Inquiring About Inquiry

What if students were assessed not on their ability to answer, but on their ability to question?  What would these assessments look like? How could we accurately measure the data? Is questioning more important than answering?

Inquiry is the foundation of all learning.  One cannot acquire true knowledge, without having inquiry.  Questions lead to answers, which then lead to more questions.  Naturally, the more we know, the more we question.  We should be encouraging inquiry from our students and facilitating their learning process in all subjects so that they become critical thinkers and independent learners.

Take Dan Meyer's 101 Questions project for example. Members can submit thought-provoking pictures and videos  about fascinating and interesting things happening in the world around us.  The questions we ask ourselves about the real world is what inspires us to seek the answers.

It has been said that, "If you catch a man a fish, he eats for a day.  If you teach a man to fish, he eats for a lifetime".  This is analogous to education.  If you tell a student an answer, he learns for a day.  If you teach a student how to answer a question, he learns for a lifetime.

Google recently launched Google Search Education to provide free resources, lessons, and activities to help students become better researchers. "With more and more of the world's content online, it is critical that students understand how to effectively use web search to find quality sources appropriate to their task". - Google

After reading through Google's Search Education, I decided to synthesize the best of its resources into a Google Presentation.  All of the content in the presentation has been provided by Google.  In order to make meaning of the information, I took what I thought was most valuable and created this presentation for my students and anyone else who would like to use it.



Below are some extra tips and resources that I use to teach my students about conducting effective online searches.

MindShift Resources

"Just as having students predict answers to math problems is a way of creating more meaningful learning, prediction can be a useful strategy in successful searching too." -MindShift 

Here are some questions to consider when conducting an online search, provided by MindShift 

  • When I run this search, what do I expect to appear? 
  • When I find this answer, what do I expect it to look like? 
  • When I click this link, what do I expect I will see? 


Google Search Resources

"A Google A Day challenges help your students put their search skills to the test, and to get your classroom engaged and excited about using technology to discover the world around them." -  Google


For your consideration
  1. How can you use inquiry-based learning to drive your curriculum in your classroom?
  2. What are some other resources, tips, tricks, strategies that you use with your students?


You might also like

Wikipedia: Setting the Record Straight
YouTube: Broadcast Yourself Solving Problems
Why Do I Have To Memorize This When I Can Just Google It?

Comments

  1. Have you tried any of Dan Meyers 3 part acts in your classroom? They are definitely great and I've started to create my own!

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    Replies
    1. Yes I have! They are awesome! I have started to create my own as well. They truly help to get students inquiring about the real world around them. He is great! Thank you for your comment!

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