Inquiry

Welcome!

Barbara K. Stripling
This topic page is designed to foster a dialogue about teaching the whole child, with an emphasis on research and inquiry through the school library. We will explore how we are meeting (or struggling to meet) the challenges and opportunities inherent in our efforts to enable our learners to make sense of the information that threatens to overwhelm them and to collaborate with our classroom teachers to create a culture of inquiry in our schools. I hope you'll visit often to read new selections of curated resources and engage with me and my guests in continued conversation.

Barbara K. Stripling

What Does Inquiry in a Digital Environment Look Like?

by Barbara K. Stripling

In my early years as a high school librarian, I was troubled by the question, "So what?" Yes, I could help my students find information, but I was not interested in mindless copying or regurgitating. I learned that my "so what" was to teach my students to think, to follow their own curiosities, and to reach their own conclusions. Today, new types of digital information and new technology tools have compounded the challenges our students must confront when doing research online.

We need to think deeply about how digital resources and tools can be effectively used to frame learning experiences and teach essential inquiry skills and attitudes. Can our students trust crowdsourced data? Can they separate fact from opinion in social media posts? How do they protect themselves from believing viral and baseless theories, from accepting disinformation, and from their own confirmation bias?  Read More >>
"In the case of inquiry in the digital world, my perspective is that 'inquiry' is not the problem. Giving students time and space to develop curiosity and explore are essential to their development as thinkers and doers. For me, the 'problem' is the digital part in that many students today—if they are given the time and space to be inquirers—lack the skills and guides they need to be successful in the chaos of the online learning environment.

How can school librarians capitalize on our knowledge and pedagogical skills to solve the problem of students' digital overload? How can we insist on knowledge construction in the digital world rather than more and more consuming? How can we solve students' and our problem with Zoom fatigue?

Is 'isolation' the problem? I believe translating our practice and emphasizing interactivity between educators and students, connections between content and students out-of-school lives, and increasing one-on-one, peer-to-peer communication in the virtual learning environment may hold promise. What do you think?"
- Judi Moreillon, "Inquiry Learning Today," School Librarian Leadership (Oct 19, 2020).
"Judi—I loved your blog post that pushed the conversation that I had with Darryl Toerien about inquiry to a new level and new questions. I agree that inquiry is not the problem, but that it is difficult to engage teachers and students in inquiry, especially during the pandemic. You pose questions that will provoke thinking about the roots of the real problem. I know you believe, as I do, that real critical thinking starts with problem identification, not problem solution."
- Barb Stripling