reading Trevor’s book, I understood its relations to the gradual release of responsibility. Basically, as you move into the deeper end of the pool, responsibility releases from the teacher.

Photo by Trevor MacKenzie on @trev_mackenzie

Since Inquiry Mindset is more focused on elementary ages, it was interesting to hear Trevor hone in on the high school side of inquiry. He provided us with examples of provocations and how he uses them in his English 12 class. I was really grateful that he gave an example of a provocation because I had a hard time grasping the idea while reading the book. From what I now understand, a provocation is any image, gif, or video that provokes thought about a topic to deepen understanding of a topic through exploratory talk.

Photo by Trevor MacKenzie on @trev_mackenzie

I am really passionate about inquiry education and am so excited to bring it with me through my teacher education journey. I think it connects with me on a personal level because if I were brought up in an inquiry-based school, I believe I would have enjoyed my school years much more.

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The Procedure of a Free Inquiry

In the Inquiry Mindset book, authors Trevor MacKenzie and Rebecca Bathurst-Hunt describe Free inquiry as the most powerful type. When students reach the free inquiry stage, they should have already experienced the three other types of inquiry beforehand. It is essential that students have at least experienced guided inquiry prior to a free inquiry project because they need to understand how to question and observe.

Trevor MacKenzie and Rebecca Bathurst-Hunt propose a framework for a “Free Inquiry Proposal”:

  1. “What is your essential question? Why is it meaningful to you?” This question not only deepens the learners connection to their question, but also allows teachers to assist their learners in their journey.
  2. “What is your authentic piece? How will you make your learning public?” When students decide how they want to demonstrate their learning they are more likely to engage the audience they are presenting to.
  3. “What will you read, research, and study to help explore your essential question?” The authors highlight the usefulness of the teacher librarian in this situation. They hold a wealth of knowledge on so many resources that are likely to help each student study their inquiry topic. Additionally, the authors mention a “wonder wall”.
  4. “What are your goals for your Free Inquiry?” This question in particular steers students away from aiming for a letter grade of percentage to label their work. Instead it requires them to dive deeper into what or who they are really for.
  5. “What learning evidence will you gather to capture everything you are learning about your essential question?” Here, students reflect on the research strategies they already know how to use. In this process, students autonomously identify their learning style.
  6. “What is your plan?” For older students, this means students track their own progress and set their own goals. In the younger years, the teacher will create a collective class calendar to use for children to keep on track with their inquiries.

One thing I have taken away from this week’s reading is that pursuing a Free Inquiry takes lots of time and preparation. The authors advise new teachers especially to hold off on Free Inquiry for a longer amount of time until they have enough knowledge from performing the other types of inquiry.

All of this information is from:

MacKenzie, T., & Bathurst-Hunt, R. (2018). Inquiry mindset: Nurturing the dreams, wonders & curiosities of our youngest learners. EdTechTeam Press.

https://www.trevormackenzie.com

http://rebeccabathursthunt.com

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Types of Student Inquiry

In my reading this week, I learned that there are four types of student inquiry:

  1. Structured
  2. Controlled
  3. Guided
  4. Free

A structured inquiry is more collaborative than the rest. In this type of inquiry, learners engage in the same inquiry together while following the lead of their teacher.

A controlled inquiry is teacher centered as they make the decisions on what topic, materials, and way their students will inquire. Additionally, the teacher chooses the inquiry question for all of the children to focus on.

In a guided inquiry, the teacher decides on the topic or question, but the students fisgure out the materials and way to find a solution. The teacher guides their learning by providing questions throughout the unit to deepen understanding.

Lastly, in a free inquiry, students decide their own topic or question. There is no guidance or prompt to influence the topic of this inquiry. In this style, the learners design their own questions, methods, and form or showing their understanding.

Before this reading, I didn’t know that inquiry was divided into these different types of teacher to student transmission. The only inquiry that I have experienced in university is guided inquiry in literacy and language which I really enjoyed. Reading about all of the variations of inquiry was really inspiring and I’m excited to learn more about what each type would look like as a lesson.

All of this information is from:

MacKenzie, T., & Bathurst-Hunt, R. (2018). Inquiry mindset: Nurturing the dreams, wonders & curiosities of our youngest learners. EdTechTeam Press.

https://www.trevormackenzie.com

http://rebeccabathursthunt.com

 

 

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“The Inquiry Cycle”

This week I learned about “the inquiry cycle”. The chapter begins by explaining how an inquiry teacher must practise the gradual release of responsibility (GRR). I have some knowledge of the GRR model from literacy last semester. From what I understand, the GRR model would be instrumental in a student-centred approach to learning such as inquiry-based education. The authors explain that for students to be able to follow their passions or inquiries,  inquiry teachers must gradually release responsibility over their students’ education. They acknowledge that transitioning your classroom into inquiry-based can be overwhelming. But, there are three specific things that you must keep in mind to make the inquiry successful:

  1. “Keep your learners in mind”
  2. “Keep your curriculum in mind”
  3. “Keep your assessment in mind”

The point that I was most curious about was assessment. Since I began this journey into inquiry, I have wondered how are assessments performed? MacKenzie and Bathurst-Hunt write that learners could choose their own form of assessment by deciding how they want to show you their understanding. The authors claim that when you empower your students to choose their own way of demonstrating their knowledge, we allow them to tap into their strengths, interests, and learning styles. I really like this idea because I think it would be so much more engaging and inclusive for students.

Next, MacKenzie and Bathurst-Hunt present ten phases of the inquiry cycle:

  1. Determine Your Focus
  2. Start with an Essential Question
  3. Brainstorm Questions
  4. Brainstorm Subtopics
  5. Select a Subtopic
  6. Access Prior Knowledge
  7. Identify Wonderings
  8. Research
  9. Make Cross-Curricular Connections
  10. Perform, Reflect, and Revise

These are the steps that an inquiry teacher and their students should go through before they start a unit. The first step I recognized was “Access Prior Knowledge”. This made me think of the constructivist theory of learning. I noticed that this inquiry cycle is constructivism in its finest sense.

MacKenzie, T., & Bathurst-Hunt, R. (2018). Inquiry mindset: Nurturing the dreams, wonders & curiosities of our youngest learners. EdTechTeam Press.

 

Linked below is a podcast that I found really helpful for an introduction to inquiry education.

Thanks for reading,

Lauryn Y

 

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Inquiry on Inquiry?

For my inquiry in this class, I want to learn about inquiry teaching. At the beginning of this school year, I followed a bunch of educators on Instagram that teach in the Victoria area. One account stuck out to me in particular; “@inquiryteacher”. I have always known that I want to teach early primary grades because of the wonder and fun that children at this age have. I started to scroll through Rebecca’s posts and found more and more educators that have started their journey to becoming an inquiry teacher. So, I ordered the “Inquiry Mindset” book by Trevor Mackenzie and Rebecca Bathurst Hunt. I’ve read the first ten pages and have already decided that I want to do everything I can to become an inquiry teacher.

I have three big questions that I hope to answer from this inquiry:

  1. What are the first steps to take to become an inquiry teacher?
  2. How does an inquiry teacher cover the curriculum? Is it difficult?
  3. How can inquiry be used in every school subject?

My goals for this semester are:

  1. Finish the “Inquiry Mindset” book
  2. Further my understanding of constructivism as it is the foundation of inquiry-based learning
  3. Learn how I can start to become an inquiry teacher as a teacher candidate

I believe that the fact that I am so drawn to the younger grades is proof that something needs to change in regards to the method of learning for intermediate and high school students. I believe that if all classrooms were inquiry-based, the curiosity and excitement in children wouldn’t fade with age.