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Enhancing
Inquiry as a Best Practice
The TQE project is actively supporting
on-site practical professional development and meaningful
classroom/action research. Teachers in the project schools
have gone beyond the standards and are actively seeking ways
to encourage best practices and research-based teaching. University
faculty serve as consultants and content specialists to help
support teachers and interns develop effective strategies
such as interdisciplinary and inquiry based unit designs.
Inquiry projects and lessons
may be infused into the curriculum by and individual teacher
or by a team of teachers. Studies may involve statistical
analysis, ethnographic documentation, reflections, documentation
of student activities and/or research about student achievement.
Teachers may or may not develop a reproducible product but
the outcome should contain evidence of what the teachers/interns
learned and what recommendations one might have based on the
study.
An informal inquiry project usually
begins with a question or problem that will involve classroom
experimentation to answer. Once the question is stated, a
university faculty member with expertise in that area may
be assigned as an advisor. For example, if the question involves
the use of math manipulatives in problem solving, a faculty
member might help define the activities and visit the school
to observe students and teachers.
Areas of support may include
books, software, class resources, travel to visit other schools,
conference opportunities, substitute teacher pay, field trips,
artist residencies, stipends, and/or expenses related to dissemination
of the inquiry project. The project sponsored over $100,000
in mini-grants that could support either individuals or groups
of teachers. The project teachers are responsible for submitting
final project reports and related documentation before the
end of the school year.
**Since 2000, the USC Teacher
Quality Collaborative has supported 90 projects in USC Clinical
Sites in (PDS) Professional Development Schools in the Columbia
area. Samples of inquiry ideas and articles can be viewed
on the TQE project website at http://tqc.ed.sc.edu.
Inquiry is a philosophical
stance rather than a set of strategies, activities, or a particular
teaching method. As such, inquiry promotes intentional and
thoughtful learning for teachers and children. (Mills and
Donnelly, 2001)
Features
of Inquiry
- Demonstration
o Strategy lesson, mini-lessons, focus on the
what, how and why
- Engagement
o Living in the Process
- Reflection
o Reflecting as individuals and/or groups on the content,
skills, strategies and concepts
- Celebration
o Public recognition for growth and change
Conditions for Inquiry Teaching
- Freedom of expression
- Responsive environment
- Search for greater meaning
- Acceptance of diversity in
learning styles
- Encourage "risk-taking"
Ways to Be Involved
- Inquiry into . . .
o Curriculum conversations
o Innovative teaching
o Participate in PDS Inquiry Committee meetings
o Attend PDS Inquiry Workshops
o Submit a proposal and budget to support inquiry in your
classroom/school
o Resources such as . . .
- From the Ground
Up: Creating a Culture of Inquiry ed. by Heidi Mills
and Amy Donnelly (Heinemann, 2001)
- Action Research
for Teachers: Traveling the Yellow Brick Road by
Joanne M. Arhar, Mary Louise Holly, and Wendy C. Kasten
(Merrill Prentice Hall, 2001)
- The Teacher Quality Collaborative
Website at http://tqc.ed.sc.edu/
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