A Guided Inquiry approach – the school library and the Victorian Essential Learning Standards

1. A Guided Inquiry approach –the school library and the Victorian Essential Learning Standards Putting this into practice.

2. How do we implement these multiple modes of inquiry in our school libraries? We need to provide situations which; • provide challenge and opportunity. • focus on identifying and solving intellectual and/or real-world problems • closely resemble the ways that students will be expected to use their knowledge and skills in the real world • give some choice over the specific questions they want to answer and how to present their new understandings.

3. We need to provide situations where; • an attempt is made to connect with students’ background knowledge. • instructional activities involve the students in thinking, acting, and reflecting, discovering and linking ideas • instructional activitiesmodel and provide opportunity to experiencethe knowledge construction process. • there are opportunities for sustained dialogue and feedback

4. Where do we start? “Stages of backward design” 1. Identify desired results. 2. Determine acceptable evidence. 3. Plan learning experiences and instructions. Paula Christophersen

5. The Information Search Process If we look at the Information Research Process (IRS), we see the seven stages of searching are named after the primary tasks to be accomplished at each point in the process. The stages help us to develop specific intervention strategies that will assist students to do something they cannot do alone.

6. The first stage of the process is; Initiation: when confronted with an information need, students contemplate what they already know, what they want and need to find out Strategies that support this stage; • Understanding how a discipline builds knowledge and modes of inquiry • Establishing existing / prior knowledge: novice knowledge (what I know about • Mapping existing knowledge: Central concepts and relationships: concept mapping and mind mapping • Building engagement • Developing curiosity and motivation • Understand real world relevance and importance of the enquiry • Dealing with the affective dimensions: doubt, uncertainty • Time management, task organization, process and effort management • Know when, where, and how to get help and guidance

7. “Making a difference;Research Guide” Defining/Preparing Main Features understanding topic understanding key words identifying exisiting knowledge identifying information scope focussing on purpose of research planning the questions setting the scope of the task deciding how work will be presented

8. Questions; What do the students need to know? What knowledge do the students already have? What do the students need to find out? How will the students present their research? What is the time frame? How will it be assessed? What questions will be set? How will individual students be catered for? What will the final product look like? Possible strategies brainstorm concept map graphic organisers understanding the question designing questions presenting research de Bono's six thinking hats

9. Developing Background Knowledge, Interest, Motivation I didn’t know that! Questions I have???  Read View Listen Connect   I agree / disagree I wonder …. 

10. Teaching strategies for Initiation/Defining stage from “TLP” • Question Matrix • Question types, (Fat and Thin) • De Bono’s Thinking Hats • Clustering of ideas to form headings. • Task analysis. • Search plan or Pathfinder.

11. Planning Template • What curriculum outcomes are to be developed? Identify a VELS standard statement • What does deep knowledge and deep understanding look like in each of the disciplines: i.e. what does deep knowledge of science information, historical information, geographical information actually look like? • How do students go about developing deep knowledge and deep understanding of a discipline? Knowledge about a topic, concepts and relationships, knowledge of how to use learning tools, knowing how to research; • Locating, engaging, selecting, recognising, verifying, understanding, structuring, reflecting. • What curriculum content (themes or VELS standards) lend themselves to inquiry research through the school library? • What are the instructional interventions that enable the development of deep knowledge and deep understanding?

12. Knowledge Construction: some examples. What curriculum outcomes are to be developed? For example:VELS Science knowledge and understanding.Level 3 • Students identify and describe the structural features of living things, including plants and animals. They identify how these features operate together to form system which support living things to survive in their environments.

13. What does deep knowledge and deep understanding look like in each of the disciplines: i.e. what does deep knowledge of science look like? • Develop curiosity and use scientific methods to establish generalizations • Discovery of truth: what is asserted is either true or false • Describes the world through activity of measurement • Establish existing understanding – truth claims: generalisations, laws • To understand methods of scientific inquiry, need to understand how generalizations are obtained from data of observation • Formulate hypotheses / questions based on available facts • Design and pursue investigation related to hypothesis / question • Develop systematic approach to data collection • Record observations from sources, environment, testing • Generate, validate, analyse, critique and interpret evidence • Draw valid conclusions: aim for generality • Explain how scientific knowledge is used • Construct working models to demonstrate scientific ideas • Present results using data appropriate formats

14. How do students go about developing deep knowledge and deep understanding of a discipline? Knowledge about a topic, concepts and relationships, knowledge of how to use learning tools, knowing how to research; Locating, engaging, selecting, recognising, verifying, understanding, structuring, reflecting. • locating, accessing, selecting sources of information to build background knowledge • engaging with multiple viewpoints and dealing with conflicting knowledge • selecting, evaluating and interacting with ideas in these sources to develop understandings • recognizing uncertainties, doubts, frustrations and knowing how to use them creatively and positively • verifying new knowledge through arguments, evidence, reflection • understanding how to build and represent new knowledge in safe, ethical and responsible ways • structuring and organizing and representing new knowledge in meaningful and appropriate ways • reflecting on new knowledge: what have I learned and what opportunities does this open up for further learning

15. Science; Level 3 • Establish existing understanding;describe,classify explain information • Formulate hypotheses/questions. Design and pursue investigations related to their questions. • Develop systematic approach to data collection. Record observations from sources, environmental testing. Generate validate, analyse, critique, and interpret evidence • Draw valid conclusions. Explain how scientific knowledge is used. Construct working models to demonstrate scientific ideas. Present results using data appropriate formats.

16. What curriculum content (themes or VELS standards) lend themselves to inquiry research through the school library? ICT for visualizing thinking • At Level 3, students use ICT tools to list ideas, order them into logical sequences, and identify relationships between them. Students retrieve their saved visualising thinking strategies and edit them for use in new, but similar situations. They explain how these strategies can be used for different problems or situations. ICT for communicating • At Level 3, students initiate and compose email messages to known and unknown audiences and, where appropriate, send replies. Students create folders in their mailbox to organise the storage of email messages they wish to keep. They locate information on an intranet, and use a recommended search engine and limited key words to locate information from websites. They develop and apply simple criteria to evaluate the value of the located information.

17. Thinking processes - Reflection, evaluation and metacognition At Level 3, students identify strategies they use to organise their ideas, and use appropriate language to explain their thinking. They identify and provide reasons for their point of view, and justify changes in their thinking.

18. Zone of Intervention Knowledge building: Collecting sources that are pertinent, complex information rather than superficial information matched to specific focus: Collecting data from disciplinary specific modes of inquiry: interviews, surveys, experiments, observation, journaling Identification of central ideas and mapping of relationships: Use of a variety of analytical methods: cause/effect; pro/con; error analysis; compare/contrast to sort, organize and structure ideas: Identification of arguments and evidences, counter arguments and counter evidences: Use of questioning and strategies for exploring alternative perspectives and ideas: Develop conclusions, positions, posit actions, implications, solutions: Reflect on position, implications and actions:

19. What are the instructional interventions that enable the development of deep knowledge and deep understanding?These are the specific strategies that students learn to use that will help them not only for this inquiry but whenever that are at this particular stage of research or inquiry.

20. Instructional Interventions Note taking and making. Writing a bibliography Venn diagram Data grid Graphic organisers Cause and effect Fishbone Question matrix

21. Assessment Planning Assessment The use of Thinking and ICT tools including Venn diagram or data chart showing comparison of information from different sources and from opposing viewpoints to structure ideas into a coherent, integrated body of knowledge. Use of appropriate tools to construct appropriate representations of new knowledge. Notetaking and making strategies that show synthesis of gathered information. The use of tools, techniques and critical thinking skills to communicate new knowledge in appropriate ways. Demonstrated use of visual and textual modes of representation to present a point of view on a national or global issue, presented with recognition of alternative viewpoints, and supported by appropriate evidence from a range of sources, including the mass media. Monitoring of the implementation of an action plan to address a social or environmental issue, which includes strategies for raising public awareness of the issue

22. Evidence Based Practice Checklist of skills demonstrated showing pre and post testing to demonstrate new learnings. Rubric of personal learning. Conference with students to identify skills learned. Examples of data charts and notetaking strategies

23. Bibliography Bendigo Senior Secondary College (2005) Researching together: Engaging minds, Carlton, School Library Association of Victoria, BSSC Boyko, Denise, Davey, Sandy & Macdonald, Joanne (2004) Teacher Librarian Program P-6. Carlton, School Library Association of Victoria Burgess, Lesley. & Melissas, Shirley (2003) Making a difference. Carlton, School Library Association of Victoria Kuhlthau,Carol (2006) Information literacy through guided inquiry: Preparing students for the 21st century. Lisbon, Portugal, IASL Manning, Mary (2006) Expert learning; It’s essential or Teacher-Librarians write new curriculum at http://www.slav.schools.net.au Mary Manning,(2007) Inquiring minds! Approaches to the Victorian Essential Learning Standards. Conference introduction. Todd, Ross J. & Gordon, Carol (2007) A guided inquiry approach for learning in the school library: Transforming information into deep knowledge and deep understanding. Rutgers, New Jersey, CISSL. Todd, Ross J. (2006) ‘School libraries and the VELS: Great minds at work’ in Synergy, 4 (2) pp 5-6. Todd, Ross J. (2006) School libraries and the VELS: Great minds at work at http://www.slav.schools.net.au Victorian Essential Learning Standards at http://vels.vcaa.vic.edu.au/