Inquiry is just like cooking. Have no fear; if you can boil water, you can lead a group into the precarious waters of inquiry. It can feel as scary as preparing your first Thanksgiving dinner for a large group of people, but don’t give up! Let’s start with the basics, then progress to intermediate and more advanced inquiry experiences for secondary students, with examples of projects at each level.

Sample: Perseverance. This is one of my favorite projects to facilitate with my budding “chefs.” For this particular project we only allow students to use databases, no websites. Students choose from a list of people who have persevered and compare the person to a book character who has also persevered. Students need to explain and compare hardships the person and character faced, how they persevered, and outcomes. Choice of topic helps to keep students engaged because they decide on which person to focus and which book they would like to use. We allow them to choose a book they read in the past year.

Sample: Author Poster. Students choose an author and evaluate websites before settling on basic information and a quote and picture. Students create a mini-poster (8x11), with information properly documented on the front of the poster and the website evaluation on the back, along with sources. This project often creates sharing among the students because they can’t believe their authors are people too!

Sample: Editorial. Students choose a topic for an editorial. They use website evaluation skills, critical reading skills, and note-taking skills while they look for evidence to support their point-of-view and the opposing viewpoint. They counter-argue their points-of-view in their editorials.           

Intermediate Skill: Food Prepping

When chefs are ready to move onto the next stage, but not ready to move to that multi-course gourmet meal, spend time at this skill. Here we add question generation. It’s like working from a recipe and not following it completely. The chef isn’t on his or her own, and can take some risks with the ingredients. We model how to create open-ended questions before having students create their own. One of the techniques we use is to give students question-starter words, like why, compare, how, and if.

Throughout the years we have used and updated these research tasks while maintaining a common main ingredient: some student-generated questions, modified as the research continues. Students do not generate all the questions, but are given the chance to create some of their own. I find this method most popular with classroom teachers whose concern is ensuring that students form the main understanding of the curricular topic.

By allowing the students to answer some of the same questions, teachers are more apt to include inquiry questions generated from students. Common questions across the group allow students to have a frame of reference to form their own questions (particularly good for students struggling with generating questions), and help students to self-monitor their progress and understanding. As self-assessment, students examine their note cards to check whether their questions are answered completely and which ones need more information. Sometimes, if needed, they create more questions to respond to the overarching essential question. Here are some examples of this approach to inquiry.

Question starter and project: Cloning. Students are given the essential question, “Would human cloning be helpful for society?” and they create additional questions. We also brainstorm questions together. The goal is to have students generate a brochure persuading a person to be cloned or not to be cloned.

Question starter and project: Disaster Story. Students write an authentic disaster story where the character must survive. They can choose from one of these disasters: tsunami, earthquake, tornado, shipwreck, or hurricane. We provide the main question, “What do you need to know in order to portray accurately this disaster and the people who survived?” Students must think about information they want to know about for their chosen disaster, and also consider information required to show the elements of story appropriately.

Question starter and project: Forensics. While students are reading Robert Cormier’s The Rag and Bone Shop in English class, they also investigate forensics, including questioning techniques such as the “Reid Technique.” Students then apply their knowledge to analyze the author’s writing using the essential question, “How authentic is Cormier’s depiction of forensic science?” Students research various forensic techniques not used in the story, and investigate the potential effects of the method on the case.

Advanced Skills: Experimenting with Ingredients

Now that all the basics of cooking have been tested, it’s time to make up a brand new recipe and tweak it as necessary. This is the heart of inquiry. Students generate questions and alter them as the research progresses. They are assessing their research along the way. No need to be worried; it’s not a free-for-all. Just like with cooking, there are many tasters to help the chef. In education there are many moments of assessment along the way. Librarians and classroom teachers are checking the process and asking students questions as they proceed, just like a chef has different people constantly tasting their first attempts at a meal. Here are two examples of complex issues studied through more advanced methods of inquiry.

Example inquiry topic: Genocide. Students use reference databases and websites to answer the essential question, “How does society allow genocide to occur?” Using one essential question helps give middle schoolers focus. From that point, students generate the guiding questions that will lead their research, which culminates in an essay with evidence from their inquiries. Students choose a genocide that occurred with one of these areas or groups: Rwanda, Ukraine, Cambodia, Darfur, Bosnia, or Armenia. They investigate factors such as the targeted group, the leader of the genocide, and the events in historical context.

Example inquiry topic: Rebellion. After reading a science fiction novel about a dystopian society, students enter this research with some classroom knowledge about rebellion. Students explore the question, “Do the benefits of a rebellion outweigh the costs?” Students use any resource available to complete a presentation using their choice of method, including using Prezi, PowerPoint (we try to talk them out of this), Photo Story, Movie Maker, Pamphlet, or another platform of their choice. We learn a thing or two from them! 

In the past, students have selected rebellions of the Afghan women, Egyptians, Occupy Wall Street, Kitchenware Revolution, and the Tea Party. Each year we adapt topics and offer students choices. Since this is a new area for them, we talk about needing background information as well as questions understanding rebellion. Given the nature of this research, a lot of students’ sources are websites.

As inquirers and learners, middle school students begin as novice chefs, progress to sous chefs, and finally become master chefs who are still refining their craft. Like the students, teachers may come to you at varied levels of readiness for inquiry. Whether you have teachers willing to embrace the advanced stage or only feel safe boiling water, inquiry can be done at any level.