IL Session 1

1. Inquiry Learning
Session 1: What is Inquiry Learning?
SESSION 1 OUTCOMES:
•HAVE A CLEARER UNDERSTANDING OF THE TERM INQUIRY LEARNING
AND ITS INTERPRETATIONS
•DEVELOP AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE KEY COMPONENTS AND ALSO
THE RESEARCH BEHIND C. KUHLTHAU'S GUIDED INQUIRY
•REFLECT ON SOME OF THE OBSTACLES FACED WHEN ADOPTING AN
INQUIRY APPROACH WHILE MAINTAINING A SOLUTION-FOCUSED
MINDSET

3. What do we mean by Inquiry
Learning?
Sorting Activity:
You will receive a pack with the particular stages of an
inquiry model commonly utilised at St Paul’s. You should
attempt to:
Put the cognitive skills in the sequential order that they
would appear in the HOTS (Higher Order Thinking Skills)
hierarchy
Discuss in your group/pairs on what each stage/cognitive
skill involves and any possible examples you might have
come across in your teaching area.

5. What is Inquiry Learning?
Inquiry Teaching
vs. Inquiry Learning

6. What is inquiry Learning?
Post-It Note Activity:
“Why may some
teachers be
reluctant to
implement a
student-centred
approach?”

7. Four key components to Inquiry Learning
How
How will you
develop my
ability to ask
brilliant
questions?
How does my
learning relate to
me and my
personal
experiences?
How can you assist me to
understand, and reflect
upon the role and
power of the cognitive
and affective domain
during my
journey?
How will you
assist me to
overcome barriers
I encounter during
my learning
journey?

8. Guided Inquiry – Carol Kuhlthau

9. Guided Inquiry
 "Guided inquiry is carefully planned, closely supervised,
targeted intervention of an instructional team of school
librarians and teachers to guide students through
curriculum based inquiry units that build deep
knowledge and deep understanding of a curriculum
topic, and gradually lead towards independent
learning." (C. Kuhlthau, 2012)

10. Inquiry Learning in Action…
Observation
Activity:
“What key
competencies
are displayed or
developed
during the
activity?”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pyrhtVnwbk

11. Key Competencies….
Curriculum Content
Literacy Skills
Information Literacy
Social Skills (Collaboration)
Mindset (Learning to learn)

12. Reflection
Post-It Activity:
"What are some
possible solutions
to the problems of
resistance that
were raised in the
earlier activity?"

13. Homework - Application
Focus Area Career Stage Actions Evidence
1.2
Understand
how
students
learn
Graduate  Be informed about Learning Realms
pedagogy and strategies and how
these relate to student learning and
educational practice
Proficient  Use research and collaborative
support to enhance understandings
of how students learn when
employing Learning Realm
frameworks to knowledge
construction and innovation
 Teachers will have undertaken the Inquiry Learning PD and will have
explicitly identified on unit plans where they will have trialled new
strategies relating to the key components of IL; evocative questioning,
learner-initiated, zones of intervention or metacognitive-affective
domain.
Highly
Accomplished
 Expand understandings of how
students learn, particularly
metacognition, by using research,
and working with DDH & JAB to create
opportunities for learners to work with
disciplinary knowledge in diverse ways
 Teachers will be working with a flexible team of teachers, collaborating
beyond the learning area offering specialised skills and knowledge at
relevant points. This work will be evidenced in meeting logs, annotations
on unit planning.
 Teachers will not only have trialled new strategies that are explicitly
linked to IL realm’s key components, but also evaluated their
effectiveness by gathering quantitative (e.g. student
achievement/outcomes) and qualitative data (e.g. student
perception/engagement surveys, student reflections, evidence of
personalisation).
 Teachers share their understanding and experiences of using
transformational inquiry with colleagues through the CRIFD, blogging or
cross-curricular resources.

14. Homework - Application
Task: Select an unit of work / assessment task that you are teaching
this year which could lend itself to be taught through inquiry.
Use the following questions to help you identify examples or
opportunities of the following key components
 How can this unit of work/assessment piece develop students’
ability to ask brilliant questions?
 How can this unit of work/assessment piece relate to students and
their personal experiences?
 How can this unit plan /assessment piece assist students to
understand, and reflect upon the role and power of the
cognitive and affective domain during their learning journey?
 How can this unit/assessment piece assist students to overcome
barriers they encounter during their learning journey?
1. Digitally highlight, add notes via the review mode
2. Upload onto the Wikispace site before our next session

15. Homework – Application:
“What could this look like?”