Annotated Bibliography

Donham, Jean. "Deep Learning Through Concept-based Inquiry," School Library Monthly 27, No. 1 (2010): 8-11.

This article explains the transition from a topic-based approach to inquiry to a concept-based approach. The article provides a definition of concept-based inquiry and examples to illustrate the transition. Included are an explanation of how the question changes as the inquiry moves to a more complex investigation and examples to illustrate from various content areas.

Donham, Jean. Enhancing Teaching and Learning: A Leadership Guide for School Librarians. Chicago: ALA, 2013.

This book addresses various aspects of inquiry in the context of the school library program. Of particular relevance is the chapter on inquiry-based learning where the focus is on the skills and dispositions of inquiry. The chapter on assessment provides practical guidance to help students become aware of their own inquiry processes. Also, a chapter on collaboration offers recommendations for ways that the librarian can engage classroom teachers in collaborative teaching.

Donham, Jean, Kay Bishop, Carol Collier Kuhlthau, and Diane Oberg. Inquiry-Based Learning: Lessons from Library Power. Linworth, 2001.

Library Power was a large research-into-practice initiative funded by the DeWitt-Wallace Foundation. This text shares lessons learned from observing best practice sites included in the project. Of particular relevance here is the chapter entitled "The Importance of a Model" where the case is made for adopting an inquiry model school-wide in order to help students internalize the inquiry process. Likewise, the chapter "Inquiry-Based Learning" helps to contextualize the inquiry process into the constructivist approach to teaching and learning.

Erickson, H. Lynn. Stirring the Head, Heart, and Soul: Redefining Curriculum, Instruction, and Concept-Based Learning. Corwin Press, 2008.

The emphasis in this book is identifying ways to move students (and teachers) from fact-learning to deeper understandings. Erickson posits that when curriculum and instruction engage the intellect in complex ideas, students are more motivated and interested in their learning. The text offers numerous examples of concept-based units for all grade levels. She asserts that the approach to curriculum she offers is consistent with the International Baccalaureate Programme, a highly regarded curriculum that features holistic learning, intercultural awareness, and a strong emphasis on communication competence.

Farmer, Leslie. "What is the question?" IFLA Journal 33, No. 1 (2007), 41-49.

Farmer emphasizes the importance of developing a sound question in order to engage in inquiry at a deeper level. She synthesizes research to arrive at taxonomies of questions that can be used as models to teach students to develop deep questions to guide their inquiry.

Harada, Violet and Sharon Coatney, Editors. Inquiry and the Common Core: Librarians and Teachers Designing Teaching for Learning. Libraries Unlimited, 2014.

Chapters in this text explore the integration of inquiry and the Common Core Standards. An important aim of this text is to encourage and guide educators to elevate the rigor of tasks students undertake in the inquiry process. The text emphasizes the unique contributions of librarians to raising the complexity of the questions explored and setting high standards for the quality of information gathered. A particularly practical feature includes thirteen "exemplars of learning plans" that illustrate inquiry experiences for various grades and content areas.

Kuhlthau, Carol C., Leslie K. Maniotes, and Ann K. Caspari. Guided Inquiry Design: A Framework for Inquiry in Your School. Libraries Unlimited, 2012.

Grounded in the research-based information-seeking model of Kuhlthau, the guided inquiry design provides a structure for teaching inquiry. Following the inquiry process model, this text lays out design of lessons to implement inquiry in instruction that features collaboration between classroom teacher and librarian. Model lesson plans illustrate how inquiry can be taught at all levels, K-12. Templates for lessons and assessment throughout the text make this a practical book for librarians and teachers.

Lowenstein, George. "The Psychology of Curiosity." Psychological Bulletin 116, No.1 (1994): 75-98.

In this review of theoretical literature on the nature of curiosity, Lowenstein builds understanding of the meaning of the disposition of curiosity. Further, he posits that curiosity arises out of recognition of a gap in our information. He further suggests that to be curious we must have some foundation of knowledge upon which to base our need to know more.

Ritchhart, Ron. "From IQ to IC: A Dispositional View of Intelligence." Roeper Review 23, No. 3 (2001): 143-150.

Ritchhart challenges long-standing definitions of intelligence and suggests that intelligence might be defined by one's learning dispositions. He contends that these dispositions can be taught. He proceeds to synthesize the work of several researchers and arrives at a short list of dispositions essential to the inquiry process. Ritchhart is a Senior Research Associate at Harvard Project Zero (http://www.pz.harvard.edu) where investigations into the nature of intelligence, understanding, thinking, creativity, ethics, and other aspects of human learning are ongoing.

Ritchhart, Ron, Mark Church, and Karin Morrison. Making Thinking Visible: How to Promote Engagement, Understanding, and Independence for All Learners. Jossey-Bass, 2011.

This text provides specific thinking routines for teaching critical thinking and promoting dispositions of inquiry. An accompanying DVD provides examples of the routines in use with students at various grade levels. A central idea of the authors is that in order to gauge students' internal thinking processes, we need techniques for making students' thinking visible—questioning, listening and documenting. The thinking routines provide scaffolds for guiding students to exercise curiosity and to think more deeply. For example, critical thinking in the form of healthy skepticism is supported with the "Red Light, Yellow Light" strategy, where students are trained to think as they read or listen or view, "What things stop you in your tracks because you doubt their truth or accuracy?" or "What things slow you down a bit and make you wonder if they are true or accurate? Other strategies support curiosity, being investigative, and other dispositions of inquiry.