A Question You Can't Easily Google the Answer To

Guided Inquiry is about exploring ideas rather than accumulating facts.

Over the past 8 weeks or so, I have worked with another teacher to guide 57 year 7 students in their inquiries into the fascinating world of Ancient Rome.

As the word ‘inquiry’ suggests, there was a great deal of emphasis on questioning 

and, in particular, open, higher order (Blooms) questions. The students really enjoyed delving deeper into their areas of interest using questions, rather than trying to find a series of superficial, lower-order answers.

We used The Question Formulation Technique several times at critical junctures throughout the inquiry process. Strong critical thinking is dependent upon asking questions and this technique allowed students to improve the quality of their questions, prioritise them and use the questions of their peers as a springboard for thinking critically.

As teacher-observers, we were pleased to witness the sense of relief when students realised they weren’t being judged on what they knew; but rather by their capacity to engage with and get excited about Ancient Rome. The QFT process gave them a freedom to explore Ancient Rome without a fear of failure. 

Wherever possible, we reinforced the idea that there is no such thing as a silly question. Kids need to know that asking questions is fundamental to learning.

The inquiry process encouraged students to move from closed (lower-order) to open (higher order) questions.The effectiveness of this strategy came through in the reflection survey completed at the end of the unit. 91% had a firm grasp of what a higher order question was…… “A question you can’t easily Google the answer to Miss!”

We worked with students to refine their inquiry questions and used peer assessment and ‘critical friends’ to test that each question was indeed, higher order on the Bloom’s scale. 

Our focus on the questioning process was vindicated by the calibre of Inquiry Questions produced.

Some of the questions included:

• ·      What did it take to become a great Roman emperor?

• ·       Were the Romans inventors or merely developers?

• ·       How did the social hierarchy in Rome operate?

• ·       Why didn't children in Ancient Rome have any rights?

• ·       Why have Roman roads been able to last so long?

• ·       What were the most effective strategies used by the Roman military?

Another interesting outcome was the level of engagement experienced through the ‘Inquiry Circle’ activities. Students were split into groups and each student was given a role to play and questions to answer. Their investigations culminated in a game of Roman ‘Hot Potato’ where each team pitted their collective knowledge against the others.

     Student responses to the Inquiry Circle’s question in the second survey are summarised below.  

1= Not at all, 2= Not really, 3= It was OK,  4 = I Liked it,  5= Loved it (can we do more?)

As educators, these results reinforced for us the concept of learning as a social process. 

The collaboration that occurred was interdependent – each student had a role and the success of the entire group depended upon their efforts.

The ‘social’ aspect of the inquiry was also incorporated at the Create and Share stage where students had to present their findings to a ‘critical friend’ from another class. Using a marking rubric and Inquiry Question checklist, students acted as both presenter and assessor. 

Metacognition was also a key factor at this point. Students had to explain to their ‘critical friend’ how they came up with the inquiry question. They also had to explain where they found primary and secondary sources and reflect upon how they might have improved. 

As predicted, this use of assessment as learning (peer assessment) proved very effective. Interestingly, 46.2% of students indicated that this form of assessment challenged them to think more deeply than regular research assignments submitted to be marked by teachers.

Despite these encouraging results, our Guided Inquiry experience was not all smooth sailing. We did have a yearly exam to contend with mid-unit which shifted our focus and in some cases, students found it hard to cope with this new style of self-directed learning. We learned also that the size of the Inquiry Circle groups is critical (no more than 4) and that more explicit modelling of note-taking strategies would be beneficial before starting the unit.

Overall though, HSIE and Guided Inquiry seem to be a natural fit. The process forced students to engage at a deeper level to construct a personal understanding of Ancient Rome. Far from presenting a ‘copied and pasted’ power point, students participated in some real learning.

I look forward to spreading the ‘Guided Inquiry’ good news story with other faculties. Science - I have you in my sights.   

Guided Inquiry - a 21st Century Approach

In the coming weeks I’ll be embarking upon some Inquiry Based Learning with year 7 history classes based upon the work of Kuhlthau, Maniotes and Caspari (2012). As mentioned previously, the new NSW History syllabus for the Australian Curriculum lends itself perfectly to the development of information literacy and Inquiry based learning.

The prospect of throwing myself wholeheartedly behind this particular pedagogy, however, both excites and terrifies me!

I'm really looking forward to team-teaching with other professionals who are passionate about their role as educators and keen to try something new. I know that tapping into what students really want to learn, allowing them to construct their own meaning and determine their own questions - has to be a better option than the usual simple collection and presentation of information that leads to copying and pasting with little real learning. 

Nevertheless, I do acknowledge that 'up-skilling' students to think critically and work collaboratively using a range of information literacy strategies will involve an incredible amount of work and organisation!!

Collaboration and self-directed learning do not come easily to many students and the 21^st Century dichotomy plagues me - how to cover the necessary content and achieve the mandated outcomes while allowing students to pursue their own autonomous areas of interest with a high level of engagement?

Although I have used aspects of the inquiry process in my teaching before, this will be the first time that I have fully embraced an inquiry based pedagogy, constructing the entire unit around the 8 distinct phases:

Kuhlthau, Maniotes and Caspari (2012) 

Having heard Alinda Sheerman speak at a Teacher Librarians' conference earlier in the year, I know that 'Guided Inquiry' can be transformative for both students and staff and embraced by the wider school community. 

Using the knowledge of the 'Guided Inquiry' gurus who have gone before me, I'm hoping to learn from my experiences, refining my practice as I go. Onward and upward we go!

Information Literacy and Parent Involvement

While most parents would agree that it is important for their child to be information literate in today’s digitally rich world, few parents would be aware of how to go about supporting their children in this area. Furthermore, many parents express concern about the potential misuse of IT by their children and feel ill-equipped to help their children use information critically, ethically and creatively (Kong & Li, 2009).  

Enter the teacher librarian.

As the information literacy expert, TLs have many opportunities to foster parent-school collaboration in this area.  They have the capacity to educate parents about the information skill-set required by students, while informing them of how learning has changed.

Learning today is vastly different to what it was 30 or even 15 years ago.  Rather than having to memorise content (we don’t need to - we have Google) and regurgitate it in a test, students are now expected to actively engage with the process of learning. In other words, it is no longer adequate to "know" a set number of facts. Students must now be able to identify problems and apply the skills and information to solve these problems.

Central to this is getting kids to think critically about information. Just because an article appears to be convincing on the internet, doesn’t mean that it is reliable or credible information. This message needs to be reinforced not only at school, but also at home.

Parents also need to be informed about the appropriate and ethical use of information and the new blurring of boundaries between learning at school and learning everywhere through social media and other networks.

The TL's role in the school community is critical in keeping the wider school community up-to-date on current pedagogical practice. Parent information nights, newsletters, guest speakers and social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter are useful tools in supporting parents in assisting their child’s information literacy development.

It’s often said that the most overwhelming key to a child's success is the positive involvement of parents. If this is the case, parents need to be positive role models for their children in their critical and ethical use of information. 

Silhouette, Father And Son, Sundown Pixabay

Reference

Siu Cheung Kong & Kai Ming Li (2009). Collaboration between school and parents to foster information literacy: Learning in the information society, Computers & Education, Volume 52, Issue 2, Pages 275-282

Privacy & Social Media - A Librarian's 21st Century Conundrum

In a school context, the issues of privacy, safety and child protection are paramount. This raises a frustrating conundrum for Teacher Librarians: how can student privacy and safety be protected when the social networking sites our libraries promote are actively soliciting personal information about our students for the use of others? (Hess, LaPorte-Fiori & Engwall, 2015). There is an obvious schism between the very premise of social networking as an interactive repository of collective knowledge, and the need for students to keep their personal information private.

                                                                   Privacy by g4ll4is, on Flickr

Pautz (2013) asserts that this disconnect is typical of the transformation of libraries in the 21^st Century. Rather than being able to manage and tightly scrutinize collections, access to the World Wide Web has meant that librarians have had to relinquish control over what resources are available to users. In particular, Pautz argues, Web 2.0 has the capacity to undermine the authority of libraries and their governing institutions.

To complicate the issue further, there are no frameworks or “set of established best practices”  to guide librarians in this area  (Hess, LaPorte-Fiori & Engwall, 2015).

Australian Teacher Librarians are charged with creating information literate learners who: “..are able to access, process, organise, create and present information in a range of ways” (ALIA/ASLA policy on information literacy in Australian schools, 2009). Neither the Australian School Library Association   nor the Australian Library and Information Association , however, provide guidelines for Internet and Social Media use in schools.

It is therefore necessary for libraries to formalise their own acceptable use policies (AUP). Such policies should encompass not only any relevant Internet policies of the parent institution (the school itself); but also library guidelines on the acceptable use of social networking technologies for educational purposes.

Of course, an important part of the library’s role has always been the education of students and the parent body on how students can stay safe online. The reinforcement of this message from the library and wider school community needs to be, therefore, thorough and ongoing.

References

Australian School Libraries Association. (2014, March 02). Statement on information literacy. Retrieved January 16, 2014, from http://www.asla.org.au/policy/information-literacy.aspx

Hess, A., La Porte-Fiori, R. and Engwall, K. (2015). Preserving Patron Privacy in the 21st Century Academic Library, The Journal of Academic Librarianship, Volume 41, Issue 1, Pages 105-114. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2014.10.010

Pautz, H. (2013). Managing access to the internet in public libraries. New Library World, 114(7), 308-318. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/NLW-01-2013-0007

Student & Staff Use of School Library Social Networking Sites

Recently our school library launched its Facebook and Twitter sites as a means of  improving connections with our school community and raising awareness of how we support teaching and learning. The exercise brings to mind what needs to be a priority when launching a school social media presence. 

5 key points to consider when developing a social networking policy for staff & students…

1. Clearly Articulate the Key ‘Social Media Philosophy’

The school body needs to know the underlying rationale behind the use of social media in an educational context. This idea needs to be aligned with the school’s overall mission statement.

2. Review Existing Social Media Policies & the Culture of the School

It’s important to understand firstly if any staff/student social media policies exist within the institution. If a policy does exist, is it relevant? If so, how might it be used as an umbrella document for the library’s social media policy? Research more widely to review other social media policies outside the institution. Use these as a starting point.

The prevailing culture of the school community with regard to the use of social networking sites (SNS) also needs to be established. What are the attitudes of students and staff to social networking? What SNS are used by staff and students? Discuss how concerns and SN user patterns might be addressed in the policy.

3. Define ‘Social Media’ and the responsibilities that go with its use.

It’s important for students and parents to have a clear understanding of what social networking means and the responsibilities it brings with it. Students need to understand that any Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, blogs, wikis or future technologies that they participate in are subject to the same guidelines and ethical standards as the school’s overarching Internet acceptable use policy (AUP).

Note: The importance of confidentiality, privacy, transparency & intellectual property need to be central to the social media policy (Anderson, 2012). Students need to be shown how to use Social Media tools in an ethical and respectful way. Education around the use of these tools will assist them in creating an online identity that they can be proud of (Pierce, 2015).

4. Centralise Social Media Management

Decide on who will be managing social media output – scheduling posts, responding to comments and coordinating the overall social media presence of the library. An ideal scenario would be to have one person manage each platform (Malczewski, 2013). This centralized management committee would also be responsible for the implementation of the library’s social networking strategy.

5. Feedback & Review

After composing a draft document, feedback from the school community should be sought. Once implemented, further annual reviews of the policy need to be made to determine what is working well and what needs adjusting.

References

Anderson, S. (2012, April 11). Social Media Guidelines [Blog]. Edutopia. Retrieved January 17, 2016, from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/social-media-guidelines-steven-anderson

Fischer, B. and Fimiani, J. (2010). Social Media Policy for School Districts. [Powerpoint slides]. Retrieved Jan 18, 2016 from http://www.slideshare.net/oxiem/social-media-policy-for-school-districts

Malczewski, B. (2013, May 1). Why Social Media Isn’t Working For Your Library. Public Libraries Online. Retrieved January 18,2016 from http://publiclibrariesonline.org/2013/05/why-social-media-isnt-working-for-your-library/

Pierce, D. (2015, September 15). Teaching digital citizenship across the whole curriculum [Blog]. eSchool News . Retrieved Jan 18, 2016 fromhttp://www.eschoolnews.com/2015/09/15/digital-citizenship-curriculum-226/