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Our Project began with a survey of relevant literature on the subject of Inquiry-based learning. Some of our favourite resources and links are listed below. Most are available at Amazon.com.
UPDATE! One of our new favourite books is Teaching with the Brain in Mind by Eric Jensen. This wonderful book is excellent for laying out the foundations of recent brain research and its direct impact on the way we teach. Most importantly, it has a superb set of easy to use, easily incorporated strategies to make your teaching practice better and much, much more engaging.
Also, feel free to use the handy planning guide that we've adapted for classroom use. Just click on the project overview document at the top of this page. It will allow you to download the file to use in your classroom.
Comprehension and Collaboration: Inquiry Circles in Action by Stephanie Harvey and Harvey Daniels. A great book to start with! Very well written, easy to follow and does a great job explaining the whys and hows of inquiry-based teaching.
Action Strategies for Deepening Understanding by Jeffery Wilhelm, Ph.D. A hands on and interactive guide to improving critical literacy. Great for those who like to read and do.
Spaces and Places: Designing Classrooms for Literacy by Debbie Diller. Do yourself a favour and get your room organized in a thoughtful manner to allow the students to move around and take part in lots of hands-on activities.
Inquiry-Based Learning Using Everyday Objects by Amy Edmonds Alvarado and Patricia R. Herr. Another good resource full of easy to create lessons and solid advice for creating a dynamic classroom environment.
Guided Inquiry: Learning in the 21st Century by Carol C. Kuhlthau, Leslie K. Maniotes and Ann K. Caspari. A thorough section on the theory and basis for guided inquiry is included in this resource.
Critical Challenges for Primary Students by Tami McDiarmid, Rita Manzo and Trish Musselle. A primary resource full of easy to use lessons with blackline masters to support the learning.
Understanding by Design by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe A resource to help kids dig deeper into their projects. Planning and curriculum design is highlighted.
How to Differentiate Instruction in Mixed-Ability Classrooms by Carol Ann Tomlinson. An essential tool for making sure all students' needs are met in your classroom.
Classroom Discussion by Dixie Lee Spiegel Help your student build higher level thinking skills and enjoy the many activity ideas provided in the book.
Engaging Readers and Writers with Inquiry by Jeffrey D. Wilhelm. Guided questioning techniques are explored in detail and the rational given for promoting more use of questioning schemes to enhance Language Arts.
LINKS
There are many wonderful sites available to help you understand and start using inquiry-based learning in your classroom. We've listed a number of good resources here to save you time and aggravation.
Web Links to guide your learning:
http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/inquiry/implement_sub2.html
http://www.edutopia.org/project-based-learning-introduction-video
http://www.tc2.ca/wp/
http://www.pz.harvard.edu/vt/VisibleThinking_html_files/02_GettingStarted/02d_StartingDoc.html
Don't underestimate the power of a good off-the-shelf resource in the form of a student activity photocopy book. Sometimes you can find a gem at the local teacher store that will help spur new ideas or contain good organizers to help you in your daily practice. I found some good daily puzzlers, logic activities and problem solving strategy books that I use to supplement my larger units.
UPDATE! One of our new favourite books is Teaching with the Brain in Mind by Eric Jensen. This wonderful book is excellent for laying out the foundations of recent brain research and its direct impact on the way we teach. Most importantly, it has a superb set of easy to use, easily incorporated strategies to make your teaching practice better and much, much more engaging.
Also, feel free to use the handy planning guide that we've adapted for classroom use. Just click on the project overview document at the top of this page. It will allow you to download the file to use in your classroom.
Comprehension and Collaboration: Inquiry Circles in Action by Stephanie Harvey and Harvey Daniels. A great book to start with! Very well written, easy to follow and does a great job explaining the whys and hows of inquiry-based teaching.
Action Strategies for Deepening Understanding by Jeffery Wilhelm, Ph.D. A hands on and interactive guide to improving critical literacy. Great for those who like to read and do.
Spaces and Places: Designing Classrooms for Literacy by Debbie Diller. Do yourself a favour and get your room organized in a thoughtful manner to allow the students to move around and take part in lots of hands-on activities.
Inquiry-Based Learning Using Everyday Objects by Amy Edmonds Alvarado and Patricia R. Herr. Another good resource full of easy to create lessons and solid advice for creating a dynamic classroom environment.
Guided Inquiry: Learning in the 21st Century by Carol C. Kuhlthau, Leslie K. Maniotes and Ann K. Caspari. A thorough section on the theory and basis for guided inquiry is included in this resource.
Critical Challenges for Primary Students by Tami McDiarmid, Rita Manzo and Trish Musselle. A primary resource full of easy to use lessons with blackline masters to support the learning.
Understanding by Design by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe A resource to help kids dig deeper into their projects. Planning and curriculum design is highlighted.
How to Differentiate Instruction in Mixed-Ability Classrooms by Carol Ann Tomlinson. An essential tool for making sure all students' needs are met in your classroom.
Classroom Discussion by Dixie Lee Spiegel Help your student build higher level thinking skills and enjoy the many activity ideas provided in the book.
Engaging Readers and Writers with Inquiry by Jeffrey D. Wilhelm. Guided questioning techniques are explored in detail and the rational given for promoting more use of questioning schemes to enhance Language Arts.
LINKS
There are many wonderful sites available to help you understand and start using inquiry-based learning in your classroom. We've listed a number of good resources here to save you time and aggravation.
Web Links to guide your learning:
http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/inquiry/implement_sub2.html
http://www.edutopia.org/project-based-learning-introduction-video
http://www.tc2.ca/wp/
http://www.pz.harvard.edu/vt/VisibleThinking_html_files/02_GettingStarted/02d_StartingDoc.html
Don't underestimate the power of a good off-the-shelf resource in the form of a student activity photocopy book. Sometimes you can find a gem at the local teacher store that will help spur new ideas or contain good organizers to help you in your daily practice. I found some good daily puzzlers, logic activities and problem solving strategy books that I use to supplement my larger units.
| project_overview.doc |