Using Tools of Technology to Support Content Area Inquiry

By Julie Lattka

Middle school students are a fickle audience. They are easily sidetracked by
social distractions and interactions with their peers. Yet bring a group of chatty thirteen
year olds into the computer lab, give them an online task and they are immediately
plugged into their own solitary universe. Classroom management becomes almost
entirely unnecessary the draw to technology is so strong. Educators can use this
fascination to their advantage and get students interested in a topic and hold their interest
simply by incorporating technology within a student driven inquiry project.
Carefully planned use of technology in conjunction with student inquiry projects
will allow meaningful learning to take place. A well-planned inquiry project will allow
students to become immersed in a content area topic. As a result key vocabulary,
background knowledge, and a deeper understanding will take place in their specific area
of study. As students become deeply engaged and knowledgeable in a self-chosen topic
within a specific content area this knowledge can cross over to the other ideas in the same
subject. For example, a student inquiry project on the breeding of dogs for science might
later help the student to better understand Mendel’s theory of genetics in pea plants.
Researchers suggest student driven inquiry projects keep students engaged in a topic.
Effective and well-planned use of technology tools can help foster engagement, when
used as a regular supplement to curriculum.
Dr. Howard Gardener, an education researcher, has written several books on the
theory of multiple intelligences and explains that by allowing students to present
information in a way that is most natural for them, a deeper understanding of content
occurs. Utilization of technology and student driven inquiry engages multiple
intelligences by allowing students to interact with information in multimodal ways.
Bruce and Linda Campbell’s book Multiple Intelligences and Student Achievement
explains that, “Noting that most productive human work occurs in the form of projects,
Gardner recommends that students conduct school-based projects to acquire skills needed
as adults”(68). In the modern work force it is becoming increasingly important for adults
to know the skills needed to navigate through nearly endless information online. It is
important for educators’ to prepare students for this reality. By giving students
opportunities to learn critical evaluation skills needed to navigate the Internet in the
context of a student driven inquiry project educators can provide students with an
education that will help them become successful, intelligent adults. Technology can also
enhance knowledge by providing a multimodal way of learning information in the
content area.
The first important component in a successful student inquiry project is providing
immersion activities that allow students to choose topics that are personally interesting
and therefore more motivating. According to an article from the International Reading
Association by Zorfass and Dorsen, adolescents “pose questions they are passionate
about when their coaches and teachers immerse them in motivating activities.” It is
explained that the immersion activities are more effective if they take place outside of the
classroom and experienced in a variety of ways. However, in many schools it is rarely an
option to take students outside of the classroom for the immersion activities described in
the article. According to “Make it Happen!” a website constructed by the Education
Development Center, immersing students in a topic using a variety of sources including
maps, pictures, diagrams, video, print sources, people resources and others is imperative
to students understanding of a topic. If technology is utilized in the form of Skype, You-
Tube (or other live/video feed), virtual labs or field trips students can gain this
understanding in the classroom. The Internet has given educators a way give students
experiences that would have otherwise been inaccessible. Added to this is the knowledge
that students have a predetermined interest developed for anything on a computer screen.
While technology should not take the place of real field trips and guest presentations it
can be a very powerful way to enhance students’ classroom experiences and knowledge
of a specific subject area.
Developing guiding questions to lead the inquiry is the second step in a successful
inquiry project. Engagement is the key to success; engagement means students continue
to ask questions and look for answers after the initial hook. Making meaning for what
students are reading is the ultimate goal for developing guiding questions. Lent explains,
“when students generate questions based on what they are reading, they grapple with
meaning.” Without a higher-level thinking question that is personally motivating to
students an inquiry project would not encourage students to make meaning from
academic based text. Guiding questions are particularly important when the Internet is
used as a resource. Allowing Internet use as a resource gives students more motivation to
stay engaged, however, there is so much information available to students it can be
overwhelming and guiding questions can help them navigate to find the information
needed. Modeling how to generate these types of questions is vital. For example, a
teacher may do a think aloud to show students the thought process that goes into
developing guiding questions. Identifying lower and higher level questions from a list of
examples, as a class can also be powerful. Constructing a higher level thinking question
that is meaningful and engaging for the student is an important component to student
driven inquiry.
Once the student has chosen a guiding question it is important that they develop a
plan of inquiry. The plan should include the way in which the student will present the
information they have found. When students use the Internet as a tool a plan is essential
for effective and efficient research. Several skills students should develop while
conducting research online include: “Navigate information networks to locate relevant
information . . . Critically evaluate the usefulness of the information” (Lent, 88). An
inquiry project, if developed with technology use in mind can foster a student’s skills for
analyzing and synthesizing information provided on the Internet. This is an essential skill
for our youth to develop, as without a doubt they will be using the Internet for their own
purposes. Educators need to give students the tools needed to evaluate the credibility of
information on a website. An easy way to get students thinking about this topic is to give
them an evaluation form that asks students to look at the authors, the last time a website
was updated and other similar questions. Once students learn what to look for to
determine a website’s credibility they can more efficiently find information needed to
support their inquiry project.
When a plan has been completed and the student is ready to present the
information, there are many options that engage multiple intelligences and utilize
technology. Students might create a virtual poster on Glogster or another similar site.
They can post the information they have gathered during the inquiry project in a blog or
wiki. With a digital camera students can record a presentation of their topic and upload
the video to schooltube or teachertube. Posting information online can be a very powerful
way to get students to look critically at their final product. Students become very aware
that they have an audience beyond their classmates and teacher.
Inquiry projects are a successful and research backed way to get students to
become active participants in their education. Allowing them to have a say in how they
will pursue a topic encourages engagement and therefore learning takes place. By
combining the inquiry project with modern technology students have yet another
incentive to stay engaged and keep learning content area material. Along the way
educators can guide students to critically evaluate information online leading students to
higher level thinking and giving them skills that will apply to their current Internet use
and adult life. The ability to think critically and make meaning from text is a skill that
will serve students for a lifetime. "The ability to read awoke inside me some long
dormant craving to be mentally alive." -Malcolm X
 Works Cited

Campbell, Bruce; Campbell Linda. Multiple Intelligences and Student Achievement:

Success Stories from Six Schools. Alexandria: Association for Supervision and
Curriculum Development, 1999. Examples of successful inquiry projects supported by
theory and research.

"Integrating Inquiry and Technology into the Middle School Curriculum." Make it
Happen!. Education Development Center, Inc., 2000. Web. 14 Jul 2010.
<http://www2.edc.org/fsc/mih/index.html>. An informative site that provides good
direction to educators who want to combine student inquiry with technology.

Lent, ReLeah Cossett. Literacy for Real: Reading, Thinking, and Learning in the Content
Area. New York: Teachers College Press, 2009. Relevant strategies although they are
not all related to technology use.

Zorfass, J.M., & Dorsen, J. (2002, March). ScienceQuest: Literacy development within
an informal science education initiative. Reading Online, 5(7). Available:
http://www.readingonline.org/articles/art_index.asp?HREF=zorfass/index.html