Inquiry Analysis

Andrea Edbauer
July 22, 2019

Initial understandings of inquiry

During my last year teaching, Howard Suamico was starting to switch to a personalized
learning approach. The long-term plan was to fully implement personalized learning over a three
year period. That year, the focus was on learner profiles and helping students understand how
they learn best. Eventually, students would be using the inquiry process to work on skills that
were relevant to their learning needs and interests. This approach to learning helped me
understand a bit more about inquiry-based learning, and what it looks like in the classroom. We
would watch videos and read articles during professional development days. Even though I
understand what inquiry can look like when it is carried out effectively in a classroom, I still
have a lot to learn about how to get students to that point.
I had my students use inquiry in the classroom, but it was usually very guided. For
example, they had to research an animal. I had them pick which animal they wanted to research,
and write down some guiding questions, or things that they wondered about that animal.
Sometimes during class discussions, students would ask a question, and we would find the
answers together as a class (which I modeled). I also had students keep “wonder books.” When
they had a question, or something that they were curious about, they could write it down in their
notebooks. My intention with the notebooks was to engage in an inquiry unit during the second
half of the school year. During the first part of the school year, I worked with the Technology
Integration Specialist to help students develop research skills: safe websites for research, how to
enter keywords, analyzing resources, how to paraphrase and cite sources, etc. Unfortunately, I
had to have an unexpected surgery during the second half of the school year, so I wasn’t able to
guide my students through an inquiry project.
Collaboration plays a big role in all aspects of teaching, but it can be very powerful when
it comes to inquiry. When teachers are planning an inquiry unit, they are more of a facilitator to
student learning. Because of this, many lessons are taught in-the-moment, and are based on the
day-to-day progress and questions from students. It is helpful to have more than one set of eyes
on students, and to have someone else to aid with the in-the-moment decision-making.
When I think of inquiry at the secondary level, I think of a documentary called ​The
Finland Phenomenon​ (​Faust, Woodard, Ellis & Compton, 2011)​. Secondary students in Finland
are continuously engaged in the inquiry process. Teachers facilitate learning, but students guide
which direction their learning will take them. They are even allowed to leave school if they need
to seek answers out in the community. They do not take standardized tests, or have traditional
homework assignments. They are completely driven by the inquiry process to learn more about a
topic, and to use their newfound knowledge to create.
Realities of Application

During Inquiry Camp, I was continuously assessing students, and making decisions based
on their progress and questions. During the first week, we noticed that students were asking us
quite a few how-to questions in regards to creating their websites. Because of this, we posed the
question “What could you do if you need help when creating your website?” Their initial
response was that they could “Ask Google,” but we guided them through a few other solutions,
such as asking a peer for help. We also found the exit slips helpful. For example, one student
revealed that she wanted to learn more about how to find reliable websites, so Michelle did a
mini lesson with her the next day.
Perhaps the most helpful assessment tool for me was simply looking at the websites they
were creating. The students did a fairly good job of asking questions as they were working.
However, by looking at their websites, I was able to find many ideas for mini lesson topics. For
example, we noticed that one student was copying and pasting text, so we did a mini lesson with
him on paraphrasing. I noticed that a student had some inconsistencies with his page titles (not in
chronological order, some titles were short, and some were long), so I showed him my website as
a mentor. For all of the lessons, we tried to show students mentor texts (websites), and posed
questions, rather than ​telling​ them how to do something. Because of this, I feel that students were
more invested and engaged in the mini lessons. Instead of simply absorbing information, they
were responsible for cultivating it.
During the inquiry camp, we supported students by celebrating their curiosity, and
offering choice. On the second day, we learned that one student was very eager to create a
website. Because of this, we decided to let students begin the creation process on the third day.
We had originally planned on allowing one week for research, and one week for producing a
final product. We learned that this particular student wasn’t very engaged, so we made
adjustments based on his interest. Other students responded well to this, too. We offered choice
in the creation piece, but they all chose to create a website. Creating the website was just as
much, if not more, of an inquiry process than learning the actual content. The feedback from
students at the end of our time together revealed that they plan on using what they learned about
making a website in the future. One student revealed that “Technology is a lot more interesting
than I thought.”
Future Practice Implications

The most rewarding part of inquiry camp was seeing the students engaged and having fun
throughout the process. I wasn’t sure how middle school students would feel about spending part
of their summer doing academic work. I think that once they learned that we didn’t have a list of
requirements, and there wasn’t going to be a grade at the end, they were more relaxed, and they
realized that the process was actually fun.
The most challenging thing for me was knowing when to let students work, and when to
intervene. I think I was able to find a good balance towards the end of our time together. It may
be because my background is in elementary education, and I’m not used to the silence of
students working independently. And our group was small, so the likelihood that someone would
have a question was decreased. I did not want to feel like I was hovering while students were
working, but I wanted to see what they were doing. My solution was to sit at the tables behind
them, and work on my own project. That way, I was keeping busy by working alongside them,
but I was still nearby to help and observe. If they didn’t ask for help at all, I would go over to
them at the end of our hour, and ask them how things were going.
One key concept that I took away from this experience is that inquiry isn’t just a fun unit
that I can do with my students a few times a year. Rather, it is a way of teaching and learning,
and can be applied to every aspect of the classroom any day of the year. The article ​Reading for
Real: Creating a Culture of Inquiry​ (Mills & O’Keefe, 2017) was a key turning point in helping
me come to this realization. The article is based around the Center for Inquiry (CFI) in
Columbia, South Carolina. At CFI, everything students do is grounded in inquiry. During
reading workshop, students investigate strategies that readers use. Writing workshop is modeled
around an inquiry into the strategies that good authors use. I must have read the paragraph that
describes CFI at least a dozen times, thinking, “Whoa… I get it now.” Working with students
also helped lead me to that understanding. In our class discussions, we talked about how to guide
students to understand the concepts we were trying to teach, rather than tell them. Mills and
O’Keefe refer to this as “thinking up” with students, rather than “talking down” (Mills &
O’Keefe, 2017, p. 7). One example of how I used this during inquiry camp was when I led a
lesson on citing sources. Rather than telling students how and what to cite, I showed them a
mentor website. By looking at an example, they came to their own conclusions as to how authors
give credit to other sources.
Another key concept that I took away from the experience is the importance of asking
students for feedback. I definitely do not do this enough. Even in the primary grades, I think
teachers often forget that even our youngest learners can offer great ideas from different
perspectives. I mentioned this example earlier, but the one that comes to mind right away is
when a student expressed that he was eager to create a web page. Rather than wait until the
second week, like we had originally planned, we moved that lesson to the following day. The
exit slips also helped us gain an insight into questions that students had, and how they were
feeling about the process. I had never used exit slips before this course, and I plan on using them
in the future.
A third key takeaway from inquiry camp is that I do not have to know everything about
the digital tools that students are using. Rather, allowing them to discover the tool on their own is
an inquiry process in and of itself. Troy Hicks addresses this topic in his article ​The Next Decade
of Digital Writing (​ Hicks, 2018)​.​ Hicks argues that “We will need to trust our students to take the
lead in guiding one another to the process of composing images, audio, maps, and other data
sets” (p. 11). Doing so will allow students to be knowledgeable creators, and not just consumers.
Prior to our time with students, I did not have any experience with Google Sites. I decided to
create a site while the students were working on theirs, so I could learn how to use the tool, as
well. What resulted was a fun exchange in learning. I was helping them, but they were also
helping me. For example, one student learned how to change the background of the pages, and
he showed me how to do it, too. I learned how to embed a link into a picture, and I showed him
how to do so.
There are many aspects of this experience that I will be using with students when I return
to the classroom. The three key concepts mentioned above are the main ideas: making inquiry a
part of everything I do in my classroom, asking students for feedback, and not being afraid to use
digital tools that I may not be familiar with. In many ways, the experience has changed the way I
approach all interactions with students. I am definitely going to be thinking about how I can
make all future lessons inquiry-based, whether it is a whole-group lesson, or a one-on-one
conference.
Asking students for feedback is another practice that I will use with my students. I think
fear has held me back from doing this in the past. Fear that the answers would be silly, or that
students wouldn’t understand how to give honest feedback. But if I build a culture of trust and
honesty, giving constructive feedback should be second nature. The book ​Upstanders​ (Daniels &
Ahmed, 2015) provides many examples on how to build a classroom environment where
students feel safe, respected, and trusted. According to Daniels and Ahmed, “Before we can
really dig into our course curriculum, we need to help kids build the necessary skills to be
collaborative, metacognitive, and responsible for their roles in our community” (p. 77). Along
with this responsibility comes the need to think critically, and offer constructive feedback.
I am walking away from this experience with a plethora of digital tools that I did not
know about before. I now feel more confident to learn about these tools alongside my students.
In the past, I often felt like I needed to know the ins and outs of every digital tool that I used with
students. Because of this, I often used the same tools over and over. A final take-away is that I
can step back and let students work independently, without intervening as frequently. If they are
on-task, I can trust them, and trust the process. They just might surprise me!
 References

Daniels, H., & Ahmed, S. K. (2015). ​Upstanders: How to engage middle school hearts and

minds with inquiry.​ Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Faust, S., Woodard, A., Ellis, B., & Compton, D. (Producers), Faust, S. (Director). (2011).

The Finland Phenomenon. ​Finland: True South Studios.

Hicks, T. (2018). The next decade of digital writing. ​Voices from the middle, 25(​ 4)​, ​9-14.

Mills, H., & O’Keefe, T. (2017). Reading for read: creating a culture of literacy through

inquiry. ​Talking Points, 29​(1), 2-11.