Annual Literacy Institute
Mary Jeanne Dicker, Head Librarian
Farnsworth Middle School
Guilderland Central School District
dickermj@guilderlandschools.org
Inquiry
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Active, engaged learners
Student oriented. Teacher as facilitator
Flexible
Collaborative
Standards driven
Assessment is ongoing
Expands the resources beyond school
Technology – tool for learning
- Harada, Yoshina
Learning and Thinking Skills
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Critical thinking and problem-solving skills
Communication skills
Creativity and innovation skills
Collaboration skills
Contextual learning skills
Information and media literacy skills
- Partnership for 21
st
Century
Life Skills (P21)
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Leadership
Ethics
Accountability
Adaptability
Personal productivity
Personal responsibility
People skills
Self-direction
Social responsibility
Expands the resources beyond school
• Interviews – friends, family,
witnesses, other professionals
who study the topic (real world)
•Primary resources including
documents
•Studies by professionals using
databases
•Expert mentoring
Inquiry
Amy Martin’s Solar Energy Inquiry Project
Grade 4
Westmere Elementary School
Inquiry
Students were exploring renewable/nonrenewable energy sources in science.
Question: How can we make a contribution to
renewable energy at our school?
Inquiry
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Students wrote a solar panel proposal to NYSERDA.
Received grant.
Each team wrote a paragraph
Original musical composition
Field trip to GE Renewable Power Plant
Switched to solar cookers
Mentored by retired solar energy expert
Construction paper experiment – best place for
cooker?
Used at year-end picnic
Inquiry
Inquiry
Reality check: What makes this an inquiry project?
Inquiry
Middle school projects Gr. 6-8
Inquiry
Essential questions we have explored:
How can the scientific method be
used to answer everyday
questions?
Inquiry
How does an innovation in
technology impact a
civilization?
Inquiry
How do events in history impact
today’s society?
Inquiry
Science/Language Arts Gr. 8 Scientific Method
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Problem or Question
Review of the Literature
Develop Hypothesis
Set Up Research
– Methods- what you’re going to do
– Variables
– Controls
Conduct Research
– Observations
– Collect Data
Inquiry
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Analyze Data
Conclusions
Future Research
– Create More Questions
Our Own Class Research
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Mr. H’s Hair!
What hair product creates the best and
longest lasting fohawk for Mr. H?
Inquiry
Sample questions:
How does pressure change a soccer ball?
What are the effects of music on memory?
http://sciencewithmrh.ning.com/
Inquiry
Question filter
Inquiry
Social Studies/Language Arts Gr. 8
Students choose an event or issue prevalent
today in American history and relate it back
in time to see how it evolved.
Inquiry
Inquiry
Inquiry
Inquiry
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Students develop a researchable question
after exploring library resources and
conferencing with peers and teachers.
Gather information (with support from
pathfinder).
Conduct an interview or survey for primary
data.
Inquiry
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Write a research paper.
Create an Animoto video to promote and
inform for final presentation.
Final presentations including audience
questions.
Inquiry
Inquiry
Social Studies/Language Arts Grade 6
Exploding Technology
Inquiry
Student teams chose a piece of current
technology and traced it back to ancient
civilizations, made predictions about the
future, and described its impact on the
civilization in general.
http://techpop.wikispaces.com
Inquiry
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Questioning exercise with old technology.
Teams chose a current piece of technology.
Developed questions within team.
Submitted team research proposal.
Developed search strategies.
Gathered information.
Inquiry
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Reflected on the process.
Drew a time line.
Developed team proposal for sharing new
knowledge.
Designed a presentation rubric as a class.
Created and shared presentations.
Inquiry
Time for Reflection
Refrigerators
“Our research is going well because we all
have different jobs to do to get research
done. We are definitely going to design a
little fridge that works so we are putting facts
together and starting our final project. The
Fridge Rocks!”- Maggie
Inquiry
Fabrics – “The resources that have given me
the most help are books, computer, and my
brain. Those resources really come in handy.
My friends too.” - Megha
Inquiry
Guns – “My research has been relatively good.
A lot of websites are blocked but many
aren't. The history has been very easy. I
found a timeline. The impact it has had on
civilization is hard to research, so we decided
to think it for ourselves.” - Luciano
Inquiry
High School – Schenectady High School ELA
Susie Walsh, Gr. 10 ELA teacher
Kristen Majkut, Librarian
From traditional to inquiry.
Inquiry
Kristen and Susie were having a friendly
disagreement about the book, The Kite
Runner.
Inquiry
Susie’s year-long theme was:
What does it mean for one person to have
power over another?
Inquiry
The essential question for the research project
was:
How do charities positively support and impact
the communities that they serve?
Inquiry
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100% completion rate.
90% of projects were turned in on time
These new statistics were in stark contrast to
completion rates of previous years
Library Research Wiki on Charities:
http://shswalsh.pbworks.com/
Inquiry
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“We came to the conclusion that the amount
of our prep time, our new project concepts
and ideas (inquiry-based design), and the
real-world connections directly impacted the
success of the project and the increased
level of student engagement.” - Kristen
Majkut, Librarian
Inquiry and Technology
Wikis
Inquiry
Literacy
Digital Literacy
Inquiry
A Framework for Digital Literacy
Photo – visual
Reproduction
Information
Branching
Socio-emotional
(Eshet - Alkalai)
Inquiry
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Photo – visual literacy
Inquiry
Reproduction literacy
text
synthesize
images
sound
Independent forms of information
Inquiry
Information literacy
Evaluate
Inquiry
Branching literacy
Hypermedia and navigational paths
Inquiry
Socio - emotional literacy