Inquiry Based

The foundation of "Thinking Outside the Box" is the belief that students learn and are challenged by solving "real life" problems.  This method of learning involves teaching and learning that is exciting and authentic, that has the learners truly engaged and growing.

By using the inquiry principles of the action research cycle-plan, act, reflect, change-to lead to understanding and change within our practice, (Dick, 1977) we, as teachers, can build a new way of programming. 

There are two aspects of Vygotsky’s work: his emphasis on social activity in problem solving and the role of language in learning that underlie our approach.

• Social construction of knowledge. “Constructing meaning when they are involved/engaged in collaborative literacy activities - centers, reading, writing.”
   
• Social dialogue that children engage in during the planning, action segments and reflection of their work that builds confidence and curiosity.

“Without the students there would be no website. As children got excited and shared ideas with others about what they would be using in their journals, as reflections on fieldtrips, or information learned on topics of study they had purpose for committing their thoughts to print. As their ideas were valued by being put on a website they were further encouraged and had another purpose for writing. As students collaborated with the teacher, older students and each other a meaningful website evolved. Their ideas for what should be included on the website and how the ideas be delivered made the project meaningful for all the people involved.”

• Skills and aptitude building while investigating and compiling information.  Students learn to organize, present ideas, compare and contrast, respectfully analyze others’ opinions and information to come to conclusions that will assist in problem solving.

Project Based

We believe that students learn best through working together to create a plan of action and take risks necessary for learning.  Sometimes they are leaders and sometimes they find other roles within the group for the project.  Students enjoy making decisions, voicing their concerns and questions and taking responsibility for their learning.

• Each project has to have a vision, description broad enough to encompass a range of diversity, yet narrow enough to give direction and focus. The project becomes a driving force or challenge throughout day/year – accountability, a stepping up, and a rising of the bar which all help to advance the learning.

     Future Technology Project: http://www.stmary.ecsd.net/TC

• Projects create authentic learning – a real purpose, meaningful work.
  
  “My children are so excited about sharing their work on the net….their publishing takes on a new magnitude of power! They really are authors-because everything they see on the net is true!!”

Grade one – Lynn Wasserman - http://ake.epsb.ca/curiousgeorge/writing.htm

·    Makes learning fun.

“One student's comment was that anything we do on the computer is so cool. "I can't believe how much I'm learning."  "This is so great, and we don't have to do any work!”

Our Beliefs for Project-Based Learning

1. Learners need to be involved in planning.

2. Learners need to take responsibility for their learning and have opportunities to take leadership roles.

3. Learners need the freedom to self-select aspects of a theme on which to work, modes of learning and recording, and their co-workers, at least some of the time.

4. Learners need to identify what they see as the problem/issue/topic and describe what they already know.

5. Learners need to identify what resources they need and what actions need to be performed in order to deal with the task at hand.

6. Learners need to prioritize their topics and needs and make specific action plans.

7. Throughout the learning experience, the learners need to take a metacognitive stance.

8. Throughout the learning experience, time needs to be given for group reflection on the content and process of the learning.

Technology Integration


 

• Showcase student work; e.g. internet research; activities; technology software;
  
  "It is a chance for them to share with each other their own learning and achievements, and a "product" that they can view any time they want - just like going back and reading a favorite book."

“...an increased interest in his books and students gained an appreciation for the artistry in his stories. The web site showcases a variety of student responses to the stories. They can share their learning with children around the world.”

“This website is an important educational resource for students when finding information on our Solar System and Night Sky. Students used the internet to research information for their reports and search for pictures/ images. Use of the internet and computers helped to motivate students while lending itself to an infinite amount of information on our Solar System and Night Sky.”

Tech e.g. Marylynn’s Animation - http://www.holyspirit.ab.ca/~marylynn.striemer/students03.html

• The outcomes and expectations have been far exceeded- because of the depth and scope of this inquiry!
  
  “The students were very excited about being able to gather information off the internet and discover actual photos of planets and space vehicles. They wanted to see how what we were learning was going to be shared with others and were more than willing to use the digital camera to collect data to put on the web. Parents are also anxious to see what the children have been doing as part of our space study.”

Kindergarten doing KidPix for November conferences; http://www.stmonica.ecsd.net/mb%20meet%20students2.htm

Grade 1 for November conferences: http://www.stmonica.ecsd.net/cv%20liam.htm

• Creating evidence of learning in different ways- Multimedia and video. 

Students working at the grade five level to create a claymation movie about a recent class wide literature study of “Tuck Everlasting” The students and the teacher worked in clay, sculpturing characters and making backdrops, (Fine Arts), creating scripts for their scenes (Language Arts), digital photography and video editing (Technology) to create a whole class presentation entered in the River Valley Film Festival in New Brunswick this year.

     http://www.stmary.ecsd.net/mm/5G.htm

Leading Practices

An important impact of our growth as learners and teachers, we believe, is that our students have improved learning opportunities. We can now see everything through an inquiry project based lens, and how this is helping our students to do the same.  They are far more curious, inquisitive, problem solvers and have voice and choice in the method, activities and how they understand different aspects of curriculum.

Teaching should come from an inquiry stance. Explaining questions to our students, enlisting their help in finding answers, discussing what the teacher is learning and ask them what they are finding out. Throughout the inquiry process teachers find that they are more explicit when teaching and become better at taking a metacognitive stance themselves while modeling it to their students.

• Projects document learning – photos show the process, not just the product. (Reggio)

Rotting Pumpkins - http://www.halloween.ecsd.net/cv%20rotting%20pumpkins.htm

Triptych - http://www.keepingchristinchristmas.ecsd.net/cv%20triptych.htm
 

• Illustrates and concretizes leading and exemplary practice –
   

Inie’s writing: http://www.learningtowrite.ecsd.net/igwriting.htm
 

• Inspiring and motivating to others – push boundaries how to display these projects on the Internet for others to enjoy.

Football page for Fall Project http://www.stmonica.ecsd.net/cv%20grey%20cup%20graph.htm
 

• Incorporating all the higher thinking skills
  
  ”...children are constantly evaluating their discoveries; researching for more facts and then reorganizing their knowledge to construct habitats for their animal; questioning; comparing and contrasting; seeing relationship. The beauty of this inquiry is that the thinking skills they are using daily will give them the sense of accomplishment that they will recognize always as part of real learning!”

“Analysis and evaluating are the only level they seem to be working at these days!”

·   Applied use of skills.

“Students have learned a practical use for the skills we are teaching them - application as well as the independent skills. Discuss what would happen if “this character” moved to “this book”, or what if “this” (maybe an incident from Andrew's Loose Tooth) happened to this character (Moira)”

• Curriculum outcomes were exceeded as their process and products were made much more public by using the net.
  
  “Curriculum outcomes/expectations were exceeded, as children have taken more than basic information about the 5 food groups into their homes. They are analyzing and evaluating their family’s eating patterns, reading labels and bringing discoveries on a weekly basis."
  
  ”Children can discuss intelligently their own eating habits, rationalize the treats that parents put into lunches, predict what will happen if they eat certain things (like soft drinks) and knowledgably share their knowledge.”

Collaboration/Telecollaboration

One of our current beliefs is that learning is a collaborative activity. People don’t learn in isolation. They learn by being members of a learning community.

• Creating an educational resource: creative and original work; reports; new topics; curricular search.

Franklin - http://www.franklin.ecsd.net

Michelle’s Halloween - http://www.halloween.ecsd.net/MB%20Halloween.htm

Robert Munsch story - http://www.canadianauthorstudies.ecsd.net/cv%20munsch.htm

Kelly’s book of Manner’s for Grinch - http://www.holyspirit.ab.ca/~kelly.peake/04drseuss3.html

Online Books for young children - http://www.onlinebooks.ecsd.net

• Creating a reference: collections of links for topic appropriate for classes

Nutrition - http://www.nutrition.ecsd.net/

Early Literacy - http://www.earlyliterature.ecsd.net

• Contribute to world body of knowledge –

Book Idol –Cheryl’s class http://www.canadianauthorstudies.ecsd.net/tololwa%20mollel.htm

• Moves learning from microcosm to macrocosm – from individual to classroom collaborative – to provincial interactivity – to global
  
  “...constantly interacting with each other as they work on the computers, showing and sharing, and teaching each other how to do things. I find these projects are very interactive and a good opportunity for peer teaching.”
  
  “helpful in giving children who may never experience snow and winter an idea/sense of what that experience may be like.”
   
• Change of perspective – from not just learning it for self, but to share learning and ideas with others - from internalization of concepts to teaching to others.
   

MSB http://www.internationalauthorstudies.ecsd.net/cv%20joanna%20cole.htm
 

Phases of the Moon - http://www.stmary.ecsd.net/Websites/Space/6dinfo.htm
 

• Interact with experts
  
  “The students worked together to research about the snakes.  They read books and Internet info to find out what type of snake has been in the classroom.  They also find out other info about the snake. They then present this info to the expert when he visits to verify whether or not they are correct."
  
  Robert Munsch – emailing/writing; rapid interactions

• Collaboration –
  
  “Sharing and peer teaching both during the course of the year and further on during their learning careers will be unsurpassed. Children are bringing materials and information that they know a friend has great interest in. Students collaborate by teaching each other how to do various skills within the KidPix program (you know: hey, how'd you do that?). Students collaborated by helping each other access the various programs we needed, showing each other how to find saved data, showing each other how to scan pictures, even how to access the website to view their product. Students collaborate by offering each other praise (hey, that's pretty neat... what a great picture....). Students collaborate by reminding each other of what they are supposed to be doing, proper rules for the use of technology and rules of the computer lab, team work and community building.”
   
• Appreciate the uniqueness and work of others.
  
  “By putting their work on the Internet it allowed them to share their gifts and to appreciate the gifts of others.”

Grade 2 integration using Literature into all subject areas http://starcatholic.ab.ca/stben/classes/2h/munsch.htm

• Learn from others.
  
  “This allows me the opportunity to learn form the teaching of my colleagues outside the district! This makes my work less isolated.”

How Student Work Adds Value

• Contribute to raising world consciousness.
  
  “It permeates social responsibility and social awareness.”
  
  “Nutrition is a major concern in our society …so any sharing that teachers do over the web and through resulting discussions can only benefit all of society.”
  
  “The students learned about the different food groups and then they transferred the knowledge learned to their everyday lives.  The students applied the information gathered and consciously continue to make healthy food selections and encourage their parents to do the same.”

“The children were learning the song, “Love can Build a Bridge”, and looking through the book at the ways that we can work together to make a safe and peaceful world.  Children can see the power of the community and how love and kindness can spread when you work together.  I had one student teach the other students how to use sign language in the chorus to the song and it warms my heart to see the unity.  Music can bring unity to a classroom community and it definitely continues to bring unity to our classroom.”

Mary Jeanne’s hampers: http://www.keepingchristinchristmas.ecsd.net/mjm%20hampers.htm

• Impact on the world

Human Body Project http://www.thehumanbody.ecsd.net

 

"This site was inspired and created by the children. I was merely the facilitator. The students asked the questions for their learning, they thought up the tasks and celebrated their journey on "The Human Body.” This study was inspired - the children became completely immersed in studying the body, researching, drawing, sharing their information. This project was a full collaborative effort - full class decision making, small group choices and work; independent work and reports. In addition, medical professionals shared their expertise with the class. The children used problem solving, creative thinking, initiative, accessing multi-media references, in a fully collaborative model. : Grade 2 students decided to document their learning on the human body by creating a web site. Through a fully collaborative model with students, teacher, and parents working together, the web site includes the children’s original scientific drawings and reports, original games created for other students, researched Internet links, summations of professional expert resource people, a timeline of our learning journey, and most recently, documentation of how student information was accessed by eminent scholars and used with adult audiences.
 

As part of my professional growth plan for 2001-2002, I wanted to incorporate aspects of the Reggio approach to learning by showing alternative, non-traditional ways to document children’s learning.  This documentation had to honour the students’ viewpoint and so everything I planned and recorded had to reflect this.

 

My role was to facilitate and scaffold for the children. Their ideas were so huge and I had to find a way for it to happen for them, to experience success. I remember one comment from Sarah, who asked me, “Are people going to go on to our site for information, just like we researched on the Internet?” My answer was an automatic, “Of course, they are.” They researched, created, and worked with that end or vision, so their work had to be of “expert” quality.

 

 

One year after we completed this work, we found out that it was being used at a conference on Microbiology in Paris, France for renowned scientists and mathematicians. At my request, Dr. Steven Harvey wrote a letter to my students, honouring their work, and explaining what his lecture was about and how he was using their work.  Alan November, at the October NIS Conference, used this story to highlight how children’s work is contributing to the world’s knowledge.

I believe that these children’s lives have been significantly impacted from this study; they know they are researchers, and have contributed to the world’s knowledge. They selected and followed their own interests as part of intense, in-depth learning. Eleanor Duckworth has shown that to develop a disposition for lifelong learning, children need to be engaged in long-term, in-depth learning. I believe this is the success of the project – creating lifelong learners. I would not be surprised to find out in 20 years from now that many of these children follow a career relating to medicine or science."

Students’ Comments:

 

These students are now in Grade 4, yet some of the experience of creating this web site is still fresh in their mind. The first comments in our Looking Back conversation had to do with the Human Body party – assembling the body with the different animals’ parts (heart, liver, sausage, etc.) They remembered the smell… and they laughed.

 

Remembering back…

• How all the body parts work together and if one body part fails, then all the other body parts might fail with that.
• It was stressful, because some things didn’t go as you thought it might.
• I remember how the doctors came in and explained how everything worked.
• (when asked about their reports?) lots of animated discussion
• It took a long time.
• It was fun and exciting.
• There were lots of arguments. Like if you want to have this color background, or do it like this. (Is this arguing? Or dialogue?) Dialogue – learning conversations.
• We couldn’t read some of those books. They were so hard! But we did it!
• We kept on checking our site, adding in more things. It took us a long time – about a year.

 

Evidence that this learning has continued:

• Several children referred to having their own Anatomy or Human Body books with learning activities -
• Optical Illusion book – “There’s a blind spot at the back of the eye…”
• Explaining how the brain is impacted by Tourette’s Syndrome

• “It takes a lot of muscles to move.”
• “I just figured out something about the bones. When you’re a baby, you have 250 bones, by now you have 210, and when you’re an adult you only have 200. You don’t lose bones, they just fuse together.”
• “I also figured out that your funny bone is really a nerve.”

 

 Funding Benefits

•  New Dell computers - (22 at St. Monica's + 30 at St. Mary's)
• The purchase of 16 digital/video cameras has enabled us to reach our goal of representing children’s learning in a documentary format through creative application and extensions of learning. Example: Documenting students engaged in hands-on learning with zoologists, biologists, archaeologists, historians. 
• Mobile Multimedia Centre complete with computer, flat screen, video and audio mixer
• EMac multimedia station - St. Monica
• VCR and DVD players for broadcasting over the schools cable systems
• i2eye video phones
• Smart Boards
• LCD projectors
• Color Business Ink Jets
• Tech support 1 1/2 days between 2 schools
• Karaoke machines for in-class presentations/small productions
• TV/VCR's mounted in each classroom

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St. Monica School - http://www.stmonica.ecsd.net

St. Mary School - http://www.stmary.ecsd.net