Inquiries: The "Hidden Agenda” in Classrooms #engaginglitminds

What if we approached learning opportunities in our classrooms specifically targeted by the questions our students pose? What if students’ desire to learn and to seek out information stayed at the level of the excessive amounts of questions a day young child seek to understand? What if we could all foster the type of environment where students were continually curious and invested in the content and our standards provided the guide rails for how we ignite the conversations that lead to productive and engaging learning?

See what I did there; I opened this post with inquiry!

In Chapter 10, we see again why fostering an environment of inquiry is essential in our classrooms. This chapter is chalk full of the cross curricular connections to core subjects and the need for inquiry.

The authors write,

“Inquiry is part of our commitment to developing lifelong learners. This is why we do not have an ‘inquiry unit’. Rather we think of it as a way of approaching life.” – p. 155

What an incredible call to action! This was my favorite part of this chapter and quite possibly the entire book. This is such a wonderful challenge to us not only to foster a love of learning, but to create productive members of our communities. We want to foster the habit of learning, seeking and problem solving, and inquiry is a great entry point for all of those. This chapter highlights what that can look like through several aspects of the school day.

Inquiry, Self and Community

As we support the deepening of children’s collective knowledge, what stuck out to me was the importance of scaffolding both expressive and receptive language in order to make inquiry a successful habit.

When we lift the level of what is discussed in our classrooms, we can see our students’ “wheels turning”. They begin to ask about possibilities and the “what if’s”. Teaching students to be a part of a classroom community and a larger community allows them to see that they matter, and that their thoughts are not only important and what will drive what is covered in our classrooms but will also shape their future selves. Students begin to see other perspectives and begin to understand other points of view. What a time we are living in to foster the longing to better understand other perspectives and points of view!

We as educators have the opportunity to tackle what Stephen Covey highlighted as one of the habits – “Seek first to understand and then be understood” - with regard to the collective tensions and climate we are experiencing. We can begin to ask questions of our students so that they too can begin to ask their own questions. When we work to first develop a student’s ability to understand themselves and their community, we can reach them in other areas as a student.

Inquiry into Text Structure

When students experience new text structures, it is important to allow them to notice and wonder. When students notice and wonder, they begin to look for patterns (remember our brains are pattern seeking) that allow them the opportunity to understand text on a much deeper level than if we just tell them. They become much more critical consumers (in a good way) of texts.

Inquiry into Punctuation

This section highlights why inquiry in punctuation is so important in a hilarious way, with an example from Merry’s classroom: “Mrs. Komar loves cooking her family and her pets.” vs “Mrs. Komar loves cooking, her family, and her pets.” Punctuation matters! Students can notice and wonder why an author uses punctuation symbols such as commas, periods, and even an ellipsis. Not only will they become better readers by understanding punctuation more deeply, but they will also become better writers.

Inquiry into History: The Underground Railroad

When Merry discussed the Underground Railroad in her classroom, it opened up further inquiry from her students. A study like the Underground Railroad help her students better understand our nation’s history. They notice and wonder about other facets and implications of how history shapes who we are today. Studying events like the Underground Railroad allows our students to see the seemingly disconnected events in history come together and begin to understand how some events are related and how we became the nation we are today.

Inquiry in Science

When most people hear about inquiry in the classroom, they likely connect the idea to science. When you observe a science lesson, do you see students going through the motions step by step, or do you see an opportunity for students to use materials to discover how and why they might be used?

When Laurie distributed materials to her students, she could have told them exactly how to use them, and exactly what the lesson was about; instead she gave them an opportunity to discover ideas themselves. What an empowering practice!

Although the authors didn’t highlight the importance of inquiry in math, I immediately made the connection when reading this section. When I taught 5th grade math and I would get out manipulatives such as pattern blocks, I had to give them an opportunity to just build and play before I attended to my lesson of the day. Not only was this acknowledging the importance of play and discovery, they were noticing and wondering on their own which at times assisted in activating background knowledge prior to the lesson. Win-win!

Vocabulary

We often ask students to stop in their reading when they encounter a word they do not know. Sometimes we even give them the strategy to look for context clues that can help us understand the meaning of a word. In regard to vocabulary, we are again provoking a notice-and-wonder approach to acquiring new vocabulary. Merry refers to sophisticated words as “million-dollar words”. These words once introduced through classroom conversations, small groups, or independent reading can find their way to anchor charts adorning the classroom walls. They invite students to begin using them in their conversations and in their writing.

We can no longer think of “disruptive thinking” as a barrier to learning but an opportunity for students and teachers to lean into their inquiring minds. The hidden agenda of inquiry in the title of this post refers to the agenda of both the students and the educators – because don’t we all really want to belong, make a difference, to be heard and learn? Inquiry shouldn’t just be a portion of the day, but a way of learning throughout the school day and throughout life. What a wonderful community we are creating – within school and beyond - when we provide such a learning experience for all students. This chapter left me inspired to listen more than I speak – with both students and teachers!

This post is part of our 2020 Summer Book Study. Find all previous posts and more information here. Also, we will discuss Engaging Literate Minds next Wednesday at 4:30 P.M. at the newsletter. Sign up below – it’s free! (Also, we will be hosting a Zoom chat on the last Wednesday, July 15 at the same time. Sign up for the chat during next Wednesday's discussion.)