When I reflect on my own role as a teacher, school librarian, and learner, I realize that I have often made the assumption that all my colleagues share my belief that inquiry is a stance on learning that empowers students to be independent and lifelong learners. My passion and commitment to the power of inquiry has, at times, made me ignore any hesitations, doubts, or challenges to inquiry-based teaching and learning.
True confession: My rigid stance on inquiry is a violation of the very essence of inquiry. Instead of challenging myself to learn more and risk more, I wanted to settle in to my comfortable zone of what I already knew and believed about inquiry.
With these Teaching Research pages in School Library Connection, I am trying to push my own thinking and our collective insights about inquiry. Asking questions is a good place to start. An unnamed kindergarten teacher once said: "A lifetime of learning begins with a single moment of wonder."
I began to wonder how school librarians could motivate teachers to engage in inquiry. I read various resources about motivation (see References for two that were influential in my thinking) and selected four intrinsic motivational factors that I thought might influence and inspire the collaborative work of librarians and teachers to build a path toward school-wide inquiry. The factors include:
- Relevance — The value and authenticity of learning experiences
- Autonomy — The opportunity to choose and pursue one's own goals; the willingness to learn through failure and maintain a growth mindset
- Competence and Self-Confidence — The skills to be effective in achieving one's goals and the self-confidence to maintain an expectation of success
- Sense of Belonging — An understanding of the connections between one's own self and the social and cultural context
For each factor, I framed wonder questions that I hope will lead us to new thinking about how to motivate teachers and build a striving and thriving culture of inquiry. I have also curated a few resources that I hope will inspire you to find your own answers.
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RELEVANCE FOR INQUIRY
I wonder WHY?
My first wonder would be WHY? In the midst of all the demands on classroom teachers, why might they want to move toward inquiry-based teaching?
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Building Teachers' Relevance in Designing Inquiry-Based Experiences
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- What value does inquiry bring to both students and teachers?
- What values do classroom teachers and school librarians share that could motivate teachers to embrace and advocate for inquiry-based teaching and learning?
- Why is moving from teacher-centered to student-centered learning difficult for educators (and students as well) and how can educators support each other in that transition?
- Why is authenticity in learning so empowering?
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 Alper, Christi. "Embracing Inquiry-Based Instruction." Edutopia (August 17, 2018). https://www.edutopia.org/article/embracing-inquiry-based-instruction.
Hill, Kristy. "Transforming the Research Unit into Learning for Life." School Library Connection, January 2019.
Inquiry-Based Learning: From Teacher-Guided to Student-Driven (video). Edutopia (December 15, 2015).
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AUTONOMY FOR INQUIRY
I wonder HOW?
How can teachers be empowered to rethink their practice and transition to more inquiry-based teaching and learning?
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Building Teachers' Autonomy in Inquiry
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- How can teachers adopt an inquiry stance in their everyday teaching?
- How can teachers be motivated to transform their curriculum to focus on deeper learning goals and larger concepts that lead to an inquiry approach?
- How can teachers give students more freedom of choice, autonomy, and agency over their own learning?
- How can the school culture and climate support "learning through failure" and a growth mindset for all educators and students?
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 Daley, Jill Canillas. "Engagement with Genius Hour." School Library Connection, November 2015.
Kowalski, Sue. "Inquiry Superheroes: Be the Connection." School Library Connection, April 2016.
Laufenberg, Diana. How to Learn? From Mistakes (video). TEDx (November 2010). https://www.ted.com/talks/diana_laufenberg_how_to_learn_from_mistakes#t-582548.
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COMPETENCE AND SELF-CONFIDENCE FOR INQUIRY
I wonder WHAT IF?
What if the school culture enabled classroom teachers and librarians to build shared agency in an inquiry-based approach to teaching?
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Building Teachers' Competence and Self-Confidence for Inquiry-Based Teaching
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- What if the librarian and teachers collaborated to learn from each other and develop a shared vision of inquiry-based learning?
- What if librarians framed collaborative sessions with teachers by asking "What if we tried this…?" as a way to build on (but not criticize) what the teachers are already doing?
- What if the librarian and teachers reflected together on the student experience during inquiry-based learning and used those reflections to develop a simple matrix of priority inquiry skills that they would integrate into their teaching?
- What if teachers in the school modeled taking risks and diving deeper into the content and then challenged and supported students to follow that mindset?
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 Moreillon, Judi, and Michelle Luhtala. "Learning that Sticks: Engaged Educators + Engaged Learners." School Library Monthly, September 2011.
Olson, Sarah, Bridget Crossman, and Megan Coker. "Inquiry Infusion: Surviving and Thriving in a 1:1 Environment." School Library Connection, April 2016.
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SENSE OF BELONGING FOR INQUIRY
I wonder WHO?
How important are relationships and trust in building school-wide support for inquiry-based teaching and learning?
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Building Teachers' Sense of Belonging through Inquiry
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- Who are the teachers and students in the school—their interests, passions, strengths, struggles—and how can inquiry be personalized for them?
- How can inquiry help foster relationships, build interpersonal connections, and nurture a sense of belonging among teachers?
- How can librarians personalize their collaborations with classroom teachers by framing their conversations flexibly around the passions and goals of "who" is collaborating?
- How can inquiry build a school culture of trust and empathetic understanding of others in the world?
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 Cellucci, Anita. "Full Voice. Developing a Collaborative Culture with Teachers." School Library Connection, December 2018.
Goodman, Stacey. "Transforming Schools through Cultural Self-Reflection." Edutopia (October 7, 2015). https://www.edutopia.org/blog/transforming-schools-through-cultural-self-reflection-stacey-goodman
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References
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. "Chapter 6: Motivation to Learn." In How People Learn II: Learners, Contexts, and Cultures, 109-133. The National Academies Press, 2018. https://doi.org/10.17226/24783.
Keller, John M. "Development and Use of the ARCS Model of Instructional Design." Journal of Instructional Development 10, no. 3 (1987): 2-10. https://www.jstor.org/stable/30221294
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