Dianna Bembenek

I have felt like the author at times when my students seem to have an unending list of questions. In the past, when my students did research, it was a topic that was assigned to them and had to be completed within a unit we were studying. Therefore, the kids may or may not have been interested in the topic or gained knowledge about using the skills involved while researching because it was just something they had to do. Using mini inquiry would be a great way for me to help my kids have a better understanding of research and probably make completing a big research project later on, a little less stressful and overwhelming. Although I have taught my students how to think about what they know, summarize, evaluate, and ask questions, the manner in which I have done this has not been authentic. I want to use mini inquiry lessons as a way to make learning and writing more fun all while giving students more responsibility for their learning and giving them the opportunity to choose what they research. Working in groups to decide on a question will also teach valuable lessons about compromise and collaboration. Once students have learned how to go through the steps involved in mini inquiry, this would be a great small group activity while I meet with students during guided reading. My students keep a journal already and they could use this to record questions they have about a topic and use rotation time to search for answers. A catch phrase I had heard is students need more voice and choice. Mini inquiry will give students more voice and choice as they grow and learn as readers and writers. I enjoyed this article and especially the way the author clearly explained each step in the inquiry process. 

Heiliger’s description of Mini-Inquiry is wonderful.  Heiliger writes of “honoring students’ questions, pursuits and findings”.  He describes how students came to him and shared with him, “information they found, articles, ideas and issues”.  Clearly his students were totally engrossed in their inquiry.  I think that it was incredibly fortuitous that the Internet was down the days that his students were working on their ‘Mini-Inquiries”!  Hurray for old-fashioned books and the library!!!!  Wasn’t it great how his students learned that you really can obtain a wealth of information from a picture book, sometimes more than from an encyclopedia?  Heiliger was not running the show, the students were.  He was merely a facilitator.  As he so aptly stated, “…what really matters is being available to help students discover information and find answers”.   Inquiry-based learning works!

So, who is Bodo Heiliger?  What is his background?   Heiliger is originally from Germany.  He earned a Master’s Degree in Education from Harvard.  Heiliger has had extensive training in the Primary Years Programme (PYP) which is part of the International Baccalaureate Organization based in Switzerland.  The PYP is very much an “inquiry-based” program.  Where is Heiliger now?  He is the Head of the Elementary school at an international school in Portland, Oregon.