We used release days to build on our own practices and seek out ways to reinforce sustained inquiry as described by Garfield Gini-Newman. Our focus is on creating more opportunities for communication (as outlined in the FSL Curriculum) by posing age-appropriate and relevant challenges to students. On our journey towards implementing more critical-thinking situations in the classroom, we would like to look at texts such as Making Thinking Visible. We will go through the steps of a collaborative inquiry to incorporate co-planning sessions, build on the teacher prompts within the curriculum and observe each other modelling the strategies. We want students to start questioning and using the structures modelled independently and spontaneously in the classroom.
The need in our school as identified by rounds was an increase in critical-thinking skills. Now that we have defined what that looks like as a staff, we would like to seek out and practise methods that we encourage students to think critically. Everyone is included in the feedback process so that we can bring our learning to the grade team meetings. We have all implemented the MindUp Curriculum as well as Jo Boaler’s math norms in our classrooms. So, this project will allow us to build on our learning by implementing an “inquiring mindset” (from Gini-Newman) and improve our own ability to ask each other “good” questions (from Creating Cultures of Thinking, p. 221) during task-planning sessions.
We will have students’ data through documentation strategies compiled. We will be able to implement strategies and discuss learning with colleagues and expand on our discussions on Google+ French immersion community. Based on the variety of experiences that we have, we will have found a way to mesh inquiry with our teaching style so that it becomes a natural part of our routines. Students will be using the dialogue and questioning vocabulary practised with each other, and will be able to prompt each other to continue conversations. We will have documented the types of questions students ask and ways in which they sustained inquiry. We will have a list of next steps to improve on.
Team Members
Natasha Bascevan
York Region District School Board
Rachel Mettler
York Region District School Board
Maxine Morrison
York Region District School Board
Stacey Ho
York Region District School Board
Sarah Noakes
York Region District School Board
Professional Learning Goals
Our goal was to take a closer look at our own practices to further develop a culture of inquiry in the classroom.
Activities and Resources
We met regularly to discuss the articles and book chapters posted in the resources section. A large portion of our time initially went towards creating a common understanding of what sustaining inquiry is and is not. We returned to our initial understanding and revised our thinking many times as new challenges unfolded. We had colleagues come into the classroom to observe what they heard and saw from the teacher and the students to gain a better understanding of the learning environment, the barriers regarding FSL classroom habits, and the types of questions and discussions that were happening. We started with the “Sustaining Inquiry” chapter from Creating Thinking Classrooms. We also looked at the Capacity Building Series “Collaborative Teacher Inquiry,” “Inquiry-Based Learning” and “Getting Started with Student Inquiry.” There are a ton of resources on inquiry so we really tried to narrow in on the critical-thinking aspect and improving the thinking routines that we already have in place in the classroom.
Unexpected Challenges
- Scheduling different staff members to work together
- i.e., the consultant coming to observe different teachers and being able to observe each other with all the other professional development and release time happening with the school became a challenge
- Timing – it took the team a while to develop the same frame of mind around what inquiry looks like so setting individual goals at the onset concerning the focus of observations was a challenge
- Have everyone be clear about expectations in order to plan and meet more regularly accordingly
- Having a smaller team for scheduling purposes would have been more beneficial
Enhancing Student Learning and Development
- Increase student engagement and accountability for students’ driving their own learning
- Students like that they have the option to explore an aspect that is theirs
- More opportunities for differentiated learning
- Focus on transition from teacher-directed to student-directed – scaffold more clearly so that students are able to incorporate strategies and increase engagement as well
- Have “questioning sessions” incorporated into our planning so that we have critical-thinking, rich questions embedded in our lessons that are scaffolded appropriately
- Look at the units that were already pre-planned and be able to look at them with a new perspective to ask more critical questions and scaffold better
Sharing
We have planned and posted our PowerPoint in the resources section. We will share our learning there so that teachers can wrap their heads around planning for a culture of inquiry in September. The team members are taking their learning back to their grade teams for next year when planning long-range plans together. We also have a forum started on Google+ to continue the conversation between schools and continue learning from each other.
Project Evaluation
The project was a success in that we developed a better understanding of inquiry and we each received books that have strategies that we will continue to work with. Our goal was met because we went through the entire inquiry process as colleagues and then looked at each others’ practices to further prompt each other to think differently. The success arrived when other colleagues wanted to know more about how to step away from scripted conversations and sentence starter conversations and started asking more questions of each other. We should have had a weekly meeting time and stuck to it. Many of us were involved in far too many projects and extra-curriculars at the same time.
Resources Used
The Art of Inquiry: Questioning Strategies for K-6 Classrooms. Cecil, N. and Pfeifer, J. 2nd Ed. Portage and Main Press: 1995.
https://www.portageandmainpress.com/lesson_plans/plan_128_1.pdf
Creating Thinking Classrooms: Leading educational change for a 21st century world. Gini-Newman, G. and Case, R. The Critical Thinking Consortium: 2015.
Making Thinking Visible: How to Promote Engagement, Understanding, and Independence for All Learners. Ritchhart, R., Church, M. and Morrison, K. Josey-Bass: 2011.
Project Zero has a number of tools, videos and articles that we browsed through based on where our conversation took us
Visible Learners: Promoting Reggio-Inspired Approaches in all Schools. Krechevsky, M., Mardell, B., Rivard, M. and Wilson, D. Josey-Bass: 2013.
Questioning for Classroom Discussion: Purposeful Speaking, Engaging Listening, Deep Thinking. Walsh, J. and Sattes, B. ASCD: 2015.
Resources Created
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