Happy Tuesday! As promised yesterday, below is the conclusion to my three part summer piece regarding the six texts I read in preparation for my new classes. Today I will share my takeaways from Dive Into Inquiry by: Trevor Mackenzie and published by EdTechTeam Press and The Greatest Class You Never Taught by: Alexis Wiggins and published by ASCD. Let's DIVE IN. Get it?
INQUIRY
1. Have students help in creating course syllabus. Discuss how they like to learn, be assessed, and graded. Have them list traits of positive and negative experiences from the past (without names). Introduce then evaluate the pros and cons of inquiry style learning.
2. There are four types of inquiry: structured, controlled, guided, and free so that teachers are able to scaffold students into full on autonomous inquiry.
3. The four pillars of inquiry are: passion, goals, curiosity, and new learning. Once students reach free inquiry they can develop their own essential questions.
4. Students should pitch their free inquiry projects to their teachers and once approved let the exploring begin!
5. Reflection is built in with journals, conferences, and feedback from authentic audiences.
My takeaways: I will be using this method with my freshmen next year as we engage in the different types per quarter (beginning with structured, moving to controlled, next to guided, and ending in a fourth quarter of free inquiry. I will be mixing this idea with the genius hour presented in Empower. I also really like this idea for how to begin the year with syllabus and a reflection of the past/look towards the future.
SPIDER WEB DISCUSSIONS
1. Spider web discussions must be an unweighted group grade and the teacher must sit back to collect the data and make the "web." The SPIDER is an acronym for what the students are expected to do.
2. Teachers can code the discussions while mapping to indicate who made great points, who interrupted, who built upon previous concepts, anything.
3. The book explained how to quiet some superstars and extract some quiet kids so that everyone in the discussion shares an equal amount. Some ways to help can be to assign students specific "roles" within discussions.
4. Be empathetic towards all kinds of children throughout the process and assess the class based on clear rubrics and debriefing sessions that follow the general principles of what comprises a spider web discussion.
5. Spider web discussions allow us to teach our content while vastly improving our students' social skills - thus preparing them for the real world.
My takeaways: I will be using Spider Web discussion in my APLang classes next year to ensure that all students are able to openly discuss the nonfiction articles we read and they will use these discussions to help them better understand and debrief their argument, rhetorical analysis, and synthesis writings. We will also weave in and employ the high level of literary vocabulary into these discussions that students will need in order to be successful on the AP exam at the end of the year.
That's it for now! I will write back in September to discuss the past three posts in action and let everyone know how my lines are going and how my students are doing. Enjoy your end of summer!
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