Inquiry

Inquiry skills do not always have to be taught as part of a lengthy project. One way to ensure students have adequate experience with inquiry skills is to infuse these skills into everyday instruction. Including inquiry in everyday instruction is easier than educators might think. Here are some quick and easy ideas for using inquiry daily in any classroom.

Inquiry works on many levels to engage and foster successful learners. Questions, real world connections, investigation, synthesis, reflection, and sharing of final products are the key ingredients.

School librarians have the potential to influence how teachers teach and students learn. When students are invited to explore the wider world of information beyond the novel or textbook, they can become curious, make connections, draw inferences that deepen their understanding, and interpret the content of their learning in new, creative, and innovative ways.

When teachers and librarians embrace the "potpourri of inquiry" model, they transform their instructional model and can change the culture of their school. They are acknowledging that inquiry comes in all shapes and sizes…just like reality. Spotlighted here are a bundle of Inquiry Ideas that can be easily replicated by teachers in your school.

In my conversations with educators around the country, I repeatedly see that most people are going at "inquiry" alone and without a process or model because it is the suggested or assumed approach to teaching that is expected in the national standards across content areas: science, math, and social studies. This article untangles the knot of inquiry and research and answers the questions why bother doing inquiry (beyond ticking off the standards) and how does inquiry support deeper student research.

Learn strategies for best practices on guiding student-led inquiry and explore the necessity for reflection and metacognition as part of any inquiry exercise that will get your students learning and meeting the standards.