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

Developing the Whole Child through Inquiry: Blending Cognitive, Social, and Emotional Competencies

by Barbara K. Stripling

I have always felt that my role as a school librarian and library administrator was to nurture the development of the whole child. I tried to listen carefully and respond empathetically to students' questions and actions. When I reflect now, I realize that most of my responses were literacy-based. I realize that I only haphazardly built nurturing the whole child into the instructional program and the teaching of inquiry skills. The question that has not yet been resolved is: How can librarians nurture the whole child through inquiry?

An important first step is to move the focus of inquiry from inquiry-as-a-process to achieve specific academic goals to inquiry-as-a-stance. The difference? Inquiry-as-a-stance means adopting an attitude of inquiry when engaging with the world, in school and beyond. It means paying attention to one's own curiosities, interests, and passions and pursuing them using inquiry skills and attitudes.  Read More >>