Assignment 3
Reflection on Inquiry: Question, Reflect, Retrieve, Reflect
For: Jennifer Branch-Müller
August 3, 2010
Lissa Bonnell Davies
University of Alberta
Inquiry learning is a “dynamic process of being open wonder and puzzlement and coming to
know the world” (University of Calgary, 2009, para. 1).
It sounds so wonderful, smooth and seamless. So why does it feel so edgy, rough and rocky?
Here am I, the teacher-librarian, who is supposed to lead staff and students in learning and
growing through inquiry, and instead, I am down in the trenches, wading through the muck and
mire. I am definitely not the sage on the stage, and at this point, I don’t even feel like the guide
on the side (King, 1993). Why is this so hard? Like most people, I am naturally an inquirer. I
constantly ask myself questions and seek the answer. It can be as quick as “What’s for dinner?”
and a hop on the Internet to search for a recipe, or as complex as “How can I support student X
to improve his/her learning?” which involves conversations with other staff, calls to consultants,
and searching through print and Internet resources. In this assignment, I began to understand
the difference between informal inquiry and formal inquiry. While informal inquiries are often
evaluated by ourselves, this inquiry, similar to the ones I lead students through, has a process
and an outcome that will be formally evaluated. Formal inquiry also involves a higher and
deeper level of research than just hopping on to Google. Research papers, databases, journals
and websites need to be searched and evaluated. As I have experienced the trials and
tribulations of this assignment, I have reflected on how my students experience inquiry, and I
believe this process will truly change the way I teach and support students. Koechlin and
Zwann’s (2006) statement, “Understanding is a process, not a destination.” (p. 5), supported me
through this journey. Using this vision of process as a lens, here are my thoughts, learnings and
wonders about this process, or journey.
Stage 1: Planning: Developing a Question, Reflect
The question is the essential first step in inquiry learning. A good question is the ‘North Star’ of
the journey, the marker that guides us and prevents us from wandering aimlessly. I believed that
creating a question would be a simple process. After all, the readings and discussions we have
had inspired me with many wonders and ideas. However, as I began to think about my inquiry
question, I realized that forming a good question takes time and skill. Koechlin and Zwann
(2006) state: “A good research question is one that guides the questioner through a quest to
build personal meaning and understanding.” (p. 47). I needed to take the TLDL curriculum
(inquiry), my interests (evidenced-based librarianship as proposed by Ross Todd (2007),
purposes (to improve my inquiry teaching and make the library teaching visible) , and my
wonderings (what would this look like in my school?) and use these to frame my question so
that it would be researchable and empirical. This required me to brainstorm questions, reflect on
the qualities of a good question (Harvey and Daniels, 2009), revisit those questions and
reformulate them until I developed a good question. Students also need to learn how to create
good questions. Kulthau, Maniotes and Caspari (2007) believe that motivation to learn is
increased when students develop their own questions . When the topic is driven by the
curriculum, the Inquiry Model (Alberta Learning, 2004) suggests that students need to build their
own questions within the topic. I will need to plan lessons in questioning, using activities from
Harvey and Daniels (2009) and Koechlin and Zwann (2006).
Stage 2: Retrieval Plan, Reflect
It was here, as I began to create my pathfinder, that I began to understand the ‘recursive’ nature
of inquiry (Alberta Learning, 2004). I realized that I was missing essential background
knowledge to create my pathfinder. As I struggled to understand the difference between
keywords and subject headings in both Library of Congress and Dewey formats, as well as
determining call numbers for my subject, what would be a 15 minute journey for the experienced
became a 15 hour detour for me. The frustration I experienced, the sense of being stupid, is one
that every student who is missing required background knowledge is familiar with. Ensuring
students are immersed in the topic, defining terms, and doing diagnostic testing will help me to
understand and support students’ needs as they enter into the inquiry process.
As I entered into the ‘Locate and collect resources’ stage of the Inquiry Model (Alberta Learning,
2004), I began to truly understand the frustrations students can experience with information
overload. Gone are the days when you looked up books at the library, took out a few, and
copied information from them onto a piece of paper that became your report. Now, we need to
manage a barrage of information from print and digital resources. As I began to search the
Internet, using appropriate keywords, I found about 23 900 000 sites. Narrowing the searches
by increasing the number of relevant words used narrowed my results to 240 000 sites. How
was I to locate, evaluate and use the appropriate sites in a timely manner (i.e. before I retire)?
At this point, scanning and skimming became my Internet research plan. This process took up
far more time than I had anticipated, and was very frustrating. Students can be easily
overwhelmed by this information overload, often not overtly showing their struggles (Atkin,
1998). Explicit teaching in search strategies is necessary to support students through this
process. My next step was to move to searching databases for more pertinent information.
Wikipedia (2010) states that “A database consists of an organized collection of data…” (para.1).
Using the databases from the University of Alberta gave me more relevant information
Databases can provide students with reviewed and edited information as well.1 However, often
the information, geared to elementary students, can be rudimentary. I would like to explore
using other search engines than Google with students, and develop collaborative curricularbased pathfinders on our library site to assist students to find relevant information quickly.
Once retrieved, managing information remained another issue for me. I quickly realized that
cloud computing tools were the answer. Diigo (www.diigo.com) was invaluable, as I was able to
quickly bookmark and tag sites that were relevant. I also made use of Instapaper
(www.instapaper.com) to mark as ‘read later’ sites that I was unsure of after a minute or two of
scanning. When using databases, a folder in RefWorks held all of my information. The creation
of a wiki was helpful as I was able to ‘dump’ links, information and quick notes. Working within
the cloud ensured I could access my assignment from any computer. I believe teaching
students to use cloud-based tools is essential to help them to manage their inquiry information.
These tools eliminate the need to organize paper, hold information and websites in one or two
spots, and allow for anytime, anywhere access.
This rough and rocky quest has given me many insights into the process of inquiry. I have
become more aware of how students’ experience inquiry and the roadblocks and detours they
1
Students in Alberta can access the Online Reference Center from www.LearnAlberta.ca to use
databases such as eLibrary and SIRS
encounter. This is not a smooth and linear road to a destination, but rather a twisty journey off of
the beaten path. And, as always, it is the roadblocks and detours that have provided me with the
greatest learnings.
References
Alberta Learning. (2004). Focus on inquiry: A teacher’s guide to implementing inquiry-based
learning. Edmonton, AB, Canada, Author.
Akin, L. (1998). Information overload and children: A survey of Texas elementary school
students. School Library Media research, 1. doi: 202781
Databases (2010). In Wikipedia. Retrieved July 30, 2010 from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Database
Government of Alberta. (2010) Online Reference Centre. Retrieved from
http://www.learnalberta.ca/OnlineReferenceCentre.aspx?lang=en
Harvey, S., & Daniels, H. (2009). Comprehension and collaboration: Inquiry circles in action.
Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
King, A. (1993). From sage on the stage to guide on the side. College Teaching, 41. Retrieved
from
http://www.questia.com/googleScholar.qst;jsessionid=MWcFzWhqHrZf8VhxS19lYgxMc1
ljRz2x1kdh2SrsYp6D5yPxx77S!-2069103236!-771937571?docId=94305197
Koechlin, C., & Zwaan, S. (2006). Q Tasks. Markham, On, Canada: Pembroke Publishers.
Kuhlthau. C., Maniotes, L., & Caspari, A. (2007). Guided Inquiry. Westport, CT: Libraries
Unlimited
Todd, R. (2007). Evidenced-based practice and school libraries: From advocacy to action. In
Hughes-Hassel, S. & Harada. V. (Eds.), School reform and the library media specialist.
(pp. 161-177). Westport CT: Libraries Unlimited.
University of Calgary. (2009). What is inquiry? Retrieved from
http://www.galileo.org/inquiry-what.html