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Visionqueries: Visions of Inquiry-based Learning. Points on the Qualitative Path Sharon L. Comstock University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Inquiry is…. “…something that students do, not what is done to them,” ( National Science Standards, p.2) .
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Visionqueries:Visions of Inquiry-based Learning Points on the Qualitative Path Sharon L. Comstock University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Inquiry is… • “…something that students do, not what is done to them,” (National Science Standards, p.2) . • “…practical inquiry tends to be concrete rather than abstract…. It strives as much for wisdom as for knowledge,” (Mike Atkin,Professor of Education, Stanford University, Stanford CA http://www.exploratorium.edu/IFI/resources/inquirydesc.html#mikea). • “When my students come up with questions that anticipate, I know that’s ‘inquiry’,” (Kathy Gabric, high school biology teacher, GK-12 Fellows Program).
Inquiry Realty: Location, Location, Location… • Graduate Fellows In K-12 Education (Funding agency: NSF) http://gk12.ncsa.uiuc.edu) • University of Chicago Laboratory Schools (www.ucls.uchicago.edu) • Villa Park and Hinsdale Public Libraries
What is “GK-12?” • Nation-wide, NSF initiative • Advanced graduate students in Science, Mathematics, Engineering, Technology (SMET) disciplines • SMET teachers in K-12 settings • Technology-enriched classrooms, integrating computer-based modeling, visualization, and informatics Photo by S.L. Comstock
So, Who are the GK-12? • Computer scientists in pre-calculus and biology • Molecular biologist in honors biology • Biologists in advanced placement and regular biology • Mathematicians in after-hours, vocational school math classes Photo by S.L. Comstock
Methods in Qualitative Data Gathering • On-site observation • Structured formative online surveys (http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/Divisions/eot/gk12/evaluation.html) • On-site Video and photography • Artifacts • Unstructured interviews
Interpretative Art • Case study as “bounded” object • Ethnographically informed • The holistic researcher • Resulting narrative and creating of meaning • Balancing paradox: participant/observer; teacher/learner; scientist/storyteller Photo by: S.L. Comstock
Becoming mathematicians : inquiry, play, and the vocational student The 18-foot rabbit: high school students taking next-steps in genetics Teaching as a learning process: getting beyond the “dawn of time.” Incorporating inquiry learning: influencing decision makers Evidence of Inquiry: Stories as “authentication”
Pages of Inquiry • How do we use bioinformatics in biology classrooms? http://www.inquiry.uiuc.edu/bin/update_unit.cgi?command=select&xmlfile=u12108.xml • What effect does salting the roads during the winter have on lawns?http://www.inquiry.uiuc.edu/bin/update_unit.cgi?command=select&xmlfile=u11044.xml • History as inquiry: • http://www.inquiry.uiuc.edu/bin/update_unit.cgi?command=select&xmlfile=u11768.xml • http://www.inquiry.uiuc.edu/bin/update_unit.cgi?command=select&xmlfile=u11832.xml • http://www.inquiry.uiuc.edu/bin/update_unit.cgi?command=select&xmlfile=u11847.xml • How is my May Project going? http://www.inquiry.uiuc.edu/bin/update_unit.cgi?command=select&xmlfile=u11824.xml • Poetry as Play: Creative process as inquiry • http://www.inquiry.uiuc.edu/bin/update_unit.cgi?command=select&xmlfile=u10225.xml
Aspects of Inquiry-based Learning Learner centered: Investigation of some question central. An ongoing problem is examined Teacher shifts to being a facilitator and “co-learner” in the educational process. Discussion among peers is key. Problem-based, project-based, and inquiry-based often used interchangeably to describe learning activities A “little inquiry”: Every teaching/learning partnership has some elements of inquiry imbedded
Visions of Inquiry • Reaching beyond disciplinary boundaries: “If you partition a problem along discipline lines, your solution can be wrong,” Peggy Miller. • Our roles as collectors of inquiry
Selected References • Ceglowski, D. That’s a good story, but is it really research? Qualitative Inquiry; Thousand Oakes; June 1997; Vol. 3, Issue 2, pp 188-201 • Denzin, N. K. & Lincoln, Y. S. (Eds.). Handbook of Qualitative Research, Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc. • Glesne, C. & Peshkin, A. (1992). Being there: Developing understanding through participant observation. Becoming Qualitative Researchers: An Introduction. White Plains, NY: Longman, 39-61.