Michael Pohl

An absorbing day with Michael Pohl both endorsed a lot that we are already doing and left us with many ideas for enhancing inquiry and the thinking process.  Michael introduced a number of models that can be used to encourage students to think in different ways - deBono's Hats, Revised Blooms, Thinker's Keys.  It will be useful to see how each of these marries up with Forarty's Three Storey Intellect which at present forms the basis of our inquiry thinking tools.  Whichever we choose to continue with we must ensure that all staff know and understand how they fit into the inquiry process.  We need to remember to keep the toolbox manageable.

Michael also talked about developing complex thinking skills.  Some ideas he introduced:

• Both teachers and students need to become good questioners
• Acronyms - SCUMPS, SCAMPER - can help to develop analytical thinking
• Use graphic organisers/mind maps to organise information, show relationships and analyse ideas
• Develop the language of thinking.  All children - from the youngest to the oldest - should be hearing the same language.  
  
• Use visual icons to help the younger children understand the language
• Questions need to be deep, thought provoking

Unpacking Fogarty's

Mark took us thru the Fogarty's Three Storeys Intellect.

As a staff we clarified how we are using the question starters, buzz words.

Used as a tool to develop fat questions.

Using the first storey we asked..."What is global warming?" DEFINE and then developed into.

"What are the most important factors causing global warming?" COMPARE

"Evaluate the use of recycling in school on a Worldwide scale?" JUSTIFY/EVALUATE

When developing questions ask the children, "What does your/our question require you/us to do to get the answer".

A lot of discussion around the other 'tools' we have in the 'box'.  Is there any point of adding another tool  (Andersons Revised).  Because Andersons and Forgartys have similar sentence stems. Are there major differences?  We think not.

As a staff we were quite split on what we wanted...Jan made us vote!  Nic sat on the fence!

We have decided on Fogarty's, Activities from Blooms, De Bonos thinking hats, graphic organiser , kiplings 7 servants (Who, what, where, when, which,why,how) and thinking maps.

Decision made.....WE THINK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ICT Lead Teacher Meeting

Lead teachers will investigate and introduce the revised Blooms Taxonomy to their syndicate for term 4's inquiry. We discussed how we could best use Fogartys 3 story intellect and how it links in with Blooms. Lead teachers will lead the introduction of Blooms at syndicate level.
We talked about creating question starters for the "key" words in each stage of Fogartys to make it more user friendly for all teachers.
Staff will decide on what thinking maps we are going to investigate further and then introduce them into our thinking tool box.
Deb and Mary are going to investigate which thinking maps we have already in digital form. Deb will also investigate which graphic organisers that we already have available to us in digital format.

Inquiry Scaffolding System

On the 8th of September Mark and Jan put together a blueprint for the Coley Street School inquiry scaffolding system. The purpose of the system is to put all the inquiry resources together into an easy to use system that both students and teachers can access to aid them in their inquiries. The scaffold follows the new school wide model and includes templates, thinking tools, links etc.
The next step is to as a whole staff decide on which of these tools we want to include.

Muritai Inquiry Visit

We visited Muritai School on Thursday 14th of August as part of the ICWC Cluster. Andrew Bird the principal started by giving an overview of the Muritai Infrastructure and an outline of the culture of the school. He highlighted the staff turnover, especially at the senior management level.

There had been a focus on staff teams looking at ict integration. "The 'Action Learning' process was used as a model of investigation and they were "continually developing systems to ensure the children can achieve to a high level". Andrew also acknowledge the influence that 'Quality the Richmond way' by Cheryl Doig had had on Muritai.

Some other areas of interest/difference

• specialist teachers for music (guitar, drums, performance)
• music lessons in school time
• Assembly was like a mini production - Emphasis on "high quality" performance

A panel of children from each syndicate shared how they saw the inquiry process. One of the most poignant comments came from 'Jed', when Mark asked, "What would you think if you were able to choose any topic to research/study". Jed said, he thought it would be quite over whelming. A very honest comment!!

Muritai's Inquiry was based on Blooms and the children carried out 4 inquiry's a year. We liked the expectation that the senior students were given specific criteria around output/action within an inquiry.

Overall it was a really postive visit...It's always good to see a different Inquiry model and to check out a different school environment.

Inquiry Meeting Term 3

The CSS Inquiry committee met to set up a time line for the development of the scaffold system.



The following details were decided.



Term 3

Scaffold System - Mark and Jan will met and put together a skeleton framework for the scaffold system.



Term 4

Information Literacy Skills - Staff will review how info literacy's are taught. What is working for us now. The connection with several other curriculum areas suggests we may develop a document that stands alone. Jan has found a resource that is very specific in how to teach these skills.

Thinking Toolbox Review - All staff to attend review meeting. Clarify what we are using and what all staff think should be in the CSS Thinking Toolbox.

Assessment Rubric - Review when and where we share the criteria to create common understanding around our assessment rubric.



2009

Staff will attend a teacher only day early in 2009 to decide which thinking maps will be used at CSS.

Key Competencies - A focus for early 2009 will also be the key competencies. Some discussion will be had towards the end of 2008. We need to think about ways to implement the key competencies.

There was also some discussion on assessing the key competencies. All agreed there needs to be a shared understanding within the staff of what the competencies 'look like'. This will ensure we have a common language to share with the children within each of the year levels.

Our Lady Lourdes Visit

The focus on Inquiry Learning provided the Coley St team with an insight into another schools rationale.  We noted difference and similarities.  A major difference was the whole focus on one theme.  This appeared to provide the teachers with control over what the children would be learning.  We wondered, with the structure of lessons and learning set at the beginning of an Inquiry, whether there was an opportunity for the children to explore their own question as they came up.

We were really interested in 

• ibook
  
• Mobile internet access on camp
  
• mp3 player as voice recorder for podcasting
• the water feature in courtyard

Again a valuable opportunity to see another inquiry process in action.

Student Hosts

Wonderful feedback from our visitors today – they were extremely impressed with your classes and the children – once again how the children could explain themselves was highlighted. Well done. 

College Street Normal Visit

As a cluster we had visit from the Principal and Deputy Principal from College Street Normal School in Palmerston North. They shared with us their schools journey and how they use Costas Habits of Mind and David Hyerles Thinking Maps to enhance teaching and learning.

The success they had experienced with the Thinking Maps reinforced our intention to embed the Hott Maps into our teaching programs.  

Inquiry Scaffold System

At a brainstorming meeting teachers pooled ideas for templates to be included in a drop down menu to be developed for student use.  It is envisaged that children undertaking pure inquiries will be able to access the menu for templates and examples to assist them.  Stages will include definitions such as, "What is an essential/subsidiary question?"  Templates and examples of graphic organizers will be accessible for children to copy.  Information literacy's will feature in the scaffold e.g. What are key words?  Templates for interviews, faxes etc. will be made available.

Children will be able to access and copy a web log to help track their discovering and processing stages.  The assessment matrices will be available for student self assessment.

It is intended that students' knowledge and understanding of the inquiry process will deepen with the  support the scaffold system will provide.

Inquiry Based Learning

As lead teachers we attended a workshop presented by Jan-Marie Kellow.

Full presentation notes can be accessed from :

http://icwc@wikispaces.com

The workshop confirmed the direction we are heading. It also identified some aspects of our Inquiry that may need tweaking or further discussion and development.

We need to cater for a changing staff base to ensure that:

• Staff have full ownership and understanding.
• There is consistency throughout the school.

A suggestion for achieving this might be to have a staff retreat at the start of the school year. However, this would not cater for new teachers joining staff throughout the year.

Below are some thoughts we would like to explore further with the rest of our staff:

• Students working just outside what they know.
• Think of the reading process-shared, guided and independent process.
• Students, especially the younger children need the support.
• 2-4 inquiries a year...not all concepts would need to be covered under the inquiry windmill.
• Not all concepts/topics would need the deeper/ higher order thinking that we look for/expect in an 'inquiry'.
• Not always looking for children to create knowledge. We are looking at understanding existing concepts.
• A natural social action...some inquiry topics do not lend themselves to this...the action should not be contrived!
• Think about low level questions...sometimes it is totally appropriate to go out and bring in information about a topic.
• Inquiry concepts do not always have to come from the students. They can be introduced by the teacher. Students can take ownership through the questioning/wondering process.
• Students don't know what they don't know!

Inquiry Based Learning

ICWC Cluster

Inquiry Based Learning - Jan-Marie Kellow

As a cluster of teachers we think..

Inquiy Learning is...questioning, discovery, curiosity, investigating, motivation, processing, problem and issues, skills and attitudes, empowering, challenging ideas,justifying, reflecting, systematic investigation, authentic, critical thinking, process engagement, deeper unerstanding, interacting, student centred.

What is our initial definition of Inquiry?

Teachers need to have it really set in their heads. If we don't it's very difficult to expect the children we work with to have a clear understanding of what Inquiry is.

Student Ownership

Does not always mean the concepts come from the students.

Children don't always know what they don't know...they need an inital start from the teacher.

Why are they doing an inquiry into something...what is the purpose?

Authentic

Relevant, real life issues...although not alway possible, it should be the aim!

(gardens around schools, bring back the birds)

Questioning

Wonder Walls - Students put up questions.

What if Walls could work here to...to promote thinking outside the square...everything accepted.

Scaffolding - Guided Inquiry

Students working just outside what they know.

Think of the reading process-shared, guided and independent process.

Students, especially the younger children need the support.

2-4 inquiries a year...not all concepts would be need to be covered under the inquiry umbrella. Not all concepts/topics would need the deeper/ higher order thinking that we look for/expect in an 'inquiry'...english, math.

Not looking for them to create knowledge, we are looking at understanding existing concepts.

A natural social action...some inquiry topics do not lend themselves to this...the action should not be contrived!

Think about low level question...sometimes it is totally appropriate to go out and bring in information about a topic.

Stages of Inquiry!

Ask - knowledge attack/Immersion

Can't ask questions if they have no knowledge - PURPOSE

Key Question

Planning

Acquire

Sources of Information

How to find Information

Accuracy

Analyse

sort and sift

analyse

apply to task

Act

create

communicate

action

Assess

Evaluate Produce (effectiveness)

Evaluate Process (efficiency)

Rubric - rubistar site

Developing a model, using a different way of visually representing the model! Not always using the same model for all! Have we lost our model focus, with the change to the windmill?

(An example of model...children have pics of themselves and move them along the path of inquiry)

Staff Meeting Inquiry Focus

All staff met to discuss goals that had been identified for 2008.  The discussion led to further unpacking of our Inquiry model and planning templates.  We reflected on the inquiry language we were using and modified the planning template.

Inquiry Goal Setting for 2008

Goals as identified by Lead teachers and facilitator

To consolidate the process and application of Inuiry Learning by having regular staff meetings with specific Inquiry focus to discuss/challenge and extend the process of Inquiry Learning. We intend visiting schools with a strong Inquiry focus. Lead teachers will visit other schools to look at Inquiry as part of the 'I can We Can' Cluster.

At a Syndicate level we will further develop academic rigor by meeting to identify and refine info litereacy's. We will develop an Inquiry scaffold system which children will use to deepen their knowledge and understanding. Teachers will give opportunities for children to develop self assessment opportunities within Inquiry Learning. This will give student an opportunity to reflect on their learning using clear criteria that they have helped to set.

Inquiry Learning

At Coley Street School we have been developing our Inquiry Learning model over the past four years. The adventure started when three of our staff attended an ICT conference in 2004. Our Inquiry model has changed and developed over the years and we review, adapt, and make necessary changes to our model where needed.

The initial model we used was a train which had 7 carriages, Ignition, Wonderings, Discovering, Reporting, Creating, Take Action,  and Reflection. Teachers found that this model was to "Linear" and that children left reflection until the end of their inquiry when reflection needed to be taking place constantly throughout the inquiry process. With reflection as the focus for change we have developed our new Windmill Model which encourages reflection at each stage of the process.