# data[].attributes.headline
Making the Shift: from Traditional Research Assignments to Guided Inquiry Learning

# data[].attributes.subject
Making the Shift: from Traditional Research Assignments to Guided Inquiry Learning

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
GID-BRINGING SCHOOLS INTO THE 21st CENTURY Where teachers design the learning / And students ask real questions / To achieve academic success

# data[].attributes.body
·      Inquiry is a framework for learning, to increase student engagement -  research/info literacy is an essential part of the process It is learning centered – not product driven.

·      Involves students choice, builds on curiosity, student questioning, requires perseverance, grit and developing critical eye of resources.

·      GID process based on research into how students learn best - Supports the emotional aspects of learning at all ages/all disciplines

·      Carefully and intentionally designed - Model’s collaboration

·      Goes beyond regurgitation or fact finding to deep understanding based on students own questions

·      Inquiry dovetails well with PDS interest in interdisciplinary studies, service learning, and innovation initiative, -  Design thinking process

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Guided Inquiry Design in Action - K-12 Examples of best practice of inquiry-based learning

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Here you will find pioneers in inquiry-based learning engaging in a 52 week challenge of reflective practice. As one of the authors of Guided Inquiry and Guided Inquiry Design and national

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Bringing Inquiry-Based Learning Into Your Class

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A four-step approach to using a powerful model that increases student agency in learning.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
What the Heck Is Inquiry-Based Learning?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Teachers use inquiry-based learning to combat the “dunno” -- a chronic problem in student engagement. Check out these four steps for creating inquiry-based curriculum.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The presentation is around 25 minutes long, of which around 10 minutes is a formal verbal explanation of the learning process and key facts. The rest of the time is for the audience to browse the different outcomes of the inquiry: properly cited research, an English text of each student's choice-an explanatory or informational text, a short story, or a collection of poems, for example-an infographic of mathematical data and statistics, written work in the students' native languages, a related art piece, and more. The presentation is repeated several times over the evening, to reach a wider audience. This year was my first in fifth grade, and, with the guidance of Shawn Skalinski, an experienced teaching partner, I learned a great deal about how to polish presentation skills, both visual and verbal.

Visual Presentation Skills
Courtesy of Matthew Friday
Shawn and I were inspired by infographics and how they can visually explain challenging concepts and information. We decided that each group should use one of their two large mobile display boards to present their own infographic. Here is how we did it:

1. Pick the biggest "wow" facts. Less is more.

2. Create an artistic, visual way to display the facts. For example: facts about addiction to smartphones were written on a smartphone template image.

3. Cross-reference the facts to make sure they are accurate and up-to-date.

4. Revisit art skills teaching: using complementary colors, careful drawing, cutting and mounting borders accurately, etc.

5. Organize on the board in a manner that is striking, legible, and neat.

Our 21st-century students were excellent at sourcing appropriate sources online and using technology, but they needed considerable assistance and time to practice the fine-motor skills necessary to complete steps 4 and 5.

Verbal Presentation Skills

We wanted to avoid a lecture-style verbal presentation and instead encourage interactivity and creativity. The students loved this prompt and devised creative solutions: setting up mock TV game shows, news reports, or chat shows, or using poetry and stories and music to draw in the audience. This naturally led to interactive quizzes and activities that required the audience to answer questions, express opinions, and move around the room. To achieve all this, we had to:

1. Write a script that plotted out the key information that all groups had to share as well as ensure a fair and equal distribution of the responsibility. This helped avoid a situation where a dominant student does all the presentation work.

2. Give time to collect and create interactive materials: publish stories and poems, prepare technology such as iPads and buzzers, etc.

3. Practice the presentation over and over again.

Courtesy of Matthew Friday
Shawn taught me the importance of the third point. Awareness of audience, appropriate voice projection, and body language (what do you do with your hands?) are not skills that come naturally. The key to developing them is to have students practice. After learning their scripts, each group made their presentation:

To other fifth-grade groups, who gave constructive feedback so they could learn from each other.

To their teacher mentors for more detailed feedback.

To other student audiences throughout the school, from the youngest students to older students who had done Exhibition before.

Practicing in front of younger audiences was essential in developing confidence, finding new ways to communicate complex information, and adapting ideas for games and interactive activities.

Last-Minute Changes and Next Year

A day before the big event, we realized that there was a problematic gap between the formal 10-minute presentation and the informal 15 minutes of browsing the materials. The students did not know how to make that transition. The key was to go back to the idea of "hooking" the audience, something we had been focusing on a lot in our writing. Picking a more confident group, we asked them to persuade us to get out of our chairs and look at their materials, to sell them to us, being dramatic and proud of their work. It was part storytelling, part salesmanship, and the students loved it.

The Exhibition was a huge success. Shawn and our creative students and I exceeded the school's expectations of what was possible with 25 minutes, and we set a high standard I will have to try and match next year. It was a huge learning journey for me, and the biggest project of my career. I learned with the students and was guided by my own mentors; I created new meaning, skills, and understanding. This is the purpose and joy of the IB curriculum.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The presentation is around 25 minutes long, of which around 10 minutes is a formal verbal explanation of the learning process and key facts.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How to structure an Inquiry Based Lesson

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Inquiry-Based Learning: The Ultimate Guide

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Inquiry-Based Learning in the Science Classroom

# data[].attributes.headline
Essential Questions: Inquiry and student driven learning

# data[].attributes.subject
Essential Questions: Inquiry and student driven learning

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Ramsey Musallam: 3 rules to spark learning

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
It took a life-threatening condition to jolt chemistry teacher Ramsey Musallam out of ten years of "pseudo-teaching" to understand the true role of the educator: to cultivate curiosity. In a fun and personal talk, Musallam gives 3 rules to spark imagination and learning, and get students excited about how the world works.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
ELA.RL.9-10.3

Common core State Standards

ELA: English Language Arts

RL: Reading Standards for Literature 6-\x80\x9312

9-10: 9th & 10th Grades

3:
Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting
motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters,
and advance the plot or develop the theme.

Download Common Core State Standards (PDF 1.2 MB)

Thought starters

1. How does the discussion reflect the conflict in Humbert's character?

2. What strategies does Ms. Kosoff use to challenge students' thinking?

3. How does Ms. Kosoff present ideas so that students form their own opinions, considering evidence and the perspectives of others?

School Details

Urban Academy Laboratory High School
317 East 67th Street
New York NY 10065

Data Provided By:

Teachers

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Inquiry-Based Teaching: Discussing Fiction Texts

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Sheila Kosoff, an Urban Academy Literature teacher, facilitates a discussion with her students about the main character in Nabokov's Lolita. Using an inquiry-based approach, Sheila asks students to consider the psychology of the main character, Humbert, as the novel progresses and as their perception of him changes.

# data[].attributes.body
PDS 8th Grade American Values GI Project

# data[].attributes.headline
Why Mastery Let Students Find their own Way

# data[].attributes.subject
Why Mastery Let Students Find their own Way

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Want Mastery? Let Students Find Their Own Way

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Prominent scholars say that to drive deeper learning, students need to become accustomed to confusion—and develop the persistence to find their own answers.