A model to plan, teach, resource and assess inquiry-based learning which encompasses the guiding principles of the newly gazetted curriculum in New Zealand.
1. Takapuna Grammar School
Jill Stotter - Kirsty Gillon
Making inquiry learning work
in the senior secondary school
Diversity Challenge Resilience: School Libraries in Action - The 12th Biennial School
Library Association of Queensland, the 39th International Association of School
Librarianship Annual Conference, incorporating the 14th International Forum
on Research in School Librarianship,
Brisbane, QLD Australia, 27 September – 1 October 2010.
2. Inquiry learning:
• Why did we do this?
• TL antennae out
• Found great teacher to work with
• Timing great with new curriculum
directions
3.
4. ‘... put students at the centre of teaching
and learning...’ NZC p9
• A student-centred curriculum
• Subject areas to reduce content
• Interactive teaching for inquiry learning
5. Effective 21st century
pedagogy stated
NZC p34
• Creating a supportive learning
environment
• Encouraging reflective thought
and action
• Enhancing the relevance of new
learning
• Facilitating shared learning
• Making connections to prior
learning
• Providing sufficient opportunities
to learn
• Teaching as inquiry
6. • 21 students - including 2 year 12 boys
• Mixed ability
• Both believed this would work with senior
classes.
• Submitted abstract to IASL
11. Creating Knowledge from
Information
Task
Brief
Scenario
Situation Product
Problem Information from
answers is
manipulated to
The Information Process form
conclusions,
generalisations
and judgements
Defining
Brainstorming - what do I know? Question Question Question
Questioning - what do I need to find out?
1 2 3
Locating
Identifying sources of information Learning the skills and
Accessing resources
Teaching carrying out the research
Using the analysis to
Selecting / create the product
of Analysing
Answer to Answer to Answer to
Will this information answer my question 1 question 2 question 3
information question? Sharing
created
Organising / knowledge
literacy Creating
Critical thinking to construct new
skills knowledge
Analysing findings
Presenting forming possible
generalisations and
judgements from answers Evaluation
of
Sharing created knowledge
Process
and
Product
Evaluating
What did I do well?
What could I do better?
12.
13. Topic:
Black civil rights 1954-1970
The standards:
1.4 Describe the perspectives
and related actions of people
in an historical setting
1.5 Describe an historical
development, in an essay
14. BLACK CIVIL RIGHTS
FQ1 What position did
blacks hold in US society in
the mid 1950s and why
were there moves to bring
about change?
FQ2 How did blacks
attempt to bring about
change 1955-1965?
FQ3 What new directions
were pursued in the
1060s?
17. 2006
What were key features of different black civil rights
groups that were active between 1955 and 1965? What
non-violent methods were used by these groups to
improve black civil rights during this period?
2007
What were the civil rights problems faced by black
Americans during the 1950s and 1960s? How did Martin
Luther King respond to these problems?
2008
What challenges did the civil rights movement face in the
period 1964–1970? How did different groups and
individuals respond to these challenges during this
period?
2009
What methods did black civil rights organisations use to
bring about change in the United States between 1954
and 1964? How successful were these methods in
bringing about change during this period?
29. Student voice …
‘…when the teacher explained about what was
going to happen I was nervous. How is what I
am going to study be able to be put into
NCEA. But the learning from others was kind
of cool. You learnt from your peers about the
topic. The only thing I am worried about is
the end of year exams. What if some of the
information was wrong, or skipped out as
someone thought it was unimportant and it
was in THE EXAM?...’
30. Student voice …
‘…I wasn’t so sure about inquiry
based learning. It seemed a
little unfair that if someone
didn’t cover everything in their
presentation, the whole class
got the consequences for their
exams…’
31. Student voice …
‘…we sometimes worked in groups/pairs which
was good because we all got to contribute
and work as a team and often found
information from our peers that we didn’t
know about…’
32. Student voice …
‘…we got given a lot of facts and information
and also did a lot of research ourselves (it
was a good balance)…’
33. Student voice …
‘…your partner might find
something you missed…’
‘…I like learning by using different
resources like books, internet,
movies. I also like independent
study and when teachers give us
freedom…’
34. Student voice …
‘…I like working independently in some
subjects while working in groups works
better in others..’
35. Student voice …
‘…I like learning by teaching other people…I
dislike being taught by other students…’
37. Student voice …
‘…we sat the exam toward the end of all the
research and I found that all the work I did
leading up to it really helped me in the
exam..’
38. Challenges …for next time
• Planning inquiry learning – takes time
• No specific inquiry model was used –
just an information model
• Keep teaching the skills – don’t assume
• Some students are not motivated
• Group selection
• Other teachers … on board?
• Need a buddy teacher
39. Challenges …for next time
• Need access to resources
• Taking action … can be difficult
• Teachers need specific PD
• Hard to step back and hand the locus
of control over to students
• Default…
40. Student voice …last word..
‘…it would be cool if we were
allowed to do just what we were
interested in. If that happened
then there would be a lot of
people that were happy with their
jobs. If everyone was happy in
their lives then there wouldn’t be
so much crime and issues would
go away…’