Galileo Educational Network

Creating Classrooms We Need: 8 Ways Into Inquiry Learning If kids can access information from sources other than school, and if school is no longer the only place where information lives, what, then happens to the role of this institution? “Our whole reason for showing up for school has changed, but infrastructure has stayed behind,” said Diana Laufenberg, who taught history at the progressive public school Science Leadership Academy for many years. Laufenberg provided some insight into how she guided students to find their own learning paths at school, and enumerated some of these ideas at SXSWEdu last week. 1. Laufenberg recalled a group of tenacious students who continued to ask permission to focus their video project on the subject of drugs, despite her repeated objections. 2. Laufenberg’s answer: Get them curious enough in the subject to do research on their own. “Rather than saying, ‘We’re going to study immigration,’ I took them through a process where they become interested in it themselves,” she said. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Related

Curriculum The Reading Like a Historian curriculum engages students in historical inquiry. Each lesson revolves around a central historical question and features sets of primary documents modified for groups of students with diverse reading skills and abilities. This curriculum teaches students how to investigate historical questions employing reading strategies such as sourcing, contextualizing, corroborating, and close reading. Instead of memorizing historical facts, students evaluate the trustworthiness of multiple perspectives on issues from King Philip's War to the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and make historical claims backed by documentary evidence. I am so excited to find your website and your lessons. Karen Peyer, Teacher, Russell Middle School, Colorado Springs How do I use these lessons in my classroom? The 75 lessons in this curriculum can be taught in succession, but are designed to stand alone and supplement what teachers are already doing in the classroom. 1. 2. 3. Of course!

Full Circle Kit Digital Information Fluency (DIF) is the ability to find, evaluate and use digital information effectively, efficiently and ethically. DIF involves knowing how digital information is different from print information; having the skills to use specialized tools for finding digital information; and developing the dispositions needed in the digital information environment. As teachers and librarians develop these skills and teach them to students, students will become better equipped to achieve their information needs. FAQDIF mapped to Common Core State Standards Common Core State Standards mapped to DIF (pdf) 1. Locating Information Efficiently: What Information Am I Looking For--Where Will I Find the Information--How Will I Get There? Rubrics 2. 3. It could be argued that Competency in Ethical Use should be demonstrated by "always citing the source" and that anything less demonstrates incompetency. 4.

Confessions of a First-Time ASCD Attendee - Corwin Connect Contributed by Cesar Reyes In the cool afternoon, Dan Alpert, Program Director at Corwin Press, and I stood near the entrance to the Los Angeles Convention Center beneath the ASCD banner draped high overhead. Looking up towards the steps as throngs of educators worked their way up the stairs, I felt overwhelmed with excitement in anticipation of my first educational convention. I realized that I was in the company of so many who voluntarily took time from their work, schools, classrooms, students with the like-minded hopes of bringing back to their community a new knowledge that could be implemented or shared with colleagues. I had the privilege of attending Principal Baruti Kafele’s session on the Transforming the Black Male Achievement Crisis. I also had the honor to meet in-person with authors whom I have worked with since I joined Corwin last August. How was your ASCD experience? Cesar Reyes

Best Practices - Inquiry Learning and Collaboration Assessment in inquiry-based learning is accomplished in many ways. It is very different from regular classroom assessment that often requires specific recall of facts presented by the teacher or read from an assigned textbook when a unit is near or at completion. Assessment in an inquiry-based project is ongoing. "Inquiry-based learning requires that students demonstrate their understanding through explanation, interpretation and application." Typical types of assessment occur from all people involved in the project. There is always a final project that is prepared for an audience that may include the teacher but certainly not exclusively. Assessment must be personal and relate to the students' journey. References Callison, Daniel., Ed.D (1986). Callison, Daniel., Ed.D and Annette Lamb, Ph. d (2006). Community Informatics Initiative Faculty and Staff. (2007). Duncan, Donna and Laura Lockhart. (2000). Exline, Joe. Harada, Violet.

Reading Comprehension and Considerate Text, Teaching Today, Glencoe Online Inquiry-Based Approaches to Learning Few things excite teachers more than when their students take over the role of grand inquisitor. When students begin formulating questions, risking answers, probing for relationships, we know they've entered the zone where learning occurs. Not surprisingly, few things excite students more than when they are actively engaged in learning so much so that they forget the clock. These experiences are the goal of inquiry-based learning, an active, student-centered, educational method whose roots go back to the educational philosopher John Dewey. The basis of the inquiry-based approach is to facilitate student-generated questions as the core part of the learning process. After students learn effective questioning techniques, they begin researching to pursue answers and will, consequently, make their own discoveries. What are the steps of inquiry-based learning? What makes inquiry-based education different? What are the advantages to inquiry-based learning?

What Is an "Inquiry Lesson"? What Is an "Inquiry Lesson"? A lesson where students analyze historical evidence in order to form and test hypotheses about past events. Rationale Inquiry lessons introduce students to the "doing" of history. Description Students review historical documents in order to answer a central inquiry question posed by the teacher. Teacher Preparation Choose an historical question that is relevant to the topic you are teaching. Tip: Steps 1 and 2 are recursive. Consider the timing and how long you have to spend on the activity in class. In the Classroom Engage students in the inquiry and provide background information that enables them to form an initial hypothesis. Common Pitfalls Be sure to ask a question that elicits historical debates, not moral judgments. Be sure to ask a question that elicits historical debates, not moral judgments. Common formats for historical questions are: causal questions: "What caused x?" Be sure to use documents and sources that your students can read and access. Example

Baker & Taylor - Review by subject Make Each Day Count image from icanread The number of days I have left with my students. That doesn’t subtract the days where I am not teaching because we are doing special events making the number even smaller. It is the total number of days that I have left to make a difference. I used to do the countdown in my head, not because summer beckoned me, but because I felt a growing sense of dread. Now, I do my silent count down as a reminder to make every moment count. So while I may know how few days we have left together, I will not cling to it for celebration, but rather to push our purpose. 36 more days to go, make each one count. I am a passionate (female) 5th grade teacher in Wisconsin, USA, proud techy geek, and mass consumer of incredible books. Like this: Like Loading...