wilhelm and others

after hearing jeff wilhelm speak at the inquiry night, i was curious about the statistics he quoted in his keynote address. i will check out his book "reading don't fix no chevy's" (where he published his research about engaging learners) from the bsu library, so if you need it, i'll have it!

also, i'm in the middle of moving. it's quite an ordeal =) however, i found ballenger and payne's "the curious reader" in my stack of teaching writing textbooks, and there are lots of great passages:

"The Curious Reader: Exploring Personal and Academic Inquiry is the book we've always wanted to have. We believe it has some new things to say about reading and writing; and it emphasizes the many ways that reading can inspire a writer's own questions about the world. This is a book that is as much about writing as it is about reading, maybe more. We never stop prompting, prodding, and provoking student writing in this text. We don't want them to put their pens down." (x)

"The interesting thing about this spirit of inquiry is that it's really an extension of the kind of thinking and writing you may have already done in your composition class or some other course that involved writing. In fact, these inquiring habits of mind have much in common with your way of seeing as a child." (5) [I like that Ballenger and Payne are appealing to an innate sense of curiousity and are drawing connections to other courses. It makes inquiry sound less formidable.]

"Rather than passively reporting on what you hae found in a text or in the library, consider the alternative of relfecting on what all that information means, where it came from, and how it was presented. We need, in other words, to dive into the dialectical thinking [of distinguishing between experience and reflection on that experience] we talked about earlier where we both listen to information and think critically about it and learn to tolerate the ambiguity that such reflection creates." (18)

wiki layout/design

Here's what I'm thinking for the wiki layout:

Title:
How to Implement Inquiry-based Teaching and Learning into the Basic Writing Classroom

Pages:

What is inquiry?
-Definition
-History
-Basic overview of major theories/theorists and claims*

Who uses inquiry?
-All disciplines, but point out that we'll focus on the composition classroom
-All grade-levels
-Student role
-Teacher role

Why use inquiry?
-Justification, rationale
-Some stats for how inquiry improves learning
-Use BSU FYWP competencies here (build confidence, engages learning, etc.)

How is inquiry used?
-Writing Activities*

Where can I find out more about inquiry?
-Bibliography
-Links (I'll probably link to James and Justin's wiki page here)

What other questions about inquiry still need to be answered?
-Further questions


* After reading James and Justin's combined wiki page (inquiry and theme-based courses), I think it would be a good idea to link our pages under activities AND background information. Active-learning is like a big umbrella and inquiry definitely falls under that.

IDEA: Asking and Answering Questions

i definitely urge you to look at IDEA! the papers are super short but informative. this one is from 1995-- so it's kind of dated, but i like that the prof breaks down the different response methods for how to ask the right questions in order to get a good student response. yay!

"as learner i perceive"

what are your ethical and moral commitments? developing young intellectuals.

youtube video: dewey and inquiry

RIF: "Reading is Fundamental"

IDEA is a website with fabulous 4-6 page papers (available in PDF format) on a variety of really current teaching issues. I saw a link to one called "Getting Students to Read: Fourteen Steps." I didn't read it all the way through-- I'll leave that up to you since that was your topic, but I'll add the link!

Center for Teaching and Learning workshops

did you know that the Center for Teaching and Learning offers "active learning at lunch" for teachers at boise state? looks like they cover different aspects of active learning (like engaging students in large classes). would you be able to attend one?

susan shadle is the director of CTL, and she is a big proponent of active learning strategies in her chemistry classes. also, i noticed a link to CTL workshop resources that you might want to peruse to see if anything jumps out at you.

Ballenger's Inquiry method

bruce ballenger's personal website lists some criteria for an inquiry-based assignment. what principles of active learning may also be in play here, autumn? do you think some of these criteria seem pretty specific to inquiry?

ballenger also has a powerpoint presentation posted on the web that may provide us with some guides to a writing or reading assignment based on his powerpoint materials.

inquiry and Idaho sySTEMic solution

Earlier this year, Boise State received a grant for $191,593 from the US Department of Education to fund teaching materials, teacher education, and consulting services for elementary school teachers of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math-- or STEM. These teachers use an inquiry-based approach to teaching and learning the sciences.

Not only does this show that inquiry methods expand beyond the realm of writing, but it also shows how much the Us Dept of Ed supports programs that need proper funding so that our children can learn and have access to the best materials and teaching. I'm really encouraged by this article; it shows that inquiry is certainly a buzz word and that it is well-supported.

August 12, 2008 BSU Communications and Marketing Article

Definitions of student-centered learning

Both active learning and inquiry-based teaching and learning fall under the teaching theories of student-centered learning. This Engineering-biased website offers some links and interview links to professors who use student-centered learning in their classes.

I think that this website also helps answer my question of whether or not the spirit of inquiry can be applied to other departments and could be a life-long skill beyond just a writing/reading classroom.

Student-Centered Teaching

(PS: Maybe we should do some more research on particular experts in our fields who teach at Boise State. Do you know of anyone who uses active learning strategies to interview? I'm interviewing Bruce B. on Friday.)

active learning diagram and definitions

Here's a link to a website that defines active learning and uses visuals to help explain some of its concepts:

Active Learning

It also has some reading activities towards the bottom.