Inquiry Learning

A day of Inquiry Learning for 
Principals & Superintendents

Family of Schools Principals' Inquiry

On Wednesday, November 21, a dozen or so principals in my Family of Schools, along with central staff and myself, gathered for a morning of inquiry learning.  As a group, we tackled three questions:

                    1.  What constitutes effective inquiry learning?,

                    2. What constitutes effective monitoring of school improvement for student   

                         achievement?, 

                    3. Do the goals set in your school improvement plan effectively address the 

                        instructional core?

Here are the answers the group came up with to the first two question:

                     What constitutes effective inquiry?                            

     Relevant                                                                                                                  Manageable                                                            Focused                                                                                                                             Collaborative                                                                                                               Authentic*                                     

      Honest                                            

      Grounded in curriculum                    

      Evidence-based                                

      Cyclical                             

      Engaging                                           

     What constitutes effective Monitoring?

      Shared documents
      Learning walks
      Intentional dialogue
      Data Collection
      Documentation that makes student thinking visible
      Evidence of student work
      Student conferencing
      Walking the halls
      Modeling best practices
      Learning stance vs. performance stance
      Moderating the student experience

During our session, we viewed the following YouTube video that further elaborates on inquiry-based learning:  Inquiry-based Learning

We also watched this humorous video, which shows administrators how not to monitor teacher practice:  How Not to Monitor

For homework, the principals were asked to restate, using the elements of the instructional core (teacher, student, curriculum, & task), one of the if/then goal statements in their school improvement plan for student achievement.  .

Book Reiview: Inquiry: A Districtwide Approach to 
Staff and Student Learning

by Nancy Fichman Dana, Carol Thomas, & Sylvia Boynton

Inquiry: A Districtwide Approach to Staff and Student Learning is based on the premise that It takes a district to teach a child and has as its thesis that a culture of authentic inquiry will develop in a school or district only when all stakeholders are immersed in it – including district leaders, principals, teachers, teacher coaches, and students.

The authors begin by describing the process of inquiry learning.  It begins with a “wondering” or “burning question”.  Next comes the collection of both quantitative and qualitative data, including field notes, critical friends group feedback, professional reading, and most importantly, student work.  The data is then analyzed and improvements in teaching practice are implemented based on what was learned.   The rich learning from the inquiry process is then shared with others through a variety of means, such as websites and blogs and learning fairs. The learning fair is also a celebration of the completed inquiry.  The professional learning community is the means through which the inquiry process occurs for teachers and principals. 

Three different types of inquiry are presented in this book: shared, parallel, and intersecting.  In shared inquiry, the principal, teacher, or student group conducts a single inquiry or wondering.  Parallel inquiry occurs when members of the learning community conduct individual inquiry projects but work collectively as sounding boards for each other within the learning community.  Finally, when each learner within a group explores a sub-question related to an overarching topic, intersecting inquiry is occurring.    

The significant benefits of inquiry learning for all stakeholder groups are clearly identified in Inquiry: A Districtwide Approach to Staff and Student Learning.  Inquiry learning breaks down the walls separating teachers from administrators and from each other.  When it occurs in classrooms, it also redefines the relationship between the teacher and his/her students, making them co-learners.  In essence, inquiry learning gives the learning community shared purpose.  Another identified benefit of inquiry learning, whether in PLCs among teachers or in the classroom with students, is that it introduces meaningful data analysis into the learning process. As well, it produces a much deeper and richer form of communication among teachers and administrators and among the teacher and his/her students.

 

However, the authors offer an important caution concerning communication: Only when clear protocols are used to structure the dialogue will the conversion be focused and “learningful”.   They recommend, as an important first-step protocol, that ground rules such as the following are set for the learning group:

- Speak honestly

- Assume the goodwill of others

- Treat others as equals and focus on equity of participation

- Trust the process

- Expect it to get messy and confusing at times

In terms of challenges to inquiry-oriented learning, the authors are succinct – time and trust.  Both administrators and teachers need to solve the time crunch problem, particularly if they are going to find a way to interact as a learning community during the regular work day.   Then again, several creative solutions are proposed, such as creating “partner classrooms” so that one teacher in a pairing is freed up while the other watches both partners’ classes.  As for trust, teachers or principals who form a learning community must drop any sense of competitiveness or protectiveness and enter into inquiry learning both honestly and openly.  With respect to the classroom, teachers must trust both their knowledge of core curriculum and the ability of their students to be self-directed in their learning as opposed to teacher-directed.

One idea introduced in Inquiry: A Districtwide Approach to Staff and Student Learning that I find particularly interesting is the idea of offering experienced teachers the option of participating in an inquiry-oriented learning community and sharing the results of their inquiry as a substitute for being formally evaluated.

 In the final chapters of the book, the authors discuss the role of coaches in inquiry learning.  They offer the following equation as their suggestion for the work of coaches: Pressure + Support = Educator Learning and Change.  I have no issue with this formula, but would humbly suggest a third addend in the equation – inspiration, which, I believe, is a necessary ingredient in motivating teachers to change practices.

Overall, Inquiry: A Districtwide Approach to Staff and Student Learning is an easy-to-read guide to inquiry-based learning, which includes practical advice and strategies along with good case studies.  It approaches inquiry learning from the perspective of all the major stakeholders, with the exception of one, begging the question:

How could parents support inquiry-based learning in the classroom?