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https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/backward-design-basics/

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When I taught seventh grade language arts, one of my favorite things to teach was S.E. Hinton's book The Outsiders. Every year, we began the unit with a discussion about the cliques that formed in students' lives, how these groups interacted, the unwritten rules that governed their behavior, and what happened when groups clashed or people formed relationships across group lines. After we did some reflecting, writing, and talking, we were ready to start the book.

The reading went fine, more or less. Some chapters we did in class (I would read to them, then they would read silently), and others at home. Some students became as absorbed in the novel as I'd hoped they would; others, not so much. Predictably, some fell behind in the book like they did with all assigned reading.

I checked students' progress with occasional quizzes, we did some work on plot and characters, setting and theme, and then, after a unit test over the whole book-containing mostly questions that asked students to identify characters, setting, and key plot points-we spent nearly three class periods watching Francis Ford Coppola's movie version of the book. And I got to drool over Matt Dillon in the movie's opening scene again and again and again. From start to finish, the whole unit took about three weeks.

In retrospect, I'm not sure why it was my favorite. Seriously. I mean, even though I loved the book, my students' response to it was mostly lukewarm. Maybe it was just the idea of teaching it that I loved. Maybe it was the connections I was able to make to the stuff students dealt with on a day-to-day basis. I don't know. I taught that book a few times, and even though I looked forward to it every time, I always finished the unit a little unsatisfied.

And it's only now, years later, that I'm starting to understand that dissatisfaction: I can't say with any confidence that my students actually learned something from that unit. Upon deeper reflection, I'm not confident that any of my students learned anything of lasting value from at least half the lessons I taught.

This is a hard pill to swallow, because I wasn't half bad as a teacher. I had decent relationships with my students and I believe most of them had good experiences in my classroom, but real, durable learning? I can't say how much of that actually happened.

I don't love admitting that.

But at least now I understand why my teaching didn't produce a lot of actual learning: I never set clear, measurable learning targets.

Things would have been so different if I'd known about backward design.

When teachers talk to each other about the stuff they're teaching, they often say things like this:
"What novels do you do in 8th grade?""Oh that'll be perfect. I can use this when I teach the American Revolution!"
"I don't think I can fit that in; we're doing moon phases next month."

We tend to talk about our teaching plans in terms of the broad topics we cover. This shorthand is practical; we're not going to drill down into specific skill and knowledge objectives while waiting our turn at the bagel table. But when I think about the lessons I gave my students, the ones I observed in my colleagues' classrooms, and the work I've seen my own children do, I think this shorthand might be a pretty fair representation of what many of us are still doing: churning out lessons that keep students busy with our content without ever getting clear about what we want them to learn.

Instead of starting with a topic, we'd do better if we start with an end goal, and that's where backward design comes in.

Traditional vs. Backward Planning

Traditional Lesson Design

For many years, teachers have been planning lessons and units of instruction like this:

Step 1: Identify a topic or chunk of content that needs to be covered.

Step 2: Plan a sequence of lessons to teach that content.

Step 3: Create an assessment to measure the learning that should have taken place in those lessons.

Notice that in this approach, the assessment is created after the lessons are planned. Sometimes it isn't created until most of those lessons have already taken place. The assessment is kind of an afterthought, a check to see if students were paying attention to the stuff we taught them.

For most of my teaching career, this is how I planned. It's presumably how most of my colleagues planned. I believe it's still how many teachers plan.

So what's wrong with it? Well, when we plan this way, we're more likely to include content and activities that have questionable value. When teaching the American Revolution, for example, if our goal is just to "teach about the American Revolution," we can throw in anything that has any relation to that topic: a coloring page of the Boston Tea Party, a colonial flag craft project, or a worksheet where students unscramble words like minuteman, independence, and Hancock.

This random approach creates two problems.

The first and most important problem is a lack of durable, transferable learning. One reason so many of us don't remember much of what we learned in school is that we learned it through this haphazard, topic-driven approach. These random activities are taking up precious time that could be spent on much more valuable stuff.

The other is poor student engagement. Our students know when they're being asked to do something pointless. If they don't see the relevance of what they're learning or a direct line between the content of your course and a desirable outcome, they'll tune it out. Sure, many students will do what you ask anyway, because they want good grades and the benefits that come from them. But they're not learning. If you don't believe me, ask them.

Backward Design

In their book Understanding by Design, which was originally published in 1998, Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe introduced us to backward design, an approach to instructional planning that starts with the end goal, then works backward from there. The "full" version of Wiggins and McTighe's original approach is pretty complex and can be time-consuming to implement. If you're ready for that, I recommend digging into their book. For now, though, I'm just going to share the most basic version of backward design.

Here are the steps:

Step 1: Identify what students should know and be able to do by the end of the learning cycle.

Step 2: Create an assessment to measure that learning.

Step 3: Plan a sequence of lessons that will prepare students to successfully complete the assessment.

The difference in order is significant: Plan the assessment first, then plan only lessons that will contribute to student success on that assessment.

I was first introduced to this concept in my sixth year of teaching, and the genius of it completely blew me away. I used it when planning my next unit and experienced the biggest spike in student success I'd ever seen. On top of that, I was actually excited about teaching the lessons I had planned. For the first time, it felt like none of my class was wasted; everything actually mattered. There was something a lot more satisfying about doing things this way.

Let's take a look at an example to illustrate the difference between a unit planned the traditional, topic-driven way, and the same unit planned with backward design.

Before and After: The Lunar Cycle

The Before, Where the Final Product is a Test

At some point in their school careers, students study the phases of the moon. One pretty typical way to teach this is as follows:

A lecture or video about the phases of the moon, followed by a worksheet to label the phases.

An interactive activity like scraping the filling out of Oreos to represent the lunar phases.

Following a teacher's sample, creating a physical model of the moon phases using something like styrofoam balls.

A unit test that requires labelling the phases of the moon from memory and answering multiple-choice questions about the lunar cycle, eclipses, and seasons.

In many classrooms, teachers also have students track the appearance of the moon over the course of a month, so that might be added as well.

Following this plan, a teacher would feel pretty satisfied that they "covered" the topic of moon phases. But if we look at the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), the standard relating to moon phases says that grade 6-8 students will:

" Develop and use a model of the Earth-sun-moon system to describe the cyclic patterns of lunar phases, eclipses of the sun and moon, and seasons" ( MS-ESS1-1).

Note the language here: Students are meant to develop a model, then use it to describe these patterns. But in the plan above, students merely copied a model, and they didn't use it to describe anything; even if the model required some written captioning to explain what was going on, because the model was a copy, it can't be safely said that students were really the ones describing the system.

Then there's the test. If we assume that a large portion of a student's grade is based on the test, then students are not being measured on their achievement of that standard. The standard does not require students to memorize the phases of the moon. Nor does it ask them to "demonstrate knowledge" of how the whole system works. The standard wants students to develop a model and use it to describe the system.

It would be easy to blow off this distinction, to say Bah, same difference. The test asks students a lot of questions that would show an understanding of these concepts, so we're covered.

But not really. Asking a person to develop a model is a much higher-order task than asking them to copy a model. Describing systems and patterns is way more challenging than selecting the correct description.

Developing models and explaining things is the work of real scientists: They notice phenomena, study it, then figure out how to represent those phenomena in order to make it clear to other people. To say, "Look at this! It's interesting and it explains why things are the way they are!"

And that's exactly what the NGSS authors had in mind: "Any education that focuses predominantly on the detailed products of scientific labor-the facts of science-without developing an understanding of how those facts were established or that ignores the many important applications of science in the world misrepresents science and marginalizes the importance of engineering." (National Research Council, 2012, p. 43).

In other words, a superior education will teach students to think and practice like scientists. If we don't plan learning experiences that make that possible, we're giving them a sub-par education.

The After, Where the Final Product is a Model and a Presentation

So if we re-do this unit plan with backward design, we'll need to start by developing an assessment that would measure success with that standard. That means the assessment would not be a test where students merely label the moon phases, but a student-developed model of the moon phases along with some kind of presentation where students use that model to explain lunar phases, eclipses, and seasons.

When designing this final assessment, it's essential that the teacher crafts a rubric that clearly outlines specific, high standards for both the model and presentation. The rubric should list criteria for the accuracy and functionality of the model, plus the quality of the presentation itself. Here's an example of what that might look like:

With a good rubric in place, we then work backwards to determine what lessons students need to do excellent work on the final assessment.

Direct Instruction: Students still need to know the basics of the lunar system. Memorization is not the goal, so we're not grading for that, but students do need to know the information well enough to explain it and use the right vocabulary, so we can keep the lecture or video from the original plan. And having them work with the information a bit on some kind of worksheet or with some kind of online practice is fine, but I wouldn't give points for this work. If you need to motivate students to do it, require them to demonstrate proficiency (like scoring at least 80% on the match game with a set of Quizlet flashcards) before they can move on to the next step.

Active processing with models: Next, give students a chance to work with a model so that they experience the cycle in action. This will deepen their understanding of the earth-sun-moon system, which will better prepare them to give their own presentations. Something like this interactive model from CK-12 allows students to manipulate the time of day and the position of the moon to see how these variables change what we see in the sky. Working in groups, students could use the simulator to answer questions about the moon's appearance depending on what phase it's in and the time of day, then transition into making and checking predictions based on those variables.

Presentation practice: If students are going to do well on the final presentation, they'll need practice in explaining the lunar cycle in their own words. Using an existing model (such as the interactive mentioned in the previous step), have students explain the lunar phases, including information about the seasons and eclipses, to a partner or small group. Ask the listening partners to "coach" the presenter if their description has any holes or inaccuracies. Hearing their peers explain the system, along with attempting the explanation themselves, will help them use the language of the lunar cycle more fluently.

Model development: Now students begin developing their own models. The standard does not specify that this has to be a physical model, so you could offer students choice: The model could very well be made with styrofoam balls, but it could also be a hand-drawn diagram, a slideshow presentation, an animated video, a children's book, or even a short skit they present to the class or record on video. Many of these options, like the children's book, include the "presentation" piece right along with the model. Give students time in class to work on these models; this will ensure that they do their own work and will allow you to give feedback if a student is heading in the wrong direction. Remind them regularly that the explanation of the model is nearly half their grade, so they should consider scripting that out if their presentation is going to be "live."

Model presentations: Finally, students present their models. If you have a lot of students opt to give a "live" presentation this could take several class periods, which could be pretty mind-numbing since the subject matter is exactly the same for everyone. To cut down on that overall time, only have students present to the whole class if the class is actually participating in the model (like in some sort of skit or simulation). Otherwise, students can record their presentations on video or present to you one-on-one while their classmates work on something else independently.

With this "after" version, every lesson is designed to prepare students to give excellent presentations at the end. The whole time, they are using the lunar cycle vocabulary, correcting each other's misconceptions, and just like scientists, thinking about how to explain concepts to other people.

Some Questions About Your Lessons

Okay, so we've looked very closely at one small unit for a middle school science class. Now, take this same process and apply it to the things you teach.

1. What exactly do your standards require? Do they ask students to memorize and identify facts, or do they ask them to describe, explain, analyze, or create? (It's probably the latter.)

2. If it's the latter, how closely do your assessments measure those standards? Do they actually require students to do the describing, explaining, analyzing, or creating (which would likely require them to write, present, or create some product), or do they merely ask them to recognize when someone else does it in the form of an answer on a multiple-choice test?

3. Do you need to adjust your assessments so they more closely align with the standards?

4. If you do, the next step is to rework the lessons that lead up to that assessment. Does every lesson contribute to student success on that assessment? Could some of your lessons be omitted because they don't connect directly to the assessment? Are you missing anything? For example, if your assessment requires students to write in academic language and support their ideas with evidence, you should include some lessons that give students practice with that kind of writing.

5. Finally, will the assessment be weighted heavily in your gradebook? (It should be.)The lessons and activities leading up to the final assessment are there to give students exposure to the knowledge and practice with the skills necessary to perform on that final assessment; ideally, they should receive no grades at all on those activities. If you absolutely must assign some points, be sure the final assessment is worth a heck of a lot more than those smaller tasks.

Like I did, you probably also have some favorite lessons and activities. Some of these might turn out to be not just fun to teach, but also solid in terms of equipping students with knowledge and skills that will last.

If it turns out that those favorite lessons don't really align with any standards, you might be able to revise them so they do. Or you might keep them for other reasons-not every minute of class time has to be spent on standards-based instruction. Some activities have value because they help us get to know each other better, they help students develop social-emotional skills, or they simply offer a bit of fun. But if a lesson doesn't do any of these things, if it's disguised as learning but is doing little more than keeping students busy, it's time for it to go.

Using a process like backward design helps us get better at making these decisions. By making this approach part of our regular practice, we'll be able to look back on a day, a week, or a year of teaching and say with a lot more certainty that when they were under our care, our students learned.
Reference:
National Research Council (2012). A framework for K-12 science education: Practices, crosscutting concepts, and core ideas. The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/13165.

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Are we planning with clear, measurable, meaningful learning goals in to guide us, or are we just keeping students busy?

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Colonial regions Inquiry & Webquest.pptx

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Lunch and Learn- Inquiry Cycle.pptx

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https://www.inquired.org/post/inquiry-unit-design

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Be compelling and open-ended, igniting student curiosity and driving them forward into their investigation

Be formulated simply so students can understand and share

Contain a "call to action" - laying the groundwork for the action students might take later in the unit

Essential Questions help to structure the sustained investigation of content in your unit. They should:

Explore the mini outlines below, both of which describe the same 5th grade social studies unit. As you explore, consider how the unit structured with questions might more effectively spark curiosity and scaffold understanding.

To develop the Essential Questions that structure student investigation, follow these steps:

Step One: Identify Your Topic and Unit Objectives

Step Two: Group Objectives into Content Sections or Categories

Step Three: Brainstorm and Draft Essential Questions

Now that you have created the question structure of your unit, it's time to begin collecting and curating sources. Inquiry units require high-quality sources for students to explore and investigate. Consider the practices and guidelines below during the phases of your search.

Train your lens: You need some critical context before you can evaluate content critically. Investigate stereotypes and biases prevalent in educational materials, and key understandings absent from them.

Define the purpose of your search: Are you looking for a source that enables students to briefly build background knowledge? If so, something that presents key information might be needed. Are students investigating a topic in depth? If so, they should grapple with sources that allow them to identify and analyze evidence in order to draw inferences or conclusions.

Commit to Diverse Representation: The sources you select should represent diverse voices and perspectives, challenging a singular, dominant narrative. Students should be able to see themselves in the sources you select and learn about the perspectives of others who are different from them.

Use a Protocol: Keep the basics in mind by using a checklist to evaluate accuracy, authority, objectivity, currency, and coverage. Practice Lateral Reading when vetting online sources. In this practice, you spend time reading about the authors of an article or the organization behind a website to check for bias.

Mix it up: Include non-text resources (image analyses, songs, videos, infographics, and maps). Variety in sources keeps students engaged and helps to differentiate instruction.

Stray from the "kids' menu": Consider sources that aren't expressly for children. Certain poems, speeches, letters, and other resources can be accessible to the youngest students.

Follow the leader: When you find a quality source, dig into the sources that it cites and the articles it mentions. You may discover a treasure trove of other sources.

Adapt: No resource is perfect. Frame and modify resources to meet the needs of your students. If used solely within your classroom and not-for-profit, these actions fall under the principle of "acceptable use."

Audit: Even though you may have trained your lens and committed to diverse representations, seek out others with different perspectives, experiences, and backgrounds to review your selections.

Once you've gathered your sources, you can begin to design the learning experiences of each lesson. Lessons are divided into the following three parts:

When you create your own learning tasks, keep in mind the following inquiry-based criteria:

Student-Directed and Teacher-Facilitated

Culturally Responsive

When designing inquiries for students, teachers are looking for the sweet spot of informed action, when the challenge, purpose, and audience of student action come together to create meaning and deepen learning. If students are only informed during an inquiry, they might pursue an inquiry question but only be challenged to show their understanding to their teacher for a letter grade on a test or deliverable. And if students only take action, then their challenge might be limited to participating in an activity that's vaguely related to their learning - even if they are addressing a public audience. It's not that there's no purpose for a test, stand-alone project, or activity; during an inquiry they can serve to assess learning, engage students, and check for understanding. But these can't be the point of an inquiry.

When an inquiry promotes informed action, however, the point becomes clear and resonates with students. They identify a challenge that is informed by learning and addresses a real-world problem-one matters outside the walls of their classroom. Their audience is outside the classroom as well, whether it's students in a different grade or the wider community. And while they may receive a grade, the grade isn't the point of their action. Students are trying to make an impact on the world-whether it's to solve a problem, inform, inspire, or change behavior.

Explore the following resources to continue your journey

The "Inquiry Journeys Social Studies in Action" video describes the 3rd Grade "Global Connections" unit of Inquiry Journeys, inquirED's elementary social studies curriculum. It provides a look at how a unit's Inquiry Question and Essential Questions frame an investigation.

Keep exploring the fundamentals of inquiry in the "What is Inquiry-Based Social Studies?" blog post. The post contains a simple explanation of inquiry in social studies - and links to a slide deck that you can share with others.

inquirED has created a Curriculum Review Guide that provides evaluation rubrics across five key domains: Inquiry-Based Instruction, Culturally Responsive Education, Standards-Based Instruction and Assessment, High-Quality, Diverse Sources, Learner Supports and Continuous PD.

Explore some of the amazing work our partner districts and their students have created with Inquiry Journeys! These projects are the culmination of an inquiry unit and demonstrate students' deep understanding of social studies topics!

inquirED was founded by teachers with the mission of bringing inquiry-based social studies to every classroom. , inquirED's elementary social studies curriculum, is used in schools and districts across the country to help students develop deep social studies content knowledge and build the inquiry skills that are essential for a thriving democracy.

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Designing Your First Inquiry Unit - InquirED K-5 Social Studies Curriculum

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Inquiry in the classroom follows a process that begins with a question, moves through an investigation, and ends in action. But that seemingly simple process is actually incredibly complex. Let's explore some of that complexity by examining each step in more detail.

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https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/12/technology/chatgpt-schools-teachers.html

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Don’t Ban ChatGPT in Schools. Teach With It.

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OpenAI’s new chatbot is raising fears of cheating on homework, but its potential as an educational tool outweighs its risks.

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https://lab4u.co/en/science-education/9-reasons-why-you-should-implement-inquiry-based-learning-in-your-classroom/

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Why is Lab4U Inquiry-Based Methodology essential for teaching science to the next generation?

There's a lot of talk about the importance of inquiry-based learning.

Yet in spite of all the hype, there's often a lack of clarity around what, specifically, inquiry-based learning is.

While there's no one correct, all-encompassing definition, in general inquiry-based learning refers to a set of active approaches that encourage students to engage with new ideas through curiosity and exploration.

As protagonists of their own learning process, students develop new knowledge and skills while charting their own course. And therefore, develop longer-lasting competencies and key soft skills in the process.

Designing inquiry-based learning experiences for your students isn't easy, but it's worth it.

At Lab4U, we're committed to ensuring that all students, have the opportunity to learn science through inquiry.

Why? Because it improves student outcomes in the short-term, and helps them prepare for happy, healthy, and productive lives in the future.

Indeed, a 2018 Inter-American Bank Development Study found that Lab4U's inquiry-based solutions for middle and high school physics and chemistry classes increased student outcomes, self-perception, and interest in studying STEM in the future.

Keep reading to find out more about the benefits of inquiry based approaches to teaching and learning that still can inspire you in your own classroom!

1. Inquiry increases rigor and cognitive load

Inquiry-based learning pushes students beyond simply learning to memorize or remember, and toward applying knowledge in new domains, drawing connections among ideas, evaluating or challenging ideas, and additionally creating something completely new.

2. Inquiry increases engagement and interest

Inquiry-based learning connects a new concept or area of study with students own interests and lived experience. Therefore, this methodology awakens their natural curiosity. This Increasing engagement in learning experiences, hence are more relevant to students' lives .

3. Inquiry increases intellectual risk-taking

Inquiry-based learning experiences push students out of their comfort zone. Because it focuses more on exploring environments of varying levels of ambiguity, it lowers the perceived need to "get it right" that would otherwise make students wary of intellectual risk-taking.

Yet we've found that students are often enjoying themselves so much they don't even notice they're out of their comfort zone, happily exploring uncharted intellectual territory!

4. Inquiry develops key soft skills

Inquiry-based learning also effectively develops important soft skills that are key for student success in the 21st Century, such as creative problem solving, critical thinking, logical thinking, teamwork, and even written and oral communication.

5. Inquiry is a natural differentiator

With Inquiry-based learning, because they have a degree of autonomy to select how they want to approach a task, students have leeway to select a learning pathway that appeals to their preferred learning style. Students then have the space to learn in a way that makes sense to them.

There are also many possibilities for purposeful differentiation - since inquiry-based learning activities are naturally student-driven and semi-autonomous, teachers are free to circulate and give individualized instruction, small-group support, and extension activities to students who need it most.

6. Inquiry transforms a classroom of students into a classroom of teachers

Inquiry-based teaching can easily be combined with collaborative groupings. Because that allow students to work and learn as teams.

With clearly set expectations and carefully defined roles, students explore, discuss, and come up with creative ways to approach a complex task, learning more as a team than they would individually.

Often, peer learning is just as effective as teacher-led learning. Indeed, the most meaningful "aha!" moments often come in authentic interactions with peers. Then suddenly, your class is transformed into space where EVERYONE is a teacher!

7. Inquiry creates lifelong learners

Inquiry-based learning helps students become lifelong learners.

Life is about learning to navigate unfamiliar situations, and coming up with creative solutions in environments of uncertainty will help students find success not only in their current academic careers but will also help them adapt to a workforce and world that will continue to evolve in unexpected ways.

8. Inquiry triggers new approaches to solve a new type of problem

The global issues that our world is facing today are known as " wicked ". Problems for they're more complex than any problem our society has ever faced before.

There is no longer any good or bad solution able to solve a wicked problem such as climate change, nor there is any definite set of solutions to end world hunger, or any limit to scientific discoveries and innovations responding to the endless list of challenges humanity is facing.

Therefore, we need to enable the next generation today to face the world of tomorrow with a more dynamic and innovative way of thinking about problems.

And this is what inquiry-based learning teaches them to do by triggering their critical thinking capacities and pushing them to take action instead of learning passively.

9. Inquiry as a source of self-confidence

Inquiry-based learning allows students to embrace and feel comfortable with still with the possibility of making errors. Making it rather an opportunity for improvement.

Indeed, by challenging them to find solutions based on their own knowledge and experience, this learning approach empowers students to increase their self-confidence, and to freely experiment focusing on the inquiry itself rather than the fear of being "wrong".

Join us!

At Lab4U we designed tools to enable teachers to implement Iquiry-based methodology in their own classroom. From middle to high schools.

In addition, we love imagining a world in which ALL students have the opportunity to regularly engage in the big ideas of science. All of this Through inquiry, exploration, and discovery.

After that, if you're interested in learning more about how you can incorporate more learning into your science classes. Then check out Lab4U's solutions for middle and high schoolers! Visit our website or sign up for a 20 minute informational call.

Join the discussion!

In conclusion, we'd love to hear about how has inquiry-based learning helped improve student interest, motivation, or outcomes in your class? Let us know below, later!

Finally, if you want to find out more about Inquiry-Based Learning methodology, we invite you to visit these website;
https://tessais.org/the-benefits-of-inquiry-based-education/ https://www.topmostblog.com/benefits-of-inquiry-based-learning/ https://www.wabisabilearning.com/blog/inquiry-based-learning-advantages

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Why you should implement Inquiry-Based learning in your classroom

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There's a lot of talk about the importance of inquiry-based learning. Yet in spite of all the hype, there's often a lack of clarity around what, specifically, inquiry-based learning is. While there's no one correct, all-encompassing definition, in general inquiry-based learning refers to a set of active approaches that encourage students to engage with new ideas through curiosity and exploration.

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https://teaching.uchicago.edu/resources/teaching-strategies/asking-effective-questions/

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By Brandon Cline, Divinity School and Teaching Consultant at the Chicago Center for Teaching

The Power of Questions

While asking questions may seem a simple task, it is perhaps the most powerful tool we possess as teachers. If we ask the right question of the right student at the right moment we may inspire her to new heights of vision and insight. A good question can excite, disturb, or comfort, and eventually yield an unexpected bounty of understanding and critical awareness. But even apart from such serendipitous moments, question-asking serves many functions that make it the stock in trade of the skillful teacher.

Good questions can:

Motivate student learning and fuel curiosity

Foster intellectual development and stimulate critical thinking

Guide discussion and shape a positive learning environment

While mastering the art of asking good questions is a lifelong pursuit, the following are four steps you can take to begin improving your question-asking practices.

Step One: Perform a Question-Asking Audit

Multiple observational studies have found that as many as ninety percent of teachers' questions focus on low-level cognitive skills such as memorization and recall. Moreover, we may be unaware of our overreliance on this level of questioning. Therefore, the first step to asking better questions is to perform a question-asking audit to assess the kinds of questions you tend to ask in class. For instance, ask a colleague to observe your class and document your questions. Or record a class session and write down the questions you asked. Afterwards, categorize the questions according to Bloom's taxonomy, using the results to evaluate the diversity and balance of your questioning practices. By periodically performing such audits, you can measure the development of your technique.

Step Two: Build a Question-Asking Tool Kit

By considering the different kinds of questions you might have asked in your audit, in addition to those you did, you begin to build a question-asking tool kit. A question-asking tool kit is a list of the kinds of questions you might ask your students in any situation, categorized in a useful form. Taxonomies of question-types abound, but developing your own inventory will furnish you with a useful repertoire from which to draw. Below is a sample inventory based on Bloom's taxonomy; you can find others among the resources at the end of this guide.

Sample Question Tool Kit Based on Bloom's Taxonomy

Lowest to Highest

Cognitive Skills

Example Questions

Requires students to recognize or recall information.

How far is Rome from the Mediterranean Sea?

What are the species of ancient rhetoric?

Comprehension

Requires students to restate without verbatim repetition or to cite examples, thereby demonstrating deeper understanding.

Explain the process of mitosis in your own words.

Can you give some examples of deliberative rhetoric?

Application

Requires students to solve a problem by applying their learning to a new situation.

Look at the following paragraph. As described in your reading from Quintillian, what rhetorical features of prooemia (introductions) can you identify?

Select a series of chords and play them in a chromatic sequence.

Analysis

Requires students to break down a concept or diagnose a situation into constituent parts, and to explain their interrelationships. Questions of comparison or analogy ("How is X like Z?") may also be classified here.

What factors led to the persecution of early Christians?

Break down the arguments that the author uses to support his hypothesis.

How does the artist use shapes and color to emphasize melancholy in this painting?

Compare Philippians 2:6-11 with Mark 10:42-45. How do these authors use the figure of Jesus as a model of humility?

Synthesis

Requires students to use original thought to creatively solve a new problem. Requires students to put together material for themselves into a new whole or in a new form.

How would you design an experiment to show the effect of education on income?

How would you arrange Bloom's taxonomy in light of new research in cognitive science?

How would you compare Augustine's and Luther's understandings of the relationship between church and state (analysis)? Based on the strengths and weaknesses of their ideas, what understanding of that relationship would you propose (synthesis)?

Evaluation

Requires students to make judgments, according to appropriate criteria, about the value of a given work, idea, method, proposal, etc.

How well did the composition exhibit the principle of harmony?

How internally consistent is Augustine in making his case?

What is the value of Wikipedia as a knowledge resource?

If drugs were legalized, what would be the implications for public health?

You will find that other tool-kits use different terminology or add categories that either supplement Bloom's-such as hypothetical questions (What if Constantine had been defeated at the Milvian bridge?), challenge questions (Why do you think that? What counter-evidence might you cite?), and affective questions (Was there anything that made you uncomfortable? Why?)-or relate to class process (How does that comment connect to what was previously said? What themes have emerged from today's discussion?). When you study such typologies, make them your own by coming up with categories that make sense to you and listing example questions from your own discipline.

Tips for Using Your Tool Kit:

1. Always keep your tool kit handy. If you make your typology simple and easy to remember, it can remain in the back of your mind as class progresses, allowing you to mentally match possible questions to the needs of the moment.

2. Use a lot of different tools. Aim to vary the types and levels of the questions you ask. This will deepen discussion and improve critical thinking. As Mark Twain put it, "If your only tool is a hammer, pretty soon all the world appears to be a nail."

3. Use the right tool for the right job. Choose the right kind of question at the right moment for your learning goals. Just as one naturally considers the order in which each class segment falls within one's teaching plan, so one should consider how each segment might be best explored.

Step Three: Cultivate Your Question-Asking Style

Masterful question-asking attends not only to what questions one is asking, but also to how one is asking them. Question-asking style encompasses such elements as the phrasing and word choice of questions, non-verbal communication, and reaction time to student responses. These can have an enormous impact on engagement and student learning, and the skillful teacher will use them mindfully to regulate classroom dynamics.

Phrasing and word choice

Want to create a break or mark a transition? Ask a factual or summative question to mark where discussion has gone.

Want to invite more participation? Use your word choice to increase student involvement. For instance, "Charles, give us your conclusion, please," offers little leeway to decline an invitation to speak, thus putting students on the defensive; on the other hand, "Charles, would you be willing to offer your conclusion?" is much less agonistic. Inserting "wriggle room" clauses ("That's a tough one, Fred-at least for me-but can you get us started?") can also reduce anxiety and encourage participation.

Want to encourage interactivity? Design questions that relate a comment to previous contributions or build on what others have said. ("Mark, would you agree with Lucy on this point?" "How does that comment relate to what Jack said?") Phrased this way, your questions encourage students to listen to each others' responses and to begin making their own connections.

Want to heighten student engagement? Use more challenge questions ("Why do you think that? What evidence supports your hypothesis?") or deploy a series of short, quickly answered informational questions to speed up the tempo or prepare for more involved questions.

Want to regulate the mood? Make the discussion cool down or heat up by changing the level of abstraction and personalization in your questions. "Do you believe in abortion in cases of rape or incest?" is far more emotive than "What political, economic, and ethical factors affect the national debate on abortion?" In some cases you may wish to heighten the personal involvement of participants; in other cases you may wish to encourage detachment.

Want to give closure to a segment or session? Ask students a generalizing or summative question. ("If you had to pick out three themes that surfaced most often in our discussion today, what would they be?")

Emotional tone and non-verbals

Factors such as voice level, facial expressions, bodily posture, and eye contact can profoundly affect the interpretation of one's questions. A simple question like "What do you think?" can communicate hostility or geniality depending on the questioner's emphasis and demeanor. A loud question delivered with sweeping gestures can stir the pot, while one deliberately and softly spoken can calm the room and invite self-reflection. While the needs of the moment may dictate which you choose, your question-asking will be most successful if you strive to use your tone, facial expressions, and gestures to communicate a sense of spirited inquiry rather than of student interrogation.

Think Time (aka Wait Time)

Think time is the amount of time a teacher waits for a response to a question. While the interval may feel like an eternity to the teacher, studies have documented that the average teacher's wait-time is-remarkably-less than one second. Instead, get in the habit of pausing at least five seconds (and sometimes more) after both a question and the student response. According to research conducted by Columbia University, when teachers waited at least five seconds after asking a question, students lengthened their responses, backed up their claims with evidence, and became less teacher-directed and more peer-directed.

Step Four: Further Refine Your Technique

Refine your technique with these quick tips:

Prepare questions in advance. Remember, it takes time to design effective questions. As you prepare for class, brainstorm questions and questioning strategies. As you come up with a list, think through the range of possible outcomes and responses to your questions. This will help you feel more prepared to let discussion flow while maintaining a sense of overall control. A good list will also ensure that you ask many different kinds of questions over the course of the class.

Think about the sequence of your questions. No matter which sequence you choose (simple to complex, general to specific), it is helpful to have a game plan in mind. For instance, you may want to ask informational questions at the beginning of a unit to "prime the discussion pump" and to uncover material from which later synthetic questions will draw.

Come up with alternatives to "Are there any questions?" Students may feel discouraged from responding to "Are there any questions" for a host of reasons: peer pressure, not wanting to appear inadequate, fearing to seemingly criticize the teacher, etc. To overcome such resistance, consider rephrasing: "Now, I'm sure you have some questions", or "That was complicated. What did I leave out?" Moreover, such moments are prime opportunities for students to demonstrate their understanding as a check of their learning. Instead of "Are there any questions?", try a more proactive "Why did I substitute this value in this equation?" or "How would you summarize the argument I just advanced?"

Debrief yourself after each class. Make notes on the more or less successful questioning tactics of the day's session. Which questions generated the liveliest engagement? Which interactions did not go well, and why?

Ask questions you don't know the answers to. Students often enter college with the notion that asking questions somehow reveals a failure of understanding. Asking questions you don't know the answers to is one way of communicating to your students that you value risk-taking and good questions just as much as "right" answers. Modeling the process of inquiry for your students sometimes involves venturing into uncharted territory and thinking through solutions with your students that may lead to dead ends!

Keep billy club questioning to a minimum. As C. Roland Christensen notes, questions can be shepherd's staffs or a billy-clubs. While question-asking may be used to check who has completed the reading or to compel student attention, overreliance on questions as an enforcement mechanism can sour classroom ecology and communicate the wrong message about the value and purpose of questions.

Selected Resources

1. C. Roland Christensen, "The Discussion Leader in Action: Questioning, Listening, and Response", Education for Judgment: The Artistry of Discussion Leadership (Boston: Harvard Business School, 1991), 99-122. A sensitive and quite helpful approach to the "triptych" of discussion leading: questioning, listening, and responding.

2. Thomas Kasulis, "Questioning", The Art and Craft of Teaching (Edited by Margaret Morganroth Gullette; Cambridge: Harvard UP, 1984), 38-48. Especially good on the procedural and personal dimensions of question-asking.

3. Barbara Gross Davis, "Asking Questions", Tools for Teaching (2nd ed; Jossey-Bass, 2009), 82-90. Helpful quick summation of research with further references.

4. "Questions and Questioning Techniques", Teaching Pedagogy to Graduate Student Instructors (Division of Instructional Innovation and Assessment, University of Texas at Austin), 109-26. A thorough presentation loaded with tips; especially strong on Bloom's taxonomy.

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Chicago Center for Teaching and Learning

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By Brandon Cline, Divinity School and Teaching Consultant at the Chicago Center for Teaching While asking questions may seem a simple task, it is perhaps the most powerful tool we possess as teachers. If we ask the right question of the right student at the right moment we may inspire her to new heights of vision and insight.

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https://my.chartered.college/research-hub/how-probing-questions-can-help-students-to-develop-their-understanding-and-ideas/

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How probing questions can help students to develop their understanding and ideas : My College

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Asking questions which encourage thoughtful, deep and more exploratory responses. What does it mean? Teachers can steer the thinking of students so that their responses go beyond the surface-level and into a deeper, more exploratory mode of understanding by asking well-planned, probing questions. Probing is effective as a strategy for one-to-one interventions, as well as [...]

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Questions Students can Ask During the Process

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Questions Students can Ask During the Process

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https://www.teachthought.com/critical-thinking/inquiry-based-learning-questions-for-students/#:~:text=What%20do%20I%20want%20to,know%20the%20info%20is%20valid%3F

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by TeachThought Staff

Recently we took a look at the phases of inquiry-based learning through a framework and even apps that were conducive to inquiry-based learning on the iPad.

What Are The Different Levels Of Inquiry Learning In The Classroom?

In An Inquiry Framework: 5 Levels Of Student Ownership, we also offered five levels of inquiry:

In the first post, we suggested that inquiry-based learning is an "instructional model that centers learning on solving a particular problem or answering a central question." We also provided some thinking on the 'stages' of inquiry, saying that "inquiry-based learning can vary depending on context but generally include Interacting, Clarifying, Questioning, and Designing."

Inquiry Mode: Close-ended Demonstration

Inquiry Mode: Guided Inquiry

Inquiry Mode: Bounded/Restricted Inquiry

Inquiry Mode: Open-ended Inquiry

Inquiry Mode: Collaboration with Researcher

While there's so much to each of these ideas-each deserving of an article, course, and even short book of their own-let's get closer to actual inquiry-based learning questions that students can use in the classroom.

See also A Conversion Chart For Reading Level Measurement Tools

Examples Of Inquiry-Based Learning Questions

During our research for that phase's framework, we stumbled across the following breakdown of the inquiry process for learning on 21stcenturyhsie.weebly.com (which offers the references that appear below the graphic). Most helpfully, it offers 20 questions that can guide student research at any stage, including:

What do I want to know about this topic? How do I know I know it? What kinds of resources might help? How do I know the info is valid? Does my research raise new questions? And, in a nod to digital and social media, How do I use media to express my message?

These stages have some overlap with self-directed learning. Hopefully, you'll find the following graphic-and the embedded stages and questions-helpful in your planning, or to distribute to students as they make sense of what could be a new (for them) approach to learning.
Pose Real Questions
What do I want to know about this topic?

What do I know about my question?

How do I know it?

What do I need to know?

What could be an answer?
Find Resources
What kinds of resources might help?

Where do I find them?

How do I know the info is valid?

Who is responsible for this info?

What other info is there?
Interpret Information
How is this relevant to my question?

What parts support my answer?

How does it relate to what else I know?

What parts do not support my answer?

Does it raise new questions?
Report Findings
What is my main point?

Who is my audience?

What else is important?

How does it connect?

How do I use media to express my message?

References

Cross, M. (1996). Teaching Primary Science: empowering children for their world. Melbourne: Longman Australia.

Kuhlthau, C., Maniotes, L., & Caspari, A. (2007). Guided Inquiry: Learning in the 21st Century. London: Libraries Unlimited.

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20 Questions To Guide Inquiry-Based Learning

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by TeachThought Staff Recently we took a look at the phases of inquiry-based learning through a framework and even apps that were conducive to inquiry-based learning on the iPad. In An Inquiry Framework: 5 Levels Of Student Ownership, we also offered five levels of inquiry: In the first post, we suggested that inquiry-based learning is an "instructional model that centers learning on solving a particular problem or answering a central question."

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https://wpvip.edutopia.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Edutopia-Hand-Signals.pdf

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https://mackinlearning.com/inquiry-in-ela-10-ways-to-make-it-work/

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As an English and speech teacher for mostly sophomores, I found myself frustrated when students seemed to be just going through the motions, looking for every shortcut available (ahem, Sparks Notes). I wanted my students to be genuinely curious about the literature we were examining or to be genuinely excited to write for an audience. The speech teacher in me wanted students antsy for their turn to communicate a message important to them and to move their peers in some way. I definitely didn't enjoy all the absent students who were home with speech anxiety sickness on presentation day. Fortunately for both my students and me, I had an opportunity to be part of a group of English teachers who decided to take a different approach-one with inquiry as the vehicle to drive learning. I thought this month, I could share the top ten ways we made inquiry work in our 10 th grade ELA classroom as well as secondary ELA classrooms I have had the opportunity to support.

First, if you aren't clear on what inquiry is and what it looks like in a classroom, please pause for five minutes and watch John Spencer's brilliant video . Next, you might be wondering why you might look to incorporate an inquiry stance for English/Language Arts. I found that as soon as I started making shifts, I noticed more energy, joy, excitement, and productive struggle in our learning environment. Even when I was struggling to make it work, we still had a lot more fun. The quality of the discussions, writing, analysis, discourse, and presentations were markedly higher than when I was taking a more traditional approach. This was enough for me to abandon traditional and embrace inquiry.

Here are my Top 10 Ways to Make Inquiry Work:

1.Quit teaching the book and instead focus on the benchmarks. I had to move away from teaching Of Mice and Men or Lord of the Flies or any of the other 10 books I had to choose from for English/Speech 10. When I was teaching novels, I found myself trying to help students get all of the great stuff I had gotten from the book in the 20 times I had read it in just their first read. It was killing the book and killing all student motivation to read it. Not to mention the moment reading is assigned, student motivation decreases. So instead, I focused on the benchmarks within the ELA standards and used the books as tools for student advancement. If students were citing textual evidence as they made claims about the author's purpose, it did not matter if what they were saying was something I had noticed or taught previously.

2. Create a unit of study around a provocative question. Creating a unit of study led by an overarching question that would intrigue students gave me the freedom to stop teaching the novel and instead create conditions for students to grow in their ELA skills. I stopped teaching my Of Mice and Men unit and instead moved to a unit with the question: " What does it mean to be our 'brother's keeper' and should we?" Or, " What is an individual's duty to others?" Instead of teaching The Kite Runner , we explored: "How do we define home?  Is it beneficial to understand others' definition of home and consider revising our own definition?"

3. Move away from the whole class novel and create engaging text sets instead. Once we had overarching questions, we then moved to creating text sets. This gave students choice in what to read to explore the question and to practice ELA standards. Choice is a critical component of inquiry-based instruction. Here is an example of texts we could explore with our Finding Home unit. Notice there are picture books. Adolescents enjoy shared reading experiences and picture books provide fertile ground for rich conversation. Other texts might be used in small groups for book clubs. In this example, Kite Runner is a choice for students, not a novel we would all be reading together.

4. Stop teaching book clubs. When students were placed in book clubs, I wanted to foster conditions for authentic conversation about the books in relation to our essential question and the priority standards we were working on. I used to put students in groups and assign roles like travel tracker -you track the plot, word wizard- you share new words you've learned, decision detective -you decipher the major decisions being made by characters in this section, discussion director -you lead the discussion by preparing open-ended questions ahead of time. As I listened to the discussions, I found that they really were just exercises in reading completed homework out loud, one at a time, around the circle. When moving to an inquiry unit of study, all students are responsible for tracking their thinking as they read and sharing what they are thinking when in discussion. If you are interested in a rubric I created and found helpful for practice discussions, feel free to for it. I am happy to send it to you in an email.

5. Rearrange your classroom. This one is so simple. Just put your desks in triads or quads for collaboration and remove the rows. Maybe you do this already. I had spent my entire first 10 years with my desks in rows because it was neat and I was afraid of side conversation. Changing up the arrangement of my room reminded me every day that students needed to do the talking, questioning, and inquiring; not listen to me share all my insights from the book(s) we were reading.

6. Reward student questions over student answers. I started designing assessments where students would gather and share their questions. We worked on using questions to dive deeper into the material and to create new and better questions. I gave students points for providing questions based on what they were reading and researching instead of giving any kind of quiz where they needed to provide answers to my questions. This article by Jackie Walsh gives great advice for embracing student questions in the classroom.

7. Opt for authentic learning over as/if scenarios. So often in my ELA classroom I would start a writing activity with "Imagine you. . ." These hypotheticals were not exciting for my students. I would be teaching students to have productive discussions and provide them with tasks where they pretended to be lobbyists advocating for change in legislation. Students didn't see personal relevance and it became an exercise in "get 'er done." When I moved instead to having students explore real issues in our school or local community, researching solutions and discussing ways to promote real change, it led to authentic discussion and motivation on several students' parts to put their ideas into action. One group didn't like the competition culture that came from top students in the school vying for valedictorian. As a result, the group convinced the school to instead recognize all students who reach cum laude, summa cum laude, or magna cum laude status.

8. Reconsider your definition of assessment. Long story short, I threw away multiple choice and short answer tests and replaced them with performance assessments guided by rubrics that students used throughout the unit as they practiced for final summative assessment, aka game day. Let's say students are being asked to "Analyze the impact of a text's publishing date on its current validity and credibility, in literature, social studies, or science" (MN Academic Standards, 2020). Students can practice this with short texts, poetry, images, and excepts while the instructor gives formative feedback. This supports a learning culture. Then students can confidently develop their performance assessment because they know exactly what is expected to perform at mastery.

9. Step back and let students wrestle with ideas. I remember vividly supporting a colleague in her sixth-grade reading class where students were taking on an inquiry approach to the study of the short film and picture book, The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore. On this given day, students were to research several allusions that appear in the short film including Pop Goes the Weasel, The Wizard of Oz, and Hurricane Katrina. Students were actively researching on their iPads, sharing discoveries, asking questions, and overall buzzing about the topics. At one point a student yelled out, "Hey! Hurricane Katrina hit both New Orleans and Los Angeles!" The old me would have swooped in to correct the student's misconception. I mean, we can't have him go home thinking Los Angeles was part of the Hurricane Katrina catastrophe, can we? But instead, my colleague and I stepped back and listened to a peer question him.

"Where do you see that it hit Los Angeles? That seems far away," she said.
"It says so right here," pointing to his iPad. "New Orleans, LA."
"LA stands for Louisiana," she clarified in a direct, but supportive way.
"Oops. Hey everyone! I was wrong. Hurricane Katrina didn't hit Los Angeles," the student yelled having no qualms about admitting he clarified his learning and didn't want anyone else carrying the misconception home. Certainly, if misconceptions linger too long, we want to dip in with direction or more resources so students can discover the right answer.

10. Change the way you plan your lessons. A final way to make inquiry work is to change the way you plan your day with students. In her book So What Do They Really Know, Cris Tovani encourages us to really focus on what students will be doing and learning, and less on what we will be teaching. This shift requires us to put together resources and provide a lot of time for student practice. She advocates for beginning with an opening and short mini lesson, then moving students into guided practice for the bulk of the time, and finally ending with a debrief. It is during work time that more targeted instruction can happen for individual students or small groups of students. Check out this explanation from Tovani's blog to learn more.

Inquiry might be a little messy, but isn't learning supposed to be? If you have questions, want to learn more, or are interested in having me or a team member support you in this work, please reach out to us!

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Inquiry in ELA: 10 Ways to Make it Work - Mackin Learning

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As an English and speech teacher for mostly sophomores, I found myself frustrated when students seemed to be just going through the motions, looking for every shortcut available (ahem, Sparks Notes). I wanted my students to be genuinely curious about the literature we were examining or to be genuinely excited to write for an audience.

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https://www.teachingchannel.com/k12-hub/blog/stem-steam-and-inquiry-whats-in-it-for-me/

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This week's blog post-co-writer, Nancy Lindfors, currently serves as the Manager of Evaluation and Degree Programs at Learners Edge. Nancy has experience in K-12 education as a Middle and High School science teacher and has worked in Faculty Development and Academic Affairs in Higher Education as well as Community Education and Corporate Training and Development.

This week's blog post-co-writer, Barb Istas, is currently a Learners Edge Curriculum and Instruction Specialist. Prior to joining Learners Edge, Barb was a language arts teacher for 25 years in a large suburban Minnesota school district where she integrated the arts into her daily classroom instruction.
STEM, STEAM, and Inquiry- What's in It for Me?
The goal of education is not to increase the amount of knowledge but to create the possibilities for a child to invent and discover, to create [people] who are capable of doing new things. ~ Jean Piaget

Google "student-centered learning" and you'll get over 3 million hits! Teachers across the country are working tirelessly to create engaging and relevant learning experiences for their students. The shift toward STEM and STEAM with a focus on inquiry learning is in high gear! Many educators believe these strategies will deepen student understanding, improve academic performance, and prepare students with 21 st Century Skills needed in tomorrow's workforce. The brain science is clear; but we'd like to focus in on another compelling factor to this equation - teacher engagement and passion! How can STEM, STEAM and Inquiry help to recharge your battery and benefit you as a "lead thinker" in your classroom? Find your flow zone!

Have you ever experienced that holy grail of teaching- you know the one; time flies by and even the students are surprised when the day or hour comes to a close? It's that "zone" or "flow," asit is sometimes called - the mental state of operation in which you are so immersed, so engaged and focused, that you get lost in the enjoyment of the process or activity. It's that special place between boredom and frustration. It requires time and skill, and won't be easy, but the benefits are worth the investment.

students to ask the right questions. And studies show it's working. Decades of research reveal there are many benefits to empowering students via learner-centered education strategies like Inquiry, STEM, and STEAM. They can include:

increased motivation for learning

greater satisfaction with school

personal involvement

intrinsic motivation

personal commitment

confidence in one's abilities to succeed

a perception of control over learning leading to more learning

and higher achievement in school

Imagine a classroom full of motivated students who like school and are intrinsically motivated and confident in their ability to succeed. We would argue that many of the benefits listed above will also ring true for you. How do you think an empowered, engaged and intrinsically-motivated student body affects your motivation and attitude toward school?

3. We learn best in context. Integrated STEM and STEAM lessons connect concepts from several disciplines starting with a "whole" instead of the pieces provided when concepts are broken down by subject.

Once the brain has stored basic curriculum concepts, the storing-by-association system of the brain attaches new information to those basic concepts, building new ones as students have learning experiences that involve them in integrated subject matter. ~ Laster

An integrated instructional approach can help students relate authentic concepts to the real world. Students can therefore connect ideas to something about which they already have thoughts and feelings. Integrating content allows students to "see" relationships between what they already know and the new branches they can grow to create new models. Content in context to bigger picture ideas helps diverse learners express their strengths in a myriad of ways, and allows us to repeat and reinforce key concepts through the web-like connections we help students create.

It's good for our students- yes! but what does it do for you? For experienced teachers, it can provide a fresh lens through which to view the same core concepts. And it can help to address the pressure all teachers feel to cover all content in a limited time. We can cluster standards - find common ideas and redundancies across disciplines and around which integrated units can be created. In this way, we can explore more standards with fewer units. This can reduce that frenetic race to "get it all in." Cheers to less stress!

4. The brain is a social organ. In fact, the strongest predictor of a species' brain size is the size of its social group. We have big brains in order to socialize. Inquiry, STEM and STEAM approaches open the door for students to collaborate and work in groups, but it also requires that we as teachers work collaboratively as we integrate lessons.

Many teachers are trained in specific content areas. When you think of your experience as a student and your experience as a teacher, what comes to mind? Is it a traditional classroom with one teacher, door shut, working in isolation? Through collaboration, teachers are exposed to new ideas, new pedagogical practices, and opportunities to share and support one another. In one study (Waggoner Road Junior High and Baldwin Road Junior High in Reynoldsburg, Ohio) students experienced a 20 percent increase in math scores when teachers participated in constant collaboration. And in another study of over 9000 teachers, collaboration resulted in direct improvements in student gains, "Instructional teams engaged in better collaboration also have higher achievement gains in math and reading." When students win, we win!

But it goes even deeper. Collaborating with teacher colleagues promotes relationships. Let's face it- teaching can be emotionally draining at times, and we need a support system with whom we can bond, seek advice, and celebrate successes.

5. Integrating the arts enhances both teaching and learning. You can see and feel heightened energy and enthusiasm.

Learners Edge FREE on-demand webinar.

Sources:

Ronfeldt, M., Farmer, S., McQueen, K., & Grissom, J. (2015). Teacher collaboration in instructional teams and student achievement. American Educational Research Journal, 52(3), 475-514.

"Attitudinal Factors of Teachers Regarding Arts Integration" Sara Elston Williams, University of Southern Mississippi, pg. 11. (2013)

Bunzeck et al.: "Absolute Coding of Stimulus Novelty in the Human Substantia Nigra/VTA." Publishing in Neuron 51, 369-379, August 3, 2006 DOI 10.1016/j.neuron.2006.06.021 www.neuron.org

Teach the Way the Brain Learns: Curriculum Themes Build Neuron Networks, Madlon T. Laster Rowman & Littlefield Education, 2009.

Learners Edge is passionately committed to providing you with continuing education coursework, materials, and tools that will help you succeed in your classroom and in your career.

Offering more than 100 print-based or online courses for teachers, you can earn the graduate credit you need for salary advancement and meet your professional development needs. Contact us today to get started!

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STEM, STEAM and Inquiry- What's in it for me?

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This week's blog post-co-writer, Nancy Lindfors, currently serves as the Manager of Evaluation and Degree Programs at Learners Edge. Nancy has experience in K-12 education as a Middle and High School science teacher and has worked in Faculty Development and Academic Affairs in Higher Education as well as Community Education and Corporate Training and Development.

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Overview of Different Kinds of Inquiry Models

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Overview of Different Kinds of Inquiry Models

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https://www.splashlearn.com/blog/what-is-inquiry-based-learning-a-complete-overview/

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SplashLearn Blog - Educational Resources for Parents, Teachers & Kids

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What Is Inquiry-Based Learning? Types, Benefits, Examples

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Your students can now be better prepared for the real world with the inquiry-based learning model. Know all about it in this blog by SplashLearn.

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Embracing Inquiry Education- Written by a Veteran Teacher

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Embracing Inquiry Education- Written by a Veteran Teacher

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https://www.edutopia.org/article/embracing-inquiry-based-instruction/

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A veteran teacher shares the frustrations and challenges of this student-centered teaching model-and why she finds it so powerful.

©Shutterstock/Rawpixel.com

Recent education reforms call for a shift in pedagogy to provide students with the skills necessary to be competitive in a global society. One such shift, inquiry-based instruction, is supported by evidence as a successful approach to fulfill the goals and processes of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).

Inquiry-based instruction is a student-centered approach where the instructor guides the students through questions posed, methods designed, and data interpreted by the students. Through inquiry, students actively discover information to support their investigations.

My colleagues and I at Saddle Brook High School in New Jersey developed a guided inquiry curriculum for biology. For example, instead of a lecture on protein production, students were introduced to a case study in which DNA sequences and corresponding amino acid sequences were assigned to each student. Initially, they were challenged to evaluate the assigned sequences to determine patterns between them. They were encouraged to make a prediction as to how proteins are produced and to formulate questions to help clarify the connection. Then they were guided through a series of exploratory activities, research, and peer review to determine the relationship between DNA and proteins.

When I reflected on our implementation of the new curriculum, I realized that I hadn't known how difficult it would be to let go of over 20 years of my thinking embedded in traditional education. That was a source of frustration.

I also realized that my students had little to no experience with the structure of an inquiry-based class. As a result, they quickly became frustrated and resistant.

My students and I were not alone in our frustration- research indicates that it is pervasive in the science educator community and our students. But just knowing that began to ease some of my anxieties.

We need to let go of control and embrace the freedom.

We need to let go of content and embrace the processes.

We need to let go of avoiding discomfort and struggle and embrace them.

I think there are three traditional education ideas we need to let go of to successfully implement inquiry-based instruction, and three ideas we need to embrace:

Embracing the Freedom

If you've ever had a class that became out of control, you know that it's an awful feeling. As an educator, I felt that I needed to be in control of student behavior, how students arrived at an answer, and much more. With this new approach to teaching, however, I had to relinquish control to the students.

I worried about whether they would arrive at the right answer, but with most inquiry-based learning the questions can have many solutions. So I needed to let go of some rigidity and embrace the freedom of students taking ownership of their knowledge formation.

Once I finally did, I saw that my students were still held accountable for their education because they were required to produce evidence for the completion of the case study regardless of their chosen solution. This shift offered me the time to differentiate and support their individual needs. I could check in with students who were struggling to progress through the inquiry and ask thought-provoking questions to challenge more advanced students' understanding.

Embracing the Processes

There was a voice in my mind that continually pressured me to cover the content. Did my students learn standard x? In the past, I had used traditional direct instruction because it was how I was taught and it was efficient, not because it was best practice.

It's in the nature of science, however, that processes, not content, need to be the focus. I reminded myself and the class that answers were only part of our goal for learning-we needed to embrace processes to reflect scientific practice. If students better understand the process of inquiry, content will uncover itself along the way.

Awareness of this helped alleviate some of our worries. Questions like "can my students make a claim and justify it with evidence?" and "can they evaluate data to look for patterns?" have replaced questions about content coverage.

Embracing Discomfort and Struggle

I'm not confident about using inquiry-based instruction in my classroom yet, and that makes me very uncomfortable. In my previous, traditional pedagogy, I sought comfort in knowing our results and where our investigations would lead us in advance. I oversimplified science to avoid the discomfort of not knowing. I now think that was a disservice to my students and a false representation of scientific practices.

I also needed to be aware that learning through inquiry-based instruction for the first time is especially anxiety-inducing for high-achieving students who feel confident in traditional educational environments. I emphasized the importance of being willing to experience the discomfort and struggle with them.

When I did fully embrace this and avoided the temptation to relieve their discomfort by providing the one "right" answer, I witnessed what I believe is at the heart of the NGSS: Wrestling with messy, open-ended questions allowed students to understand the content more deeply.

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A veteran teacher shares the frustrations and challenges of this student-centered teaching model-and why she finds it so powerful. ©Shutterstock/Rawpixel.com Recent education reforms call for a shift in pedagogy to provide students with the skills necessary to be competitive in a global society.

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"A Teacher's Guide to Inquiry Based Learning" - Structural Learning

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"A Teacher's Guide to Inquiry Based Learning" - Structural Learning

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https://www.structural-learning.com/post/a-teachers-guide-to-inquiry-based-learning

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What is Inquiry-based learning?

Inquiry-based learning is a process of learning that engages learners by creating real-world connections through high-level questioning and exploration. The inquiry-based learning approach encourages learners to engage in experiential learning and problem-based learning.

Inquiry-based learning is about triggering curiosity in students and initiating a student's curiosity achieves far more complex goals than information delivery. Despite its complex nature, inquiry-based learning is considered easier for teachers because it does not only shift responsibility from the educators to students, but also it is engaging for students.

Inquiry-based learning is important for creating excitement in students. It motivates students to become specialists of their learning process. However, this type of learning requires a certain level of independent learning skills. Children need to have developed the information-processing skills needed for working with minimal guidance. In this article, we will argue that there is a place for this type of learning but it does need to be supported with appropriate teacher training and balanced with more traditional curriculum delivery.

Inquiry-based learning puts the student at the center of the learning process. Instead of simply absorbing information, students are encouraged to explore and discover knowledge on their own. This approach allows students to develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills, as well as a deeper understanding of the subject matter. The learning process becomes more engaging and meaningful, as students take ownership of their education and develop a sense of curiosity and wonder. However, it's important to remember that inquiry-based learning is just one approach to education and should be balanced with other teaching methods to ensure a well-rounded education.

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What are the components of Inquiry-Based Learning?

Teachers can apply inquiry-based instruction in many ways, but some of its basic components include:

1. Observation/ Orientation: The instructor introduces a new concept or topic and the students explore the topic through hands-on activities, direct instruction and research.

2. Conceptualise/ Question: The students generate questions about the topic, hypothesise and do predictions.

3. Investigation: This component of inquiry learning has the longest duration. Students get teachers' support to take the initiative. Also, they find out answers, conduct research and find evidence to support or disprove hypotheses with the teacher's help.

4. Conclusion: After collecting the data and desired information, students come to conclusions and answers to their questions. They find out if their hypotheses or ideas prove correct or have shortcomings. This may give rise to more questions.

5. Discussion: At this stage, all pupils may learn from one another while presenting findings. The teacher guide discussions with more questions, encourage debate, and reflection.

The inquiry-based structure of learning has a lot of flexibility. Teachers frequently begin from inquiry-based science lessons, but the inquiry-based approach can be implemented into student learning to any lesson and subject. These transferable skills can be used to help pupils become more effective learners in the long run. In higher education, students are required to manage their own time and do their own research. This approach to teaching is a way of building skills for the long term.

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What is an example of inquiry-based strategies in classroom learning?

In a world history class, the COVID-19 pandemic can be used to compare, study and examine the history of pandemics. A group inquiry lesson may have the following components:

1. The instructor introduces the historical events of the 1918 Spanish Influenza by showing a short video clip. Reading tasks are also an important way to initiate the topic.

2. Then, the students are divided into smaller groups to talk about how this pandemic is different from/ similar to the existing one. The teacher motivates deep learning in students and encourages them to come up with additional questions about how people may have responded then and/or how they are reacting today. Some sample questions are:

3. What caused the plague and how well did people understand it?

4. Did people disapprove of quarantining measures in that era, and what were the political implications then?

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Inquiry-based teaching strategies also support Science teacher while encouraging students to think deeper in Science lessons. Learners may brainstorm questions of their interest and discuss topics that amuse them.

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1. Asking thought-provoking questions empowers students to explore solutions while using significant resources such as historical databases, reliable online resources and, the library. This helps students in developing a connection between the differences and similarities of the coronavirus pandemic and the Spanish Flu.

2. Students can apply what they understood to answer the teacher's initial questions and the teacher can motivate learners to use their research as a support to their answers.

3. Every group of learners may present their outcomes to the class and invite queries whilst the teacher can supervise the inquiry activities, discussion, correct any mistakes, and present further questions.

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What are the benefits of inquiry-based learning?

There are many benefits of using Inquiry-based learning in the classroom. Some of these benefits include:

1. Improves learning experience: Sitting in a classroom and listening to the teacher's lecture and taking notes is not an effective or interesting way to learn. In inquiry-based learning, students explore the topics themselves, which improves their level of thinking and learning process.‍ ‍

2. Improves skills needed for other areas of learning: When students explore a concept, they build communication skills and critical thinking skills. Inquiry-based learning develops cognitive skills that students' comprehension in other subjects, and leads to lifelong learning.

3. Fosters curiosity: An inquiry-based learning strategy brings benefits to students skills to share their opinions and concerns about a topic. It fosters more interest in the material and improves skills children can use to keep on exploring concepts they are interested in.

4. Improves students' understanding of topics: Inquiry-based learning allows students to make connections between what they are learning. This enables students to gain a better understanding of the investigative process and concepts, rather than merely memorising andrecallingfacts.

5. Students take ownership of their learning: Inquiry-based teaching method provides an opportunity for conceptual understanding, which gives them a sense of ownership for their learning. Rather than the teacher instructing about what they should know, learners get the opportunity to acquire their learning styles in their preferred way.

6. Students Engagement with the material: Inquiry-based approach to learning is a kind of active learning, which makes students fully engaged with education. When students are encouraged to explore concepts, make new connections, and ask essential questions, they learn more effectively and get more engaged in learning. Engaged students are more likely to perform better in the standardised tests and finish high school as they are more behaviorally, intellectually and emotionally invested in their learning process.

7. Love for learning: Enquiry-based learning develops a love for learning. When learners engage with the learning resources in their preferred way, they don't only gain a deeper understanding of the topics but also develop love and passion for learning and exploration.

8. Teachers Observe Students: In inquiry based learning, approach students get the centre position in a lesson, which provides teachers with a great opportunity to observe students. In inquiry-based teaching strategies, the classroom teachers don't step aside from the students in various grade levels. They remain close to the students, guiding and watching as needed.

9. Authentic Assessment: Assessment is more related to evaluating students' knowledge. Traditional assessments of skills offer limited insight into pupils learning. Advances in inquiry learning and Inquiry-based lessons include many more ways to determine what students know. While math teacher observes learners working on their activity for math class, they can answer student questions, examine their level of understanding of concepts and can find more strategies to put their deep understanding into context.

10. Teamwork: Team-based projectsand tasks are perfect for the inquiry process. An inquiry-based lesson may be taught individually, but many are performed in small groups of students. Discussion and collaboration help pupils learn from one another. In teamwork, students also get the opportunity to guide their class fellows.

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Empowering Learners: The Mechanics of Inquiry-Based Learning

Incorporating inquiry-based learning into your classroom might seem daunting, yet it holds immense potential for fostering deep learning and enhancing conceptual understanding. Let's break it down into practical steps that can be seamlessly integrated into your classroom practice.

1. Identify the Essential Question: At the heart of every inquiry-based lesson is an essential question. This should be thought-provoking, open-ended, and it should challenge students to draw upon their existing knowledge and skills. For example, a math teacher might pose the question, "How does geometry influence the design of a bridge?"

2. Implement the Universal Thinking Framework: This framework aids in planning and executing inquiry activities. It facilitates the structuring of tasks, promotes critical thinking and nurtures transferable skills such as problem-solving, creativity and collaboration.

3. Guide the Inquiry Process: As an educator, your role shifts to a guide, navigating students through their inquiry journey. This involves scaffolding their learning, providing resources, and facilitating discussions, while also allowing them room to explore independently.

4. Foster a Reflective Environment: Reflection is a crucial aspect of inquiry-based instruction. Encourage students to evaluate their learning, contemplate their strategies, and consider alternate approaches.

According to a study by the Education Endowment Foundation, students engaging in inquiry-based learning showed a positive impact equivalent to an additional three months' progress.

Professor John Hattie asserts, "Inquiry learning requires teachers to be aware of how to prompt deep thinking, to be conversant with multiple ways of knowing and presenting information, and to be skilled at providing multiple opportunities for students to engage with substantive and syntactic knowledge of the subject."

Successfully implementing inquiry-based learning may take time and practice, but the payoff in terms of student engagement and learning outcomes makes it a journey well worth undertaking.

Final Thoughts on Inquiry-based Learning

Inquiry-Based Teaching Methods provide an exciting way to learn and teach. However, teacher professional developmentand training are important, not only for inquiry-based learning but also for student success. To create engaged and meaningful learning experiences in a classroom, schools must provide teacher training opportunities to teachers to teach these inquiry-based lessons successfully.

Schools need to build time into the curriculum for these types of autonomous exercises as they are essential life skills. However, not all subject material is appropriate for this sort of approach to education. Pupils will need to have the learning skills and cognitive attributes to run with these methods.

There will always be a body of knowledge that just needs to be taught from the front, picking the topics suitable for this type of approach is half the battle. If a student is not well practised or confident in the area of independent learning then they may develop knowledge gaps that hinder their learning.

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A teacher's guide to inquiry-based learning

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A teacher's guide to inquiry-based learning: When and how should we let our students work independently?