Paige Jaeger with Jennifer Danner and Dana Wright, Allison Farmer and Katherine Manion, Karen Fronhofer, and Sue Subel and Samantha Schlegel  

Inquiry is a real-life skill. Everyday we encounter new situations, questions, tasks, and opportunities for which we need to think, question, investigate, synthesize, conclude, communicate, and reflect. We make decisions based upon evidence, attempt to view situations from multiple perspectives, and gather information to stay informed. These are skills that are vital to model and use in our classrooms. We are training the next generations of humans to run the world—heaven help us if they cannot make an informed decision.

With this basic real-life inquiry premise in mind, we can approach the topic of instructional inquiry with the understanding that not all “inquiry-based projects” have to be a lengthy research endeavor. 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; some are long and some are merely examining two sides to make a quick decision…just like reality.

Spotlighted here are a bundle of Inquiry Ideas that can be easily replicated by teachers in your school. Or, if you are wondering how to foster a climate of inquiry, read on!

Turning Negativity into Positive Energy…via INQUIRY!

Build Your Inquiry Clubhouse

Jennifer Danner—District Librarian

Dana Wright—English Teacher and English Department Chair

Jonathan Alder High School, Ohio

In a small rural community northwest of Columbus, Ohio, lies our high school, and nestled inside that school is its heart—the library. For several years, however, pessimism was prominent, and our teacher lunchroom had a tendency to focus on, and sometimes breed, negativity. As a teacher-librarian team, Dana and I had been collaborating on lessons for a while, but we set a goal to build a collaborative environment as well. So we started by simply eating our lunch in the library workroom together and we made a conscious decision to focus on the positive.

It wasn’t long before another teacher noticed the work Dana and I were doing together in the library. We began to talk about our shared frustrations and solutions and the next day, that teacher joined our lunch. Soon several teachers were asking to have their schedules written so that they could join us. Our assistant superintendent began to notice what she called our “cult.” We used that lunchtime in the library to support each other in our teaching lives (and personal as well), to collaborate on new lesson ideas, and to reflect on the work we were doing in the classroom and the library.     

Near the end of the 2014 school year, Dana and I simultaneously discovered that using inquiry was the solution to many of our problems. We rushed to learn all about inquiry, attended a summer institute, and returned home to spread the word. As “Inquiry Ambassadors,” we trained at least ten teachers and administrators in Guided Inquiry and our building shifted much of its pedagogical focus to embracing inquiry.

Our efforts did not go unnoticed. Last year, we were bringing so many classes into the library learning space and using that collaborative time in such innovative ways that the district noticed and recognized our need to evolve. The library was to receive funding to create an even more effective space for kids, and our assistant superintendent wanted us to use part of the money for our teacher workspace. What we were doing, she said, “was taking care of each other as educators and human beings.” That support and growth was becoming more and more evident in our teaching.

Now, we have an Inquiry Clubhouse. It includes a large table with ample seating and a café bar with even more seating, charging stations, and plenty of coffee. We have a Brag Board on which we praise the work of anyone in need of or deserving praise. Each day we come together over lunch and during conference periods to touch base, collaborate on lessons, and grow as educators. Using inquiry-based methods, we create teaching units that have moved into nearly every department. Some of our essential questions (EQ), which drive inquiry units, include:

• How can we use math and geometric concepts to design and create the best learning space?
• How are environmental factors impacting Ohio's rivers?
• Examine the primary and secondary documents: How was history impacted by the conspirators’ contribution to the Lincoln Assassination?

A Revolutionary Way to Examine Revolutions

Allison Farmer—District Media Specialist

Katherine Manion—Social Studies Teacher

Spencer-Van Etten Central Schools, New York

Grade: 10 Essential Question:
If you lived during the Revolution, which side would you support and why?

It’s not always easy to convince teachers to experiment with inquiry driven lessons. So, in order to entice our teachers, we baited them with a day to review the Social Studies standards and flesh out a lesson together. It began with a professional development workshop on inquiry. At the workshop, the presenter modeled and had us participate in the beginning stages of inquiry. We were given different scenarios on chart paper and asked to brainstorm questions for each real-life or historical situation. This was an “aha”moment for my teachers and they were eager to take this model back to the classroom to jump-start inquiry for the first time.

After this workshop, both a 10^th grade English and a Social Studies teacher collaborated with me on two separate but consecutive lessons. Presenting the notion of repackaging only one lesson or one unit around a theme made these teachers see that it was achievable.

The English teacher had students: define revolution; consider the differences between civil war, revolution, and an uprising; remember examples of revolutions in history; etc. After a class discussion of these terms, students then came together and created “I Wonder” questions on the American Revolution. This helped set the stage for student-driven inquiry.

Next, students were given a specific revolution and were asked to once again create “I Wonder” questions using the same graphic organizer. Often, the teacher and I had to refer the students back to the essential question during this process, acting as their guide-by-the-side asking questions such as, “therefore, would it matter how many people were killed?” “Let’s think about the causes and effects of this revolution.”

Research day in the library was spent using two databases, Worldbook Advanced and Gale Biography in Context, and NoodleTools for citations. We chose to use a graphic organizer from the workshop for note taking (we used OdellEducation.com, “Organizing Evidence Based Claims”). Students were to find three points along with supporting evidence to answer the research essential question.

Since infographics are a great way for students to summarize their findings and to develop a deeper understanding of how to use the vocabulary of the discipline as well as the facts to present their evidence-based claim, we used them as a knowledge product. Once the information was gathered and approved, the teacher and I had students create a Piktochart account with their school email. We assumed the 10^th graders would easily understand how to create an infographic, but soon realized we needed to demonstrate some of the basic characteristics. We also found students are wonderful consumers of image-driven marketing, but had trouble producing the same product.

The infographic rubric stated students will: include five vocabulary words (provided), include MLA citations, appropriately use icons/graphics to show which side they chose, and fit it all onto an 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper. To our amazement, the best outcome from this project was that every single student completed the assignment! Here are some of the student reflections:

• “I liked that there was less information to actually write on the infographic.”
• “Can this replace every essay in high school?”
• “The visual aspect of Piktochart helped me understand the information better.”

Consider a MinInquiry!

Paige Jaeger describes an idea from

Karen Fronhofer—Librarian

Salem Central Schools, New York

In a small rural farming town along the Vermont border there is a K-12 librarian serving all grades and all students. She has both fixed and flexible classes and has made it her goal to embrace inquiry whenever she can. Karen has coined a new term to describe one-lesson inquiry questions that allow students to practice their research skills along with synthesizing content. She calls them MinInquiries.

One of the best examples of an EQ is the one she poses for a one-period library lesson for sixth graders. While the students are studying the Middle Ages, she presents them with a collaborative minInquiry—EQ: How would your behavior have to change if you were living in the Age of Chivalry? Students have to brainstorm their questions, research chivalry (a short project) and synthesize the concept, contrast/compare, synthesize, and make personal recommendations. The project includes reflection in the knowledge product.

Some other minInquiries have also been spawned by using the Website Wonderopolis. As Wonderopolis presents questions, or Wonders of the Day, students can wonder, investigate, and synthesize, then the class can check out the answer on the site to see if it concurs with their research findings. A personal favorite was the question, “Does a sheep’s wool shrink when it rains?”

Here are more minInquiries examples to ponder:

• EQ: Who would you place on the new twenty-dollar bill? Build an Evidence-based Claim (EBC)
• EQ: Should golf be an Olympic sport?
• EQ: How did the book you read compare to real life? (This is a response to the popular “I Survived” book series.)

Shark Tank Economics Project

Samantha Schlegel—Economics Teacher

Kenston Local Schools, Ohio

Using the concept of a “Pain Point” from the popular reality show “Shark Tank,” economics teacher Samantha Schlegel and librarian Sue Subel collaborated on an economics assignment designed to solve an existing problem with a new or big idea. The term “pain point” is used on the Shark Tank program to describe a problem or point of frustration that must be resolved to alleviate the “pain.”  This particular “Shark Tank” project was based on an idea from Dr. Brad Maguth, University of Akron. Students were challenged with a simple situational idea to ponder: EQ: How can you improve your life, local community, or global community, and solve a problem at the same time?  Or, EQ: How could you resolve your defined pain point by creating a good or service?

As future entrepreneurs solving problems, the students were asked to brainstorm their ideas. During brainstorming, students discussed entrepreneurship as a risk-taking venture. They were asked to consider some of the following Guiding Questions:

• Why did you choose this type of business?
• How does your product/service stand out compared to others?
• How will you compete with others offering similar products/services?
• How will you market your product/service?
• Where will you locate your business and why?
• What are possible unknown and operational “pitfalls” and how can you avoid these?

This real-life situational project was student-centered and student-owned, and very successful. I now find myself going around creating EQs for nearly every project that comes in the library. Recently, students were doing a piece on astronauts and exercising while in space. My EQ? Why is it important for astronauts to exercise in space? 

Inquiry Potpourri Summary

Opportunities abound to embed inquiry throughout the curriculum. Everywhere there are inquiry opportunities to seize by asking deeper questions, collaborating for investigations, getting students to synthesize, and more. Carpe Diem!