WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.720 The whole point of teaching with an inquiry mindset is for students to 00:00:03.720 --> 00:00:08.670 grapple with questions and find the answers to questions and problems, 00:00:09.000 --> 00:00:12.570 either on their own or with the help of an adult facilitator. 00:00:13.260 --> 00:00:16.140 We model what deep questions look and sound like. 00:00:16.440 --> 00:00:20.550 And we practice with our students, how to ask open-ended questions 00:00:20.550 --> 00:00:24.509 that require some digging, some reflection and some scrutiny. 00:00:25.020 --> 00:00:30.210 In episode 27, I explored questioning and the types of questions that get our 00:00:30.210 --> 00:00:32.910 students thinking and looking for answers. 00:00:33.210 --> 00:00:37.650 So go and listen to that episode straight after this one, if you haven't already. 00:00:38.280 --> 00:00:45.180 Now as inquiry educators, the one thing we don't do is jump in with the answers. 00:00:45.750 --> 00:00:51.420 Instead we hold back and facilitate the finding of the answers. 00:00:52.170 --> 00:00:56.910 The obvious places to look for answers are either to ask someone who might know, 00:00:57.210 --> 00:01:01.860 an expert on the topic, for example, or we look for the answers in a book. 00:01:02.420 --> 00:01:06.440 Or most commonplace nowadays, we Google it. 00:01:06.530 --> 00:01:09.530 Or like one of my students once said, we just ask Siri. 00:01:10.010 --> 00:01:10.820 No seriously. 00:01:11.570 --> 00:01:17.480 Although, this seems obvious to us finding these answers can prove quite 00:01:17.480 --> 00:01:20.810 tricky if you're a kid and you're still learning the skills of finding the 00:01:20.810 --> 00:01:26.060 main idea of a text, looking for bias, deciding whether a text is opinion or 00:01:26.060 --> 00:01:28.970 fact, finding the key words in a text. 00:01:29.330 --> 00:01:32.720 Not to mention searching safely on the internet. 00:01:33.270 --> 00:01:37.743 Many of these skills, especially when it comes to technology use are taught 00:01:37.983 --> 00:01:44.253 by skilled school librarians, and ourselves who are up to date with all 00:01:44.253 --> 00:01:48.983 the latest technology to help kids and adults find answers to questions online. 00:01:49.823 --> 00:01:53.153 The internet can be a rather unsavory space. 00:01:53.453 --> 00:01:59.003 So preparing students for safe searching should always be a top priority. 00:01:59.693 --> 00:02:05.033 A good idea is to have kids safe, search engines, preloaded 00:02:05.093 --> 00:02:07.073 onto devices for kids to use. 00:02:07.493 --> 00:02:12.923 And these are things like safe search kids or Kiddle or kidz 00:02:13.043 --> 00:02:15.833 search with a Zed kidz search. 00:02:16.283 --> 00:02:22.293 And then there are websites like Britannica kids and Kid Topia, where 00:02:22.293 --> 00:02:24.603 children can safely search topics. 00:02:24.963 --> 00:02:28.413 There's a whole host of safe search websites for kids, but I think 00:02:28.413 --> 00:02:33.063 it's most helpful when you have these already saved on a device. 00:02:33.423 --> 00:02:36.963 And then train children explicitly step-by-step how to 00:02:36.963 --> 00:02:39.183 use them to access information. 00:02:39.903 --> 00:02:42.213 I will link these for you in the show notes. 00:02:42.543 --> 00:02:46.923 And the reason I'm saying they should be preloaded, is because you don't want 00:02:46.923 --> 00:02:53.613 kids, just scrolling endlessly or typing in all sorts of things in Google and then 00:02:53.643 --> 00:02:55.683 a whole bunch of unsavory stuff comes up. 00:02:55.863 --> 00:02:58.053 So that's what we need to protect kids from. 00:02:59.043 --> 00:03:04.533 And so we teach kids how to search safely using kids save search engines 00:03:04.533 --> 00:03:08.733 where they not going to be exposed to things that no kid needs to know or see. 00:03:09.343 --> 00:03:13.123 . Finding information, not just online, but also in books and publications 00:03:13.153 --> 00:03:16.183 is something once again, that kids need to be taught explicitly. 00:03:16.843 --> 00:03:22.693 I have found that apart from whole class teaching and all of us going on devices 00:03:22.693 --> 00:03:26.473 simultaneously with me demonstrating on the interactive whiteboard. 00:03:26.953 --> 00:03:30.913 And nowadays of course, we can just mirror our device onto our whiteboards. 00:03:31.333 --> 00:03:32.983 And then kids can follow along. 00:03:33.283 --> 00:03:39.613 And we go through the process of using or how to use rather apps or websites safely. 00:03:40.003 --> 00:03:43.483 And this includes typing in the appropriate key words and looking 00:03:43.483 --> 00:03:48.163 for the correct keywords and phrases that come up in our searches to know 00:03:48.163 --> 00:03:53.293 and understand which would be the most appropriate website to use. 00:03:53.683 --> 00:03:57.523 So you see that we don't just set a task and expect kids 00:03:57.523 --> 00:03:59.713 to go off and find answers. 00:04:00.373 --> 00:04:05.083 This is not inquiry based learning and it's also a disaster waiting to happen. 00:04:05.443 --> 00:04:09.283 Because children will start feeling overwhelmed and dysregulated 00:04:09.313 --> 00:04:13.303 because they don't have the structure in place that makes them 00:04:13.303 --> 00:04:15.673 feel safe and secure and capable. 00:04:16.423 --> 00:04:21.163 Now another way that's worked for me, is to explicitly teach the 00:04:21.163 --> 00:04:26.803 skill of looking for answers in small group guided reading sessions. 00:04:27.553 --> 00:04:32.713 And this is when I would choose a text, which would either be printed off text 00:04:32.743 --> 00:04:34.963 or a book or perhaps something online. 00:04:35.323 --> 00:04:39.943 And I'd always ensure that it's a non-fiction text, and that it is 00:04:39.943 --> 00:04:43.693 related to the topic we're covering in one of our learning areas. 00:04:44.023 --> 00:04:47.203 So in essence, you're meeting the outcomes of multiple 00:04:47.203 --> 00:04:49.333 curriculum areas simultaneously. 00:04:49.603 --> 00:04:55.543 You're learning the content in a nonfiction area related to one of your 00:04:55.543 --> 00:05:00.613 curriculum areas and simultaneously in that small guided reading group, 00:05:00.913 --> 00:05:05.383 you're teaching them the skills of how to access information and 00:05:05.383 --> 00:05:06.943 what to do with information. 00:05:07.333 --> 00:05:10.663 And it's actually what you're doing is teaching them all those 00:05:10.663 --> 00:05:12.463 comprehension skills as well. 00:05:12.703 --> 00:05:17.683 Things like predicting, visualizing, summarizing, critical thinking, making 00:05:17.683 --> 00:05:22.753 connections, , including using context clues, looking for the main idea and 00:05:22.753 --> 00:05:25.033 coming up with questions about the text. 00:05:25.603 --> 00:05:32.743 Now one powerful strategy, for practicing questioning by the way, is after reading 00:05:32.803 --> 00:05:37.963 a sentence or a paragraph, asking children to come up with a question, 00:05:38.503 --> 00:05:43.213 to which the answer was that paragraph or sentence, they've just read. 00:05:43.723 --> 00:05:47.503 It's sort of a backward approach, but it really works when teaching 00:05:47.503 --> 00:05:52.933 kids to ask questions and look for key words to find answers. 00:05:53.683 --> 00:06:01.003 So, can you see how the skills that we use in inquiry, I actually explicitly taught 00:06:01.033 --> 00:06:06.433 in our English or our library lessons, for example and then those skills are applied 00:06:06.523 --> 00:06:12.163 to new learning when students are working on a science or a history or literature, 00:06:12.193 --> 00:06:15.133 or even a personal inquiry project. 00:06:15.643 --> 00:06:21.703 When we talk about integrated learning, or making cross-curricular connections. 00:06:22.093 --> 00:06:24.073 Then this is what we're talking about. 00:06:24.733 --> 00:06:29.293 Of course, we will have students with very different needs in our classrooms. 00:06:29.293 --> 00:06:31.543 That just seems to be the norm nowadays. 00:06:32.023 --> 00:06:36.523 And some students may need a short printed out text because all the 00:06:36.523 --> 00:06:40.483 information that they have to sift through is too distracting. 00:06:40.843 --> 00:06:45.643 And I would certainly say that when you're just beginning with inquiry, just use 00:06:45.673 --> 00:06:50.473 short, printed out texts on the topic or the concept that you were teaching 00:06:50.713 --> 00:06:55.843 and use that to teach the skills of looking for answers which essentially 00:06:55.843 --> 00:07:00.463 is comprehension during your small group guided reading instruction sessions. 00:07:01.363 --> 00:07:04.153 And just like the information available online 00:07:04.453 --> 00:07:09.223 those non-fiction texts are always laid out in a certain way. 00:07:09.643 --> 00:07:14.173 They have subheadings usually, and of course, an index or a content page. 00:07:14.533 --> 00:07:19.993 And this is where it's once again useful, to explicitly teach the skill 00:07:20.353 --> 00:07:24.463 that when we're looking for an answer to a question, we don't have to read 00:07:24.463 --> 00:07:29.563 the entire encyclopedia to find the answer, but rather practise looking for 00:07:29.563 --> 00:07:36.253 information by scouring the index, or the content page or the subheadings of pages. 00:07:37.063 --> 00:07:42.043 All these little things that we take for granted, children actually don't 00:07:42.043 --> 00:07:44.383 know, unless they are explicitly taught. 00:07:45.013 --> 00:07:50.443 Finding answers to questions is a skill that needs to be taught, and 00:07:50.443 --> 00:07:55.243 once mastered easily transferred to other areas of our lives. 00:07:55.483 --> 00:07:58.543 And this is the wonderful thing about teaching through an inquiry 00:07:58.543 --> 00:08:03.463 lens, because it helps not just our students, but ourselves too, to 00:08:03.493 --> 00:08:05.773 make the connections to other areas. 00:08:06.043 --> 00:08:10.303 And this of course is exactly what we want kids to do to 00:08:10.303 --> 00:08:13.723 transfer learning to other areas. 00:08:14.713 --> 00:08:18.133 I hope you can start to see that inquiry is something that is 00:08:18.193 --> 00:08:20.203 integrated across learning areas. 00:08:20.623 --> 00:08:25.453 And that teaching through this inquiry mindset, meets all the general 00:08:25.453 --> 00:08:30.793 capabilities of the curriculum because you're honing those thinking, those 00:08:30.793 --> 00:08:35.683 problem solving and investigation skills in students, which are so 00:08:35.683 --> 00:08:40.453 essential for this ever-changing world and the jobs of the future. 00:08:41.503 --> 00:08:46.693 Now I also just want to share with you that I've been hard at work behind the 00:08:46.693 --> 00:08:50.593 scenes to create a better experience for you and to support you in your 00:08:50.593 --> 00:08:54.853 planning and the smooth integration of inquiry into your lessons. 00:08:55.303 --> 00:08:58.933 And I'd love you to DM me on Instagram or Facebook messenger, 00:08:59.233 --> 00:09:04.773 and let me know what one thing is that you wish you had to make your life, in 00:09:04.773 --> 00:09:07.153 your classroom or homeschool easier. 00:09:07.603 --> 00:09:08.833 Don't be shy. 00:09:09.313 --> 00:09:11.923 You know, we teachers need each other. 00:09:12.943 --> 00:09:19.093 I heard a little while ago that if you want to go deep go alone, but if 00:09:19.093 --> 00:09:22.813 you want to go far, go with someone, I think that was it, I could be confused, 00:09:23.173 --> 00:09:27.413 but it really resonated with me in that we need to support each other. 00:09:28.193 --> 00:09:33.983 And we need to help each other because teaching is a job that's never done. 00:09:34.643 --> 00:09:40.283 And it's also a job where it's so much better when we work together, 00:09:40.373 --> 00:09:44.183 when we support each other, when you have that critical friend or that 00:09:44.483 --> 00:09:49.763 someone that can give you advice and tell you how you're doing and where 00:09:49.763 --> 00:09:51.743 you can improve and where you are 00:09:51.743 --> 00:09:53.693 just an absolute rock star. 00:09:54.383 --> 00:10:02.373 And so I invite you to become part of this community of curious educators, where 00:10:02.373 --> 00:10:07.443 we're all looking out for each other and trying to do better for our students, 00:10:07.713 --> 00:10:13.173 by getting them to think and use that God-given gray matter between their ears. 00:10:13.623 --> 00:10:18.693 And so if you would like more strategies and insights, just like these delivered 00:10:18.693 --> 00:10:25.953 to your inbox, and you want to be part of this community of curious, innovative 00:10:26.223 --> 00:10:30.963 educators, then you should really subscribe to my free weekly newsletter, 00:10:31.023 --> 00:10:34.383 Get Curious, that's what it's called and get on my mailing list. 00:10:34.773 --> 00:10:39.573 My subscribers get access to all the juicy bits and inside information. 00:10:39.933 --> 00:10:46.123 So go get curious by signing up at resources.edlessons.com/getcurious. 00:10:46.443 --> 00:10:48.873 I'll link to it in the show notes too. 00:10:49.773 --> 00:10:51.723 And thanks for listening to blooming curious. 00:10:52.053 --> 00:10:55.893 I know that you have the choice of thousands of podcasts out 00:10:55.893 --> 00:10:57.783 there, but you've chosen this one. 00:10:58.083 --> 00:11:01.593 And for that, I am so grateful and so thrilled. 00:11:02.103 --> 00:11:03.213 So thanks so much. 00:11:03.243 --> 00:11:07.353 And if something or anything in today's episode resonated with 00:11:07.353 --> 00:11:09.153 you could you do me a favor? 00:11:09.633 --> 00:11:14.013 Please tap the share button and share it with friends and colleagues that 00:11:14.013 --> 00:11:16.113 you think will find it useful to. 00:11:16.863 --> 00:11:21.333 And if you rate this podcast, please take a quick moment to leave a review. 00:11:21.633 --> 00:11:24.063 You need to go to where it says, follow the show. 00:11:24.543 --> 00:11:28.263 And then scroll all the way down to the bottom, past all the episodes 00:11:28.593 --> 00:11:31.413 and then right at the bottom, you'll see, it says leave a review. 00:11:31.773 --> 00:11:33.963 I would so appreciate that. 00:11:34.683 --> 00:11:37.623 And with that I will love and leave you until next time. 00:11:38.493 --> 00:11:41.313 And remember, stay blooming, curious.