Julie Coiro, from the University of Rhode Island, Workshop for New York City Teachers November 2019

1. PracticalStrategies for
Fostering Comprehension
and Engagement Through
Digital Inquiry
Julie Coiro, Ph.D.
School of Education
University of Rhode Island
jcoiro@uri.edu
uri.academia.edu/JulieCoiro/Papers
Companion Website: bit.ly/PDInquiry
Inquiry Symbaloo: bit.ly/SymbalooK-8

2. Acknowledgements
Beth Dobler
Emporia State
University
(and School Library
Media Specialist)
Emporia, KS
Karen Pelekis
Grade 1 Teacher
Scarsdale, NY
Companion Website: bit.ly/PDInquiry

3. Where are we headed?
• Part 1: Coming to Terms with Important Terms
• What are similarities and differences between offline and online
reading comprehension and digital inquiry?
• Why and how can we cultivate personal inquiry in our
classrooms/schools to promote comprehension and engagement?
• Part 2: Intentional Choices for Teaching and Technology Use
• How can we design opportunities and choose technologies that
can deepen learning in meaningful ways as part of the inquiry
process?
• What role does the teacher/administrator play in the inquiry
process?
• Part 3: Instructional Techniques to Support Comprehension In The
Context of Inquiry
• How can we teach students (K-8) to generate their own questions,
apply critical thinking skills, and creatively share their learning as
part of personal [digital] inquiry?
• My background and inclusion in the “we” above…

4. Who’s in the Room?
• Grade level
• Subject Area
• Position
• What are you wondering about today’s topic?
• GO TO: PollEv.com/juliecoiro781

5. Part 1
Coming to Terms with
Important Terms
What are similarities and differences
between offline and online reading
comprehension and digital inquiry?

6. Coming to terms withimportant terms…
Generatinga commonlanguage
What does each mean to you?
How are they similar and how different?
• Reading Comprehension Strategies
• Online Reading Comprehension Strategies
• Online Inquiry
• Digital Literacy
• Personal Digital Inquiry
A. First… think to yourself.
B. Second.. turn and talk.
C. Third... list, group, label.

7. List-Group-Label – Why?
• It helps students organize their understanding of specific
vocabulary and important concepts needed to understand
the text/task
• It builds on students’ own prior knowledge about a topic.
• It actively engages students in learning new vocabulary
and content by activating critical thinking skills (builds a
shared understanding)
• It teaches categorizing and labeling skills.
• http://readingrockets.org/strategies/list_group_label

8. A vocabulary sidebar about “Strategies”
to avoid confusion and establish clarity
• Thinking Strategies:
• “Mental Processes” (mental process used while reading or
thinking – sometimes individually and sometimes with others)
• Teaching Strategies:
• “Instructional Techniques” (ways of teaching designed to
promote ways of thinking and interacting with others)
• Lifelong Learning Strategies
• “Real-World Practices” (things we do in the real world to help
us learn and interact with others)
• Decoding (reading the words) vs. Comprehension
(constructing meaning while reading, listening, viewing, and
talking) vs. Learning (Building and sharing knowledge)

9. • Locate information using search
engines, databases, or websites
• Make inferences
• Make connections
• Monitor
• Visualize
• Reflect
• Summarize
• Synthesize ideas
• Synthesize information across
different media
• Take Action
• Use fix-up strategies (Regulate)
• Wonder
ACTIVITY 1: Work with a partner to sort this list of strategies
(mental processes and real-life practices) into one of the three
boxes in your handout. [Ignore the “online inquiry” box for now].
• Ask questions
• Analyze
• Create
• Collaborate
• Communicate new ideas using
digital tools
• Determine important ideas
• Discover
• Discuss
• Generate search terms
• Evaluate the accuracy of
sources
• Evaluate the relevance of
sources
• Evaluate level of author
expertise

10. Initial Insights from List-Group-Label?
What does each mean to you?
How are they similar and how different?
• Offline Reading Comprehension Processes
• Online Reading Comprehension Processes
• Personal Digital Inquiry Practices

11. Offline Reading Comprehension Processes

12. Online Reading Comprehension Processes
(plus those used in “offline” spaces)
Monitoring
and regulating
one’s activities
(Metacognition and
Self-regulation)
Asking
questions
Locating
information
Evaluating
information
Synthesizing
information
Communicating
information
Generate search terms
Locate information
using search engines,
databases, or on
multilevel websites
Is it relevant?
Is it accurate?
Is author an expert?
Synthesize information
across different media
Communicate new ideas
using digital tools

13. OnlineInquiry: Applying online reading strategiesto solve a
problem using the Internet(and other sources)
Monitoring
and regulating
one’s activities
Asking
questions
Locating
information
Evaluating
information
Synthesizing
information
Communicating
information
A problem-based scenario
engages students in real-
life practices that directly
connect to events and
ideas in their world

14. OnlineInquiry: Applying online reading strategiesto solve a
problem using the Internet(and other sources)
Authentic Task (Problem-Based Scenario)

15. Informational Overview Page to Build Background
Knowledge

16. Include Multimodal Sources
to vary texts, increase interest, and decrease readability

17. Encouragepartner work to help co-construct an
understanding of challengingtexts,concepts, and online
reading practices

18. GOOGLE CUSTOM SEARCH

19. Then, what is Digital Literacy?
Reading
Digital Texts
Information Access,
Compilation, Analysis
& Evaluation
Composing
Digital Texts
Information Synthesis,
Production, &
Creation
If Literacy = Reading & Writing

20. List-Group-Label – How did you do?

21. What is Personal Digital
Inquiry (PDI)?
Why is inquiry important?
How can we cultivate PDI in
our classrooms & schools to
promote comprehension and
engagement?

22. PERSONAL emphasizes the significance of the
personal relationship between teachers and
students, and the roles that students have in
the learning process.
DIGITAL reflects the important role that
digital texts and tools have come to play
in both learning and teaching with inquiry.
INQUIRY lies at the core of PDI, because
learners grow and change with relevant and
authentic opportunities to identify problems
and generate solutions
What is Personal Digital Inquiry (PDI)?

23. Personal vs. Personalized:
What’sthedifferencewhenitcomestomovingtowardstudent
directedlearning?
• “Personalized” is about a top-down designed or
tailored approach to learning; customized for the
student, but still controlled by the teacher (serve
up learning based on a formula of what a child
needs)
• “Personal” is something human where the
learner initiates and controls part or all of the
learning process; often emerges from
engagement with others about one’s personal
wonderings and building relationships in the
process. It often doesn’t include technology!
True personal learning: It’s all about building relationships & curiosity!

24. Learning is social
and part of a mutually
constructive process
that involves face-to-
face talking, listening,
and consensus building.
Creative learners make
personal connections
and take action to raise
awareness and/or foster
change. “I belong and I
can make a difference”
What might inquirylook and feel like in a digital
age? (Four sets of core values/practices)
Generating questions
and lived experiences
with real issues is
personally fulfilling;
Inquiry can happen
on several levels.
True inquiry involves
critical analysis,
reflection
& self-monitoring,
which leads to
more questions.

25. PDI Questioning Tool - See Appendix F. page 229

26. Garden
Inquiry
(Grade 1)

30. Library
Inquiry
(Grade 6)

31. Padlet for Sharing and Organizing
Digital Resources and Creations

32. What’s the value of personal inquiry for
learning and engagement?
It sits at the core of everything!

33. The Challenge:Connecting Learnersin Ways
That Matter
“We need to move beyond an
industrial model of universal school
toward new era focused on lifelong
learning and individual choice – or
we will lose our learners emotionally
& physically.”
~ Allan Collins & Richard Halverson (2009)

34. Gallup Poll (2012) - 500,000 US students, Gr. 5-12
Center for Education
Policy (2012)
TheChallenge:ConnectingLearnersinWaysThatMatter

35. Gallup Poll (2015) – 929,000 US students, Gr. 5-12
Percentage who strongly agreed with the statement: “The adults at my
school care about me, “ declined from 67% (Grade 5) to 23% (Grade 11)…
Many students don’t feel individually known or cared for at school.
THIS is the PERSONAL we need to focus on!

36. The Challenge:Connecting Learnersin Ways
That Matter
Sense of Belonging – Do I fit in? Am I relevant? Do people care about me?
OECD PISA 2015 Students’ Well Being (April 2017)

37. Daniel Pink: A Whole New Mind (2005); Drive (2009)
Engagement & Belonging

38. • FLOW (“in the zone”)
Csikszentmihalyi (1996) optimal
psychological state [roots of
happiness] high level of
challenge with immersed focus
 Self-Determination Theory
(Deci & Ryan 2002; 2012;
2017) – Three innate needs for
optimal function and growth
Engagement and Belonging

39. • 1 high school, 581 classes, 1,132 students
• “Connective instruction [when teachers help students
make personal connections to a class] predicts
engagement more than seven times as strongly as
academic rigor or lively teaching.”
Why is the “personal”piece so important?

40. • Inquiry helps establish a meaningful purpose for reading.
• Inquiry and “research” (information gathering, analyzing, and
sharing) cultivates active use of higher level reading
comprehension strategies.
• Inquiry and research promotes active engagement and
intrinsic motivation for reading (which links to pride,
purpose, relevance, and sense of belonging).
• Inquiry encourages opportunities for self-directed learning
and personal agency.
OptimisticFindings:Inquiry-BasedApproachesto
ReadingComprehensionwith K-8Learners
See handout: Coiro (2018). Building Young Readers’ Comprehension
and Engagement Through Inquiry and Research.

41. • Explicitly weaving supports for online reading skills into
inquiry-based instruction…
• Fosters 4th and 5th grade children’s ability to generate high quality
inquiry questions, effectively search for and determine credibility
of online sources, and synthesize ideas across texts (Kingsley &
Tancock, 2013)
• Supports 1st graders as they transition to reading on the Internet
(Salyer, 2015)
• Transforms learning for students from low-income homes
(Dwyer, 2013) or those learning English as a second language
(Castek, 2008)
• Especially when teachers partner with library media specialists
(Chu, Tse, & Chow, 2011; Kulthau, Maniotes, & Caspari, 2007).
OptimisticFindings:Inquiry-BasedApproachestoReading
ComprehensionwithK-8Learners
See handout: Coiro (2018). Building Young Readers’ Comprehension
and Engagement Through Inquiry and Research

42. Before Part 2:
Intentional Choices for
Teaching and
Technology Use
Think, Pair, Share:
Time to process &
reflect…

43. So now…what new insights do you have?
What does each mean to you?
How are they similar and how different?
How might these ideas inform your teaching about
reading, learning, thinking, and creating?
• Offline Reading Comprehension Processes
• Online Reading Comprehension Processes
• Online Inquiry
• Digital Literacy
• Personal Digital Inquiry

44. Part 2
Intentional Choices for
Teaching and
Technology Use
How can we design opportunities
and choose technologies that can
deepen learning in meaningful
ways as part of the inquiry
process?
What role does the teacher (and
school administrators) play in
cultivating inquiry and student
agency?

45. Sohowcanweusetechnology(andgoodteaching)todesign
personal,engaging,student-guidedspacesforlearning?
I also design a week-long Summer Institute experience at URI
to model and engage educators in the same practices we hope
they will apply to their own projects & teaching (Hobbs & Coiro, 2016)
See more at digiuri.com

46. Choosing technology: What’s the
coolest new tool you’ve seen?
Hey, that’s
cool!
1.
How could I
use that?2.
Hmmm…how
might this
connect with
what I teach?
3.

47. Choosing technology: What’s the
coolest new tool you’ve seen?
Hey, that’s
cool!
1.
How could I
use that?2.
Hmmm…how
might this
connect with
what I teach?
3.Turn and talk
some more…

48. Are we asking the right questionsto inspire
self-directedlearners?
Hey, that’s
cool!
1.
How could
I use that?2.
Hmmm…how
might this
connect with
what I teach?
3.
But how? Which
parts and why?
For whom? In
which contexts?
How will your learners
actively engage with
this tool? To what end?
What will your
learners know,
understand,
and be able to do
before/during/after
using this tool?
How does this
connect with the
real world?

49. Afterexploringdigitaltexts & tools, whatifwe
refocusandflipthe sequenceof our planning
questionsfor teachingwith technology?
1 2 3
What will my
students know,
understand, and
be able to do?
How will my students
be actively engaged
and to what end?
Which digital tool(s)
would work best
and in what ways?
1. Set learning
and action
outcomes
2. Create authentic
opportunities for
students to be
actively engaged
3. Then…make
purposeful
choices about
technology (or no
technology)
1. Hey that tool
is cool!
2. How could I use
that?
3. (maybe) How
might this connect
with what I teach?
RATHER
THAN…

50. A critical piece is classroom
culture…
A classroom culture that values
curiosity and honors student voices
while encouraging choice,
collaboration, problem solving,
risk taking, and reflection.
Buildingacultureofinquiryiskey!
(BEFOREtechnologycanplay aneffectiverole
inteachingandlearning)

51. What do we mean by culture?
Adapted from Ritchhart, 2015 (Eight forces to master to transform schools)
Precise
Environment
Routines
Interactions

52. Imagine one of these learning
environments…
• What does it look like or sound like?
• How does it make you feel?
• What is valued and how do you know?
• What are students doing and how do they interact with
peers and adults?
• What do students and visitors remember most when they
step out of this space into the real world?
ACTIVITY 2: Self-assessment (in your handout)
Teachers: Reflect on your efforts to build a classroom culture that values inquiry
as a way to promote deep learning and engagement.
Administrators: Reflect on your efforts to build a school culture that values inquiry.

53. PDI Self-Reflection Tool (for Teachers) bit.ly/PDIReflect
This is your own inquiry into inquiry ….
• Closely analyze the details of these eight forces
and how they interact in your learning
environment
• Reflect on your own values and actions
– Acknowledge your accomplishments
– Identity points of challenge
What did you notice?
What are you proud of…
What’s not likely to be noticed…
What might you focus on next and why…

54. 1. Set learning
outcomes
2. Create authentic
opportunities for
students to be actively
engaged
3. Then…make purposeful
choices about technology
(or no technology)
trust and respect

55. Precise
Environment
Routines
Interactions
Intentional Choices for Teaching and Technology Use
How can we design opportunities and choose technologies
that can deepen learning in meaningful ways as part of the
inquiry process?
What role does the teacher play in the inquiry process?
With an appreciation of a solid foundation…

56. VariedLevels of [Digital]Inquiry
• Modeled inquiry: Students observe models of how
the leader asks questions and makes decisions.
• Structured Inquiry: Students make choices which
are dependent upon guidelines and structure given
by the leader (may vary).
• Guided Inquiry: Students make choices during
inquiry that lead to deeper understanding guided
by some structure given by the leader.
• Open Inquiry: Students make all of the decisions.
There is little to no guidance.
Alberta Inquiry Model of Inquiry Based Learning (2004)

57. Purposeful and Flexible Decision Making About
When and How To Empower Learners to Engage in PDI

58. DesigningOpportunitiesforPersonalDigital
InquirywiththePDIPlanningGuide
Learning Outcomes Student-Centered Inquiry Practices
(modeled > prompted > guided > open)
Knowledge Outcomes: (subject-
specific or multidisciplinary)
Action Outcomes: (join partners,
start conversations, raise awareness,
take action, change minds)
Standards:
Digital Competencies:
Wonder & Discover:
Collaborate & Discuss:
Create & Take Action:
Analyze & Reflect:
[Digital] Experiences to Deepen Learning & Increase Engagement
Acquire
Knowledge
Build
Knowledge
Express
Knowledge
Reflect On
Knowledge
Act On
Knowledge
1 2>
3
>

59. Access
Knowledge
Build
Knowledge
Express
Knowledge
Reflect On
Knowledge
Act On
Knowledge
Learners
passively receive
[digital]
information
given or
modeled by
others
Learners [use
technology
to] connect
new
information
to prior
knowledge
Learners [use
technology
to] share
their new
knowledge
with others
Learners [use
technology
to] reflect on
and evaluate
their inquiry
processes and
products
Learners [use
technology to]
translate their
knowledge
into action for
real-world
purpose
Lower Order
Thinking
Higher Order
Thinking
Purposeful Technology Use
How can technology support or enhance learning?
…to enrich
Knowledge Building
(more teacher guided)
…to enrich
Knowledge Creation
(more learner guided)

60. Digital Resources= Digital Texts and Tools
• Multiple texts & multiple media
• High quality information with
text-to-speech option so reading
level does not impede learning
• Models of curiosity and
creativity
Students are exposed to/explore digital resources (Gr. K-4)
Students use specific resources for specific purposes (Grades 2-5)
Students choose among resources most appropriate for their purpose (Gr. 5-8)
http://bit.ly/PDInquiry
Select Printables from
menu

61. APlatformforYourStudentstoEasilyAccessDigitalTextsand
Tools -Youcanuse,adaptand/orcreateyourownSymbaloo!
http://bit.ly/SymbalooK-8

62. Part3:
InstructionalTechniquesto
SupportComprehensionInThe
ContextofInquiry
Howcanweteachstudents(K-8)howto:
a)generatetheirownquestions,
b)applycriticalthinkingskills,and
c)creativelysharetheirlearningaspartof
personal[digital]inquiry?

63. Mystery Photos K-8
Using visuals, intentional teaching, and extended learning
experiences to inspire and promote wondering, evidence
based reasoning, critical thinking, collaboration, and creation
1 2 3

64. What is this a picture of?
What makes you think so?

65. Solve the Puzzle – Watch A Video –
Havethetextreadaloud(OPTION+Spacebar)
Listen & Ask More Questions

66. Wonder & Discover leads to Analyze & Reflect,which
fosters the opportunity to Collaborate& Discuss and
Create& TakeAction (In Grades1-2)

67. Mystery Photos topromotewondering
Junior Master Gardener
Nanoworld Image Gallery
Jigzone
Mystery Foods

68. ModelsofWonderingQuestions,DigitalTexts,and
Inquiry-BasedReadingandLearningExperiences

69. What decisions informed your design of your Wonder Project?
Wonder&DiscoverleadstoAnalyze&Reflect,whichfostersthe
opportunitytoCollaborate&Discussand
Create&TakeAction(InGrades4-5)

70. More Screencasts from Amber White’s
Grade 4-5 Students
• Using Digital Think-Alouds to Build Comprehension of Online
Informational Texts (The Reading Teacher, 2016)
• Screencast Recordings of Strategic Reading
• Reciprocal Teaching - Predicting, Questioning, Highlighting and
Annotating for Clarification

71. Question Finding in Middle School
Types Characteristics Question Samples
Puzzlement
(awareness type)
Perception of oddity
recognition of ambiguity,
question-sensing,
intuitive, metacognitive
Why is the event a surprise?
How does the idea conflict
with…?
How is the event different from
what you expected?
Puzzlement
(explanation
type)
Explanatory, strategic
planning, goal oriented,
convergent thinking
How can you explain?
What steps can you take to
resolve being puzzled?
What rationale can be given
for?
Wonderment Generative, imaginative,
speculative, exploratory,
divergent thinking
What are some other ways?
What if…?
Can you imagine ....?
A. Vincent Ciardiello (2007). Puzzle Them First: Motivating Adolescent
Readers with Question Finding. International Reading Association.

72. QuestionFinding
• Inspect the document (cartoon)
closely for a puzzling situation.
• Look for a mismatch between any elements
in the document. Check for incongruity
between the message given in the cartoon
and the caption title.
• Notice if there is a mismatch between your
expectations of what you think the meaning
of the cartoon is and the author’s
interpretation of it.
• Think of questions that you would ask
yourself or someone else to try to resolve
the discrepancy (convergent).
• Consider alternate ways of looking at this
situation. Try to go deeper into the
problematic situation by finding below- the-
surface questions (divergent).
• Think of questions that stem from your
original open-ended questions (divergent).
Ciardiello (2007)

73. Question Examples
Convergent Questions
• Why is someone holding a tray with
weapons from the TV?
• Why is this document called Steady
Diet?
• Why are these children watching a
bomb with guns on a plate coming out
of the TV?
• Why is the rope handing down from
the TV?
Divergent questions
• How can we change this diet to a
peaceful one?
• Can you imagine TV without violence?
• Where were the kids’ parents at the
time the kids were watching television?
• What would be a good steady diet?
Ciardiello (2007)

74. So… howcan this
questioningactivity
serveas a
springboardfor further
inquiry(reading,
talking, analyzing,
learning, problem
solving,and creating?)
Ciardiello (2007)

75. Digitallessonsfor
teachers(andchildren)

76. Digital texts for students to engage with
Kidshealth.org
Kids, Teens,
Parents & Teachers
Digital scaffolds or
choices:
• Audio
• Font Size
• Language
• Print

77. Wonder&DiscoverleadstoAnalyze&Reflect,whichfosters
theopportunitytoCollaborate&Discussand
Create&TakeAction(InMiddleSchool)

78. Journeynorth.org
You can apply the same
ideas to real-world inquiry
experiences for younger
children

79. SeemanymoreideasinChapter8:
IntentionalPracticestoFoster
PersonalDigitalInquiry
TeachingStudentsHowto…
Wonder&Discover(p.145-153)
Collaborate&Discuss(p.153-159)
Create&TakeAction(p.160-169)
Analyze&Reflect(p.170-180)
Ch.9:Threewholeunits
Kindergarten:Animals&Habitats
(notechnology)
Gr.4:Tornadoes
Gr.1:OpenInquiry/Measurement

80. Reflections? Ideas? Goodstartingplacesinyourcurriculum?
Mystery Photos and Reading, Viewing, & Creating

81. Wrapping Up
• Part 1: Coming to Terms with Important Terms
• What are similarities and differences between offline and online
reading comprehension and digital inquiry?
• Why and how can we cultivate personal inquiry in our
classrooms/schools to promote comprehension and engagement?
• Part 2: Intentional Choices for Teaching and Technology Use
• How can we design opportunities and choose technologies that
can deepen learning in meaningful ways as part of the inquiry
process?
• What role does the teacher/administrator play in the inquiry
process?
• Part 3: Instructional Techniques to Support Comprehension In The
Context of Inquiry
• How can we teach students (K-8) to generate their own questions,
apply critical thinking skills, and creatively share their learning as
part of personal [digital] inquiry?

82. 3 new insights
2new digital
texts or tools
1colleague to
share with
Take home with you..

83. Possibilities: Using Inquiry and Technology
to Enhance Wondering, Discussion,
Creation & Reflection in Kindergarten

85. VariedPurposesfor UsingTechnology
to Support DigitalInquiry
Access
Knowledge
Build Knowledge Express
Knowledge
Reflect On
Knowledge
Act On
Knowledge
Teachers
shows online
resources &
videos to
build
background;
teachers and
students take
photos in
garden to
use in writing
Students use Pebble
Go for research to
build knowledge &
vocab; Research
about how to stop
insects from eating
garden plants;
students use online
resources and decide
what info. to include
in posters
Student pairs
create poster
on selected
plant topic
using creativity
software
(Pixie)
Collaborative
pairs evaluate
content on
digital posters
(accuracy,
detail, layout,
clarity) and
make changes
as needed
Students
share digital
posters with
buddy
classes (K
and Gr. 5) to
teach others
and answers
questions
about plant
topics
Lower Order
Thinking
Higher Order
Thinking
Gr. 1 Garden Inquiry Project
CONSUME INFORMATION
(teacher-directed)
CREATE / PRODUCE INFORMATION
(student-directed)

87. VariedPurposesfor Using Technology
to Support DigitalInquiry
Gr. 4-5 Human Body Inquiry Project

89. VariedPurposesfor Using Technology
to Support DigitalInquiry
Gr. 6 Library Inquiry Project