Week 7
Hey group- I am not Angela! :) I sent an email about picking up some of the blog dates she was assigned to do. I took this one. Krystie and Tabitha you can fight over the other one!! :)
As we responded to the blog this week about inquiry, I found myself with a nagging question I keep asking. How do I meet the standards required of me as a teacher in the classroom in the areas of curriculum, standards, and assessments and tie all of that into inquiry? I don’t have the answer to that question, but I do know that inquiry is often the most natural way for kids to learn. Inquiry begins by asking a questions. Johnson said, “It seems that a fundamental shift lies in the understanding that studying academic content is a means of developing competencies rather than than the goal- in seeing students as learners as opposed to knowers. In other words, students must be problem posers as well as problem solvers, and problem posing begins with asking questions.” (pg. 119) Johnson views inquiry not as method but a process of questioning and wondering leading to the discovery of new knowledge through collaboration. This knowledge should then influence how the classroom is managed. How would you answer the question above?
The SEARCH framework mentioned in Johnson ch. 8 seems to be an effective way to go about implementing the process of inquiry. Students need to first pose a question. Next, they need to use search strategies. Then, they need to analyze the results they find. They then need to read critically and synthesize the information read and cite sources. Lastly, they need to evaluate how effective the search was. Have you ever used an IRT for asking wondering questions? I have modeled it in my classroom, but don’t know if I have ever taught a lesson on it.
I enjoyed all of the search tools and tricks that BABR offered to assist students in the SEARCH framework process and noted that the process is recursive. This reinforced to me the importance of instruction in informational literacies. Students have to be taught the skills to do effective searches using boolean phrases, using the appropriate search engine, and learning what is safe in terms of searches. Leu noted that there is a new reading gap in online reading for lower socioeconomic students as compared to others. This is another reason why we as teachers need to take time to help students learn how to use online tools. How do you think this process would look in the regular education classroom?
I realized after reading BABR, that I wished I purchased the digital version. I wanted to click on many of the links and read more. When I was reading these two chapters, I didn’t have my computer with me. This is another instructional moment that we could teach to students. Sometimes digital text prove more useful that the print text depending on the purpose of the read. One search engine that I think could be beneficial to us as college students is google scholar. Have you all ever used Google Scholar? What did you think about it? I have used other academic databases like the OU library or ERIC. How do you think you would set-up instruction for search engines in the elementary or early childhood classroom given your backgrounds in education?
A tool that I know I could use, as well as the students we teach, is the use of curation tools. I have used a few of these in the past but didn’t have a term to associate with them. Recently, I set up an account with Symbaloo, and aggregation dashboard. I haven’t had the chance to use it much yet. I think this will help limit some of the distraction to the students in my class when looking for certain information. Pinterest is an example of another curation tool. I waste a lot of time on this! HA! When in Pinterest, I often have to look past all of the other posts and distraction to discover what I am searching for. This type of skill has to be taught to students. Students not only have to synthesize their search information but also synthesize multimodal information. Then they have to learn how to present this information in meaningful ways to their audience. Do you use curation tools in your daily life? How do you think you might use them in the classroom?
I felt like there was a lot of information given this week. If I overlooked something that you felt was important, please let me know. Please explain why you felt like it was important to the topic.
Cathy, as a matter of fact, I came across the search engine Google Scholar just a couple weeks ago when I was going through my Pinterest account. I only used it briefly but from what I did see it was worthwhile. Once I entered my search phrase Google Scholar eliminated all the unnecessary links and gave me the most relevant ones, which I was appreciative of. With regards to setting up instruction for search engines I think would first introduce the students to the idea of searching for something using a power point. I would include picture snippets and prompts that summarize how to search in a search engine and then show the students. I would also reserve the computer lab so that students could have the chance to be behind a computer. There I would guide students step-by-step on how to open and look for information in a search engine. I will ask students to recall what they learned during the power point presentation and I would still use prompts like pictures of icons etc for reinforcement.
ReplyDeleteAlso, who doesn’t love Pinterest? Man oh man, I too go to Pinterest for many things, I’ve got lots of pins, likes and boards which helps me to organize everything. It’s no problem searching, locating, or organizing my Pinterest account. I’ve basically got a whole classroom on there . Instagram is another curation I use in my daily life. There are so many pages that I can like, for instance there is the instaprayer, teachervines, and even a food page that I have constant updates about just because I liked the page. I think using Instagram could be a great way to keep parents updated on what is happening in school with projects and other class work. I also use Dropbox, Zite, as well as the BBC News app. With these apps I can not only store information and easily retrieve it in the classroom but I can also share news stories and other interesting information. I think all of the online curations mentioned organizes and summarizes my searches to make things easier.
As we proceed, what are your thoughts about inquiry learning? Do you all feel like you have a better generative synthesis of this topic?
ReplyDeleteThe biggest things that stood out to me regarding inquiry, were that we need to teach students how to ask questions. This questioning then leads through the process of research in all of its steps. This inquiry them leads back to more questioning. It is a recursive cycle.
For me Cathy, questioning is VERY important in the classroom! I think questioning is definitely the second layer of the foundation of inquiry (after thinking about the problem) and when students question they learn more, they gain more and more information. I don’t know if I said it in this blog or another but I think if we are to teach students how to ask questions we need to start with the basics, we tell them to ask the what, when, who, where, why and how questions. When these basic questions are asked who knows where they’ll end up, who knows what information they’ll find?
DeleteI've been researching critical literacy for my writing project and I've been learning a lot about the importance of generating and guiding instruction to have the students come up with meaningful questioning skills. This leads to higher level thinking skills that are needed the further they go into their educations and also in order to incorporate the new literacies that are ever changing that they come into contact with.
DeleteI am trying to figure out how to divide up the tools in the BABR chapters right now. Any ideas?
ReplyDeleteOkay. I looked a bit more at the chapters. I can take chapter 3 from the point where it starts talking about tools until the end of that chapter. Then Krystie you could take pg. 65-76. Tabitha you could take 77-88. We can locate and evaluate our tools and share them in a google doc. Then we all have access to them. When we are done we could put them on the blog. I am not sure if this is what Dr. Beach wants but sounded good to me. :) With this work with you all?
ReplyDelete
DeleteUgh! I really wish I had the digital copy of this text too!
Wordle
http://www.wordle.net
This site is used to make word clouds from text. This is one I really like because it was user friendly and free. You can create word clouds with it. It would be great to use in a poetry unit! You can use it as an end of the year compilation of word walls lists too. You can either type a bunch of your own words in or copy a url into it and it will compile and format for you. If you do this then it gives words that seemed most important bigger font sizes. Then you have tons of creative control over colors and layout. There is a language feature too.
Bubbl.us
http://bubbl.us
This is a digital mapping tool site. You can make mind maps using this tool. It supports critical thinking for brainstorming, communication skills, and allows support for new literacy skills. I think that ANY grade could find this useful, depending on the type of project they were working on. You do have to sign up to use it, but it’s free to sign up. It’s basically the old school web reinvented in a digital manner.
Piktochart
http://piktochart.com
This was the only free account based infographic webpage I discovered in the infographic section. This lets people, like myself, that have little knowledge of graphic design make graphics using templates. So as a teacher or classroom you can make your own personalized webpage to share information on. You can download widgets or interactive tools onto it too. I didn’t make one but I did join and set a few things up. It reminds me of wikiboards.
I'm so mad that my Wordle I made won't post. I'm going to email it to you!
DeleteUpon further clarification w/ Dr. Beach, we don't have to do all the tools. We just need to review a few we haven't tried before. Given that information, in your section just pic a few tools to evaluate that spark your interest and share them on the google doc. That is much more manageable.
ReplyDeleteOh yes that sounds great. Thanks Cathy
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DeleteThanks for the clarification Cathy! Ill still look through pages 65-76.
DeleteHow cool would it be if your students were a part of the history making process? Well this site may just allow both you and your students do just that! https://archive-it.org/k12/ As it says on the site “The K12 Web Archiving Program provides an opportunity for students to select and save websites for future generations (historians, scholars, their descendants, the general public) to look at 50,100, 500 years from now.”
DeleteThe home page is very inviting with pictures and easy to read directions and prompts. This site allows you to save your information under your school name and then under other sections you may want to give information on. For example, under the 2013-2014 Students Collection (left hand side) the Rocky Hill School collection has different sections regarding the information they have archived, like “animals,” and “sports.” After clicking on the Sports section and the first URL, I was directed to “The Official Site of The Boston Red Sox World Series Champions.” At the top of the page I was shown a message about who archived the web page and when they did it. I really think this is something that future generations would love to know about, especially those who are interested in sports. In my opinion this seems to be a great archival curation site as it is organized and user friendly.
Archival curation sites (as well as the site above)
Deletehttps://tinyurl.com/2knoku is an archival curation site by the Library of Congress that consists of digital collections and other digital information like biographies and catalogs. Here, one is able to find information with regards from American History and Culture to Historic Newspapers as well as old photos and rare books. This site allows individuals to access information that was once only in the Library itself, but is now at the tip of our fingers for easy access. This site is a great asset for anyone looking to find historic information.
http://www.herebefiction.org/ is an e-book site that allows users to view fiction focused e-books. Publishers like Capstone, Peach Tree Publishers, as well as StarWalk Kids Media and a host of others. These e-books are ready to read once you are a logged in user. There seems to be a variety of fiction e-books readily available for students under different headings such as Animals, Fantasy, Adventure as well as Sports. In addition to reading these books, readers have to opportunity to rate and review them. Each books grade and reading level, and genre are given.
Aggregation Dashboard
https://feedly.com is a site that allows users to view and read all the information that is important to them. This information can range from YouTube links, to blogs and other publications. Users can create and organize their personal blogs into collections of important topics. They can search, discover, read, and share stories to other sites like Pinterest and Facebook.
Pinning Curation Tool
https://educlipper.net is a pinning curation site that helps teachers and students alike who have the opportunity to not only share and explore information shown on the site but they too have the ability to contribute their own resources. In turn each user is able to help one another and as they do so they too learn something as well (by searching other boards and clips that were posted). When exploring this site it almost looked like a Pinterest board. One can click on a tab that was created by a teacher or student which will take them to a site that they (the pinner) thought was interesting or important. One can browse without being logged in but you can also sign up to be a pinner. I am defiantly keeping this one in my favorites.
BABR Ch. 3
ReplyDeleteSearch tools:
http://www.noodletools.com/noodlequest/
This tool provides the user with question prompts that assist the user with direction in the search that is being pursued. After answering the questions about your search, Noodle Quest will give you links about the most effective cites to research your topic of choice. After answering the questions listed on the website, it provided me links that it determined were appropriate. Unfortunately, these links were invalid urls or had other errors. The only one that worked was the Library of Congress website. I think that if I was searching for less academic content the outcome might have been different.
https://scholar.google.com/
This tool is specifically designed for a search of academic articles for use by educators, students, and researchers. It is to locates articles about a given topic. These articles can be peer reviewed articles, digital and physical copies, case studies, etc. The search engine will then help with citation creation. You can also make a personal library of resources, such as articles on a certain topic, in Google Scholar. Each time you log on you can reference your library.
https://doaj.org/
This is the Directory of Open Access Journals. This directory, by its own definition, provides access to high quality, open-access, peer reviewed journals. This is a non for profit organization, launched in Sweden. They have access to over 10,000 articles. It is funded solely by grants and scholarships. I have never heard of this website, but it seems to be very effective for educational research. If they are all peer reviewed articles as stated, this could be a great source to use for college coursework. This is something I will use in the future.
Web Creation Tools:
http://www.questgarden.com/
This is a website designed for various types of educators. It is similar to a community garden. It is an online authoring tool. Users can create a webquest and modify them. This website supports inquiry-based learning. This tool walks educators through the process of creating a web page. The creator doesn’t need the how-to skills. This service guides them through the process of web creation.
Evaluating Tool:
http://www.snopes.com/
This is a internet reference site that allows the user to verify the information found on the internet. This is more of a pop culture type of site. I wouldn’t have the students use it for serious research topics. I am not sure of the authorship and where the information is obtained. It is a good source to verify if simple information found on a website is truth or a myth. This site would aid students in the inquiry process and teach them to look skeptically at what they find on the internet, acknowledging that not all of the information will be true.
Hi teammates, so what is the meaning of inquiry to you? I've listed some words below that come to my mind when I think of inquiry. Let's see if we can merge our thoughts to make one group meaning.
ReplyDelete-questioning -wonder
-curious -search/explore
-investigation -discuss
-ask -gain
Inquiry is an exploration that begins with wonder. This leads to questioning, which leads through the process of research involving investigation, discussion, and synthesis. This inquiry then leads back to more questioning. It is a recursive cycle.
DeleteI may steal this to use in a class with undergrads I'm covering for, we are discussing integrated curriculum using inquiry based instruction. I'll credit you completely though!
DeleteThank you Cathy for putting the words I listed into a very great definition. Its great! :)
ReplyDeleteSorry I am posting so late. Emma had her flu shot this week and got sick from it! The days have all kind of melding together...
ReplyDeleteI really think that if using inquiry in the classroom the standards seem to naturally fall into place. Teachers I know that use it usually observe what it met and document that. Whether or not it’s appropriate practice to do this or not, I don’t know. I believe the concept of a student portfolio of work samples, anecdotes, and mixed media sources is used mostly for assessment.
I just Google Scholar all the time! Many of times I search using it and then cross check the OU library to attain the full text. It’s also useful for attaining citations quickly. I think the search engines I would set up in the classroom would depend on the grade level. It would also depend on the project they are working on. Sometimes something is only meant for scholarly papers and others are more informal research. I would think for the younger groups I work in I would have more informal things, maybe even wikiboards.
Inquiry is an exploration that begins with wonder. This leads to questioning, which leads through the process of research involving investigation, discussion, and synthesis. This inquiry then leads back to more questioning. It is a recursive cycle that occurs in a conscious and unconscious manner between both the teacher and students inside and outside of the classroom.
ReplyDelete....I added on a little piece to the group meaning of inquiry (y)
ReplyDeleteWe should put something about it leading to constructing knowledge and understanding.
ReplyDeleteInquiry is an exploration that begins with wonder. This leads to questioning, which leads through the process of research involving investigation, discussion, and synthesis. This inquiry then leads back to more questioning
Deleteas students construct knowledge and understanding along the way. Consequently. it is a recursive cycle that occurs in a conscious and unconscious manner between both the teacher and students inside and outside of the classroom.
Awesome inquiry definition! Thanks.
ReplyDelete