INCREASE RIGOR & ENGAGE STUDENTS WITH INQUIRY

A training module at Curriculum Companion Curriculum Camp trainingCESA 5/Summer 2012

FOUNDATIONAL RESOURCE

Comprehension and Collaboration: Inquiry Circles in Action by Harvey & Daniels (2009)

Training materials developed and reproduced

with express written permission from both

the author and the publisher. June, 2012.

INQUIRY VS. COVERAGE

INQUIRY APPROACH COVERAGE APPROACH Student voice & choice Questions and concepts Collaborative work Strategic thinking Authentic investigations Student responsibility Student as knowledge creator Interaction and talk Teacher as model and coach Multiple resources Multimodal learning Engage in a discipline Real purpose and audience Caring and taking action Performance and self

assessments

Teacher selection and direction Assigned topics and isolated facts Solitary work Memorization As if/surrogate learning Student compliance Student as information receiver Quiet and listening Teacher as expert and presenter One subject at a time Reliance on a textbook Verbal sources only Hearing about a discipline Extrinsic motivators Forgetting and moving to next unit Filling in bubbles and blanks

LET’S READ

Read the passage on your handout until you feel you understand it well.

COMPREHENSION TEST

1. How many reasons are there for studying this system?

2. What is the nature of the in vito capsid assembly reaction?

3. Current research focuses on what details of sequence-specific recognition?

4. How many “hot spots” dominate the affinity?

5. In what form are there examples of RNA where affinity and specificity are defined by structural elements?

ANALYZE YOUR THINKING

Turn and talk What kind of thinking did you use to make

sense of the passage?

LITERAL QUESTIONS

Answering literal questions is the least sophisticated level of comprehension. It shows that the learner has some: short-term recall, can skim and scan for answers, and pick out one that matches the question.

Only useful to find out whether or not students actually read the text

Does not demonstrate understanding!

RETELLING

Retelling events or sections of a chapter shows that the learner can: Organize thoughts sequentially, and Recall some short-term fragments of info

Foundational skill for learners Does not demonstrate understanding!

MERGING THINKING WITH CONTENT

True comprehension begins here. Real understanding occurs when learners

merge their thinking with the content and react

Students pay attention to their “inner conversation”—not just run their eyes across the page

Student thinking includes the comprehension strategies and must be explicitly taught. Connecting, questioning, inferring, visualizing,

determining importance, and synthesizing info

ACQUIRING KNOWLEDGE

Memorizing discrete isolated facts does not help us acquire lasting knowledge

Thinking about the information leads to lasting knowledge

ACTIVELY USING KNOWLEDGE

New knowledge brings insights and understandings that can potentially change the way human beings function in the world.

Knowledge can be integrated and applied to the experiences, situations, and circumstances in our daily lives.

THE END GOAL. . .

We want kids to apply knowledge

every day!

THINKING IS NOT A SPECTATOR SPORT

“Learning is a consequence of thinking. This sentence turns topsy-turvy the conventional pattern of schooling. The conventional pattern says that first students acquire knowledge. Only then do they think with and about that knowledge they have absorbed. But it is really just the opposite: Far from thinking coming after knowledge, knowledge comes on the coattails of thinking. As we think about and with the content we are learning, we truly learn it. Knowledge does not just sit there. It functions richly in people's lives so they can learn about and deal with the world.”

~David Perkins, p. 75

THE GRADUAL RELEASE OF RESPONSIBLITY Teacher Modeling

Teacher explains, models, thinks aloud Guided Practice

Teacher & students practice together Collaborative Practice

Students work in small group, share their thinking

Independent Practice Student s try it out on their own

Application of the StrategyWhat steps do you currently use? Which ones need to be added? Does your instruction design allow you to back up and reteach students who need it?

FOUR MODELS OF SMALL-GROUP INQUIRIES

Mini-inquiries Curricular Inquiries Literature Circle Inquiries Open Inquiries

We will be studying Curricular Inquiries in depth, but be sure to

discuss how this model could be adapted for your

students.

YOU CHOOSE

Turn and talk What are the possibilities? How could

this model look in your classroom? What are some initial ideas for

implementation?

ASSESSMENT VS. EVALUATION

ASSESSMENT EVALUATION

Assessment is something we do every day; it fills us in on what our kids are doing.

Assessment provides three important pieces of info: Our students’ learning

and progress Past instruction Future instruction

Evaluation is putting a value on the work (grading). We need to grade students on what they learn from our teaching.

We must gather evidence from ongoing assessment

EVIDENCE OF THINKING & UNDERSTANDING

Listen to kids Read kids’ work Confer with kids Listen in on conversations Observe behavior and expressions Chart responses Use technology (to track thinking) Keep anecdotal records Script what kids say

ANOTHER GREAT RESOURCE

Cris Tovani’s

INDIVIDUAL ACCOUNTABILITY IN SMALL GROUPS

Make grading standards crystal clear Individual accountability important

Groups must specify what each member is responsible for

Have written work plans or checkpoints Require individuals to bring “visible

evidence” of their work Use one-to-one meetings to check in

with individual kids

INQUIRY RUBRIC