There have been many programs used to encourage and improve higher order thinking skills and independent learning with focus on student centered learning over the past decade, these programs seem to lack the key inquiry process which is at the forefront of guided inquiry learning which leads students to becoming independent thinkers and ultimately providing them with a platform and the skills to become lifelong learners. In her article Movers and Shakers – Being a Guided Inquiry Trainer, Castell (2017) stated that “guided inquiry learning met her philosophy of teaching along with the structure to guide students to be well-trained consumers of the vast amount of information they have access to as well as developing the skills they need to be educated, contributing members of society”. It has become evident that the skills provided to students through guided inquiry learning are essential for students if they are to be successful independent learners as well as employees of the future, guided inquiry learning meets the top three skills required by employees in 2020 – “Complex Problem Solving, Critical Thinking and Creativity” (World Economic Forum, 2016).
In his article Inquiry skills in the Australian Curriculum v6, Lupton (2014) noted shortcomings of the Australian Curriculum in regards to inquiry learning across the Key Learning Areas (KLA) of Science, History and Geography. These shortcomings can be addressed by the teacher librarian, in their role as information specialist, and in collaboration with classroom teachers through implementing a particular Guided Inquiry model across KLA’s. This would allow students to access and become familiar and proficient in the use of that model in order to develop higher order thinking skills, researching and collaborative skills and importantly to allow students to reflect on their learning, as well as the outcome of the process. By providing the opportunity to use Guided Inquiry models students engage in learning through positive and creative experiences which fosters learner success and ownership, students build on the skills required at each stage level to make them independent learners ready and equipped with the skills required in the future employment landscape.
After consideration of a number of Guided Inquiry Models including Kath Murdoch’s Inquiry Cycle, The Big 6 and Project Based Learning, the inquiry unit chosen for a Year 8 HPE class unit of work is the Guided Inquiry Design using the framework by Karen Bonanno. I personally found this model to be very user friendly and met the identified needs of the students within the class, the other models which were considered either did not provide enough detailed information to produce a successful unit of work for the students to achieve the outcomes of the unit or that the skills the students would gain from using these models, particularly Project Based Learning, did not fully equip them with the desirable inquiry skills which are being sought in the workforce. The Guided Inquiry Design framework by Karen Bonanno was ultimately chosen due to the large amount of user friendly information related to the framework. The model overall is easy to apply to all curriculum subjects and the range of resources that are available to utilise within the framework provided a model which could be modified to meet the learning needs of individual classes. I found the diagrams provided students with a visual representation of Where am I up to? What is this stage about? Where do I go next? As students use and become more familiar with the Guided Inquiry Design framework they will become more independent in their learning as they know and recognise the requirements of each stage and the types of skills and tools that they will use at each stage.
One particular tool that is important for the Guided Inquiry process is that of reflection at various stages throughout the unit of work. Introspection, through various opportunities to reflect, during the learning process and also for the end product is essential, not only for students to reflect on their learning, but also for the teaching team to reflect on the process and allows the team to make necessary adjustments to the framework to ensure student success. Guided Inquiry learning also provides the opportunity for students to develop skills in Critical and Creative Thinking, Information Communication Technology and Literacy through the use of various tools, skills and the products they produce this ultimately leads to students developing a creative mindset which they can draw upon not only throughout their schooling but also tertiary education and future employment.
It is important to note though that while the Guided Inquiry framework may work well for a particular class at a particular school it may not necessarily work for each particular class or across the whole school community at different stage levels or at different schools. It is therefore very important as the Teacher Librarian to collaboratively work with classroom teachers to ensure that the model is applicable to the class that it will be used with and includes modifications and adjustments to the model depending on the learning styles and abilities of the students within the class. It may also be found that a completely different Guided Inquiry Model may be more appropriate to use for different classes. Having an understanding of the various Guided Inquiry Models available will prove invaluable to Teacher Librarians and ultimately the school community as a whole.
References.
Castell. (2017) Movers and Shakers – Being a Guided Inquiry Trainer, Edublogs. Retrieved from http://52guidedinquiry.edublogs.org/2017/09/24/movers-and-shakers-being-a-guided-inquiry-trainer/
Bonanno, K. with contribution from FitzGerald, L. (2015) F-10 Inquiry Skills Scope and Sequence and F-10 Core Skills and Tools. Eduwebinar Pty Ltd. Retrieved from www.eduwebinar.com.au
Lupton, M. (2014) Inquiry skills in the Australian Curriculum v6, Access 28(4), 8-29. Available CSU Library.
World Economic Forum. (2016) The Future of Jobs. Retrieved from www.reports.weforum.org