Christie's+Notes

Stripling, B. (2008, September). Inquiry: Inquiring Minds Want to Know. //School Library Media Activities Monthly//, //25//(1), 50-52. Retrieved October 6, 2009, from Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts with Full Text database. “Both experience and research tell us that students engaged in inquiry are more motivated to pursue learning on their own than students who are fed pre-organized information that they are expected to remember.” “Inquiry is a process of learning that is driven by questioning, thoughtful investigating, making sense of information, and developing new understandings.” “It is cyclical in nature because the result of inquiry is not simple answers but deep understandings that often lead to new questions and further pursuit of knowledge.” “The goal of inquiry is not the accumulation of information; it is the exploration of significant questions and deep learning.” “Also necessary for inquiry are dispositions(attitudes toward learning), responsibilities, and self-assessment or reflection.” (50) “Most models of inquiry follow the same general cycle:” · Tap into prior experience, background knowledge · Generate questions or problems that can be investigated · Develop a plan for investigation · Select resources-select, analyze, & evaluate information that addresses the questions or problems · Organize information, find patterns, draw conclusions and new understandings · Create demonstration of learning and share with others · Reflect on the process and product of learning; generate new questions

“Throughout the process, students reflect on what they are observing and finding out.” (51)

“Because the aim of inquiry is active discovery, LMS and classroom teachers can employ formative assessments to track the action of students and assess their progress in attaining and using skills and dispositions throughout the inquiry cycle.” ( 51)

“Although the process of inquiry is much the same as it is applied in various content areas, the emphasis may be on different types of thinking.” (52)

“…….the emphasis is on asking good questions more than finding the answers.” ( 52) “Every inquiry learning experience should start with a challenging problem or question that is meaningful and worthy of deep exploration.” ( 52)

Carnesi, S. & K. DiGiorgio. "Teaching the Inquiry Process to 21st Century Learners." __Library Media Connection__ 27.5 (March 2009): 32-36
 * ARTICLE - CARNESI & DiGIORGIO - Teaching the Inquiry Process to 21st Century Learners**

(Multipurpose) The Inquiry process is a cycle that can be used to teach research in any content area. (32)

The greatest advantage is that the inquiry process utilizes Bloom's lower level skills during first two steps and then moves to the higher level skills for the remaining steps (32)