Module 5 Teaching through Inquiry Cycles
Get Oriented
“Healthy curiosity is a great key in innovation.”
~ Ifeanyi Enoch Onuoha
In Module 5, we will take a deep dive into the craft of Teaching Through Inquiry Cycles. When we teach through inquiry we keep students where they belong: at the heart of learning. We embrace discovery, curiosity, and wonderings. As Kath Murdoch says, when we teach through inquiry, we ‘interrogate our own thinking.’ (Read more on that here). We will consider:
An awareness of what our inquiry cycles might look and sound like;
Strategies for questioning; and
Ways to effectively reflect on inquiry cycles.
Each module in this series encourages you to customize your experience to what you personally need. Pick and choose what best applies to you, your context, your comfort level, and your learners. Along the way, leverage Slack for questions, connections, and further resource sharing.
Ideally, please explore Module 5 prior to your cohort’s Zoom meeting. Your Zoom opportunities in Modules 5 through 8 are office hours where your facilitator will go deeper into module topics, structure opportunities to connect with others on the work you’re doing, and provide time for Q & A. Previewing the modules prior to those Zooms will help you maximize your time.
2. Read & View
“Do stuff. Be clenched, curious. Not waiting for inspiration's shove or society's kiss on your forehead.”
~ Susan Sontag
Some educators might initially see teaching through inquiry cycles as a great challenge which presents them with hours upon hours of planning. The reality is teaching through inquiry cycles is about teaching with student learners as our partners, and not teaching simply for them. Our inquiry cycle reminds us to value the art of excellent questions, and to capitalize on the resource of natural, organic curiosity.
In distance learning, we can intentionally plan for inquiry cycles. Classrooms that engage with this structure ask:
In what ways am I modeling curiosity for learners?
How have I interrogated my own thinking and my own assumptions?
What expectations are set for the students to do the ‘heavy lifting of learning’?
The resources listed here invite choice. Read and view what seems most applicable to your learning and your practice. Just click on the buttons to visit the article sites and view the short videos
READ IT
How To Ease Students Into Independent Inquiry Projects - Trevor MacKenzie & Rebecca Bathurst-Hunt
This Is What Happens When Teachers Model Curiosity - John Spencer
How to Build Curiosity and Critical Thinking Within the Classroom - Alison Giska
Teaching problem solving: Let students get 'stuck' and 'unstuck' - Kate Mills and Helyn Kim
VIEW IT
3. Reflect
Module reflections are self-directed opportunities to synthesize what you've explored and to consider your own practice. These are fast journal entries to invite new thinking and to inspire action steps.
“I think that probably the most important thing about our education was that it taught us to question even those things we thought we knew.” ~ Thabo Mbeki
Let’s think about the explicit and implicit messages we’ve received and we’ve given when it comes to curiosity as a value. Let’s also reflect on the nature of the relationship we had with our own teachers. In what ways is the definition of the teacher and student shifting and evolving? In what ways is it staying the same?
In quick bullet points, respond to the following prompts:
Which opportunities have I had to model curiosity?
How many of my students see themselves as leaders in their own learning?
When and where have we stopped to consider the biases that might be showing up in our learning journeys?
Read over your quick responses. Where do you see room to grow? What is one way you want to improve your feedback practice?
The “Practice” section that follows offers strategies and ideas to try out. Does one align to your reflection?
4. Practice
Exploring this module with colleagues? Consider collaborating on one of the practice activities below and share feedback to one another on your experiences.
The following exercises are short action steps that offer you optional resources and activities to support your work in teaching through inquiry cycles. Consider trying one (or more!) out this week to enhance your practice. To reveal the instruction, click on the “TRY THIS” title(s) that interest you.
+ TRY THIS: Consider the Real World Applications of the Inquiry Cycle as an Adult
Review the cycle and watch this short video. How would you explain the value of learning with the inquiry cycle to a parent/guardian?
As you prepare your pitch or email consider the following:
- Do you have examples based on lived experiences?
- Have you thought of how someone who has not engaged with this style of learning would feel confused?
- Are you able to describe the way the teacher and student would work together?
As you try out this activity, be sure to share your new learnings and/or products in Slack.
+ TRY THIS: Audit the Last Way you Tuned Students in to Learning
Start by reviewing this video and scanning this article and lastly by considering this list of questions. Now let’s reconsider tuning in engagements you recently employed in your classroom.
As you reflect on a recent tuning in engagement, think and consider the following questions through the perspective of your students:
- How did I come to understand the relevance of the topic, themes or concepts?
- How was I encouraged to develop my own questions?
- Was I reminded to connect back to my own personal knowledge?
As you try out this activity, be sure to share your new learnings and/or products in Slack
+ TRY THIS: Create a Visual Notes Mural
Create a visual notes mural with a colleague based on this post by Kath Murdoch). You might choose to work on a white board (virtaul or actual), a large piece of paper, or a tablet. Here is a quick primer on visual note-taking, and a few quick tips are here.
As you draft your visual interpretation consider the following:
- What are the top three messages I want to share with my peers and remember for my own learning journey?
- How might you use this and share it with your students?
- What new wonderings do you have after considering the ideas shared in the post?
As you try out this activity, be sure to share your new learnings and/or products in Slack.
+ TRY THIS: Model and Document
Model your own curiosity and document your own engagement with inquiry. Optional: share it with peers, or publish it online. Check out this example from educator Sonya terBorg
As you draft your reflection and document your learning journey, consider the following:
- What made this new learning journey relevant and personal?
- How did you rely on prior knowledge?
- What strategies did you have for sorting through various pieces of information?
As you try out this activity, be sure to share your new learnings and/or products in Slack.
5. Dive Deeper
If you have time and interest, explore these optional resources for more inquiry cycle rich inspiration. Also, check Slack for what your cohort is posting to extend one another’s learning.
6 Strategies For Creating An Inquiry-Driven Classroom | Modern Education - Irena Nayfield
Building an Inquiry Based Learning Continuum: Checklist included - Tara Barton
Want Your Team to Be More Curious? Ask Guided Questions in Your Next Meeting to Spark Ideas - Elise Keith
Imagine A School… - Sonya terBorg
6. Share
Click to access Slack
How can you extend your own learning and the learning of others with a post in Slack? Before moving on from this module, turn to the Module 5 channel in Slack. Consider sharing in that space:
What’s an unconventional way of tuning-in?
How might the inquiry cycle be useful for you in a context other than school?
What are the barriers to modeling curiosity and how might you break through them?
Interrogating our own biases is difficult and necessary, what resources have you found helpful in helping you do that work?
What questions do you hope to use more this year with yourself, peers and students and why?
And then consider:
What is an idea already posted that you want to adapt and borrow?
Keep returning to Slack for support, resources, and extensions of learning. Make the most of that participant curated space and reflect on how a similar approach might support your students.
7. Review
Self checks for understanding help your students take agency for their progress and next steps. They provide affirmation that they are on the right track or insights to the questions they need to ask.
Take a moment to consider your own affirmations and questions:
Did you consider the way students are doing the ‘heavy lifting’ of learning?
Did you identify part of your practice that can be improved in relation to teaching through the inquiry cycle?
Did you try out a new questioning strategy or do you have a questioning strategy you hope to try?
Did you share in Slack or absorb new ideas from the Module 5 Slack channel?
Thank you for all that you are sharing, trying, and doing for your students!
NEXT: Feel free to move ahead to Module 6 with the goal of previewing Modules 1-8 before your corresponding cohort Zoom meetings.