Inquiry Article: Centers of Inquiry

Transforming the traditional classroom into “centers of inquiry” in which children and teachers alike examine issues and ideas in self-directed study is a research goal of the USC teacher quality project in Partners for the Enhancement of Clinical Experiences in Teacher Education.

On April 13, 2002, the University of South Carolina College of Education sponsored an Inquiry Showcase where Columbia area teachers and their USC student teaching interns presented over 30 classroom based research projects that are transforming traditional classroom into “centers of inquiry.”

Teachers design intensive research projects using in-depth investigations and collective studies, a process called inquiry-based teaching. This process allows students to participate in a self-directed study and to present their findings and conclusions through writing and oral presentations.

Inquiry research projects lasted from one or two weeks to yearlong studies incorporating both teams of teachers and an interdisciplinary effort across many subject areas to include projects on fire safety and homelessness and computer technology, bookmaking and art. Respectively, these projects helped students become better writers while learning about history and literature.

Partners for the Enhancement of Clinical Experiences in Teacher Education is a Title II teacher quality project that addresses the supervision and mentoring of student teaching interns by sharing best teaching practices and program ideas of the four collaborating Partners (USC, Benedict College, Furman University and Winthrop University). Each college or university has one or more areas of expertise in such areas as classroom management and planning for instruction.

The USC project focuses on six of the seventeen Professional Development School (PDS) sites in Richland School District One and Two in Columbia, SC where interns and practicum students are placed by the USC School of Education. Along with the usual supervision and evaluation of student teachers, the College of Education faculty works to support coaching teachers and student teachers in these schools encouraging the use of best practices, with particular emphasis on the areas of inquiry and action research.

Another important aspect of the USC project is to recognize and subsidize the work of exemplary teachers in these clinical schools that are willing to work “outside the box” by investigating their own teaching and learning and who allow graduate student teachers to work as observers in this process.

In the two years since the project’s onset, inquiry research in the targeted schools has increased from two to over forty reported projects on every grade level and in every subject. More significantly, inquiry research in the clinical sites is leading to unexpected results related to teacher quality issues. In a recent survey with the teachers who presented their ideas a Statewide Inquiry conference, 100% of the teachers expressed enthusiasm for how inquiry has changed the way they teach, test, and motivate students. Today, teachers are more confident in their inquiry methods and report that this teaching style has permeated every aspect of their teaching. As a result, more teachers are interested in winning district awards and recognition in obtaining National Board Certification.

In the beginning of the project, many teachers reported less confidence in the delivery of content using inquiry methods than with the standard lecture format and evaluation. Inquiry is a non-exact science and is particularly difficult for teachers who were most comfortable in a very controlled environment. Once integrated into the curriculum, inquiry becomes more of a way thinking about learning.

The teachers conducting the studies commented that the answer to one inquiry question often led to other questions opening the door for discussion and introspection. The process takes patience and if not explained, some onlookers might misconstrue the classroom discussions and individual research as a chaotic. Others, understanding the power of student debate and individualized study, might view the same inquiry session as an energized democratic process where many ideas are represented.

Inquiry’s impact on teaching (and student learning) is not always immediate or obvious. However, test scores appear to be going up in these groups. Success often comes through the act of exploration; the result may be teaching children a process rather than a fact or skill. Learning is tied to exploration and the resulting excitement of discovery.

History of the Project:
In the past, elementary, middle and high school teachers had experience with university professors coming into their schools with a research agenda and setting up an isolated study to advance their work.

This teacher quality project, however, was based on the needs and culture of the particular school. For the first time, the teachers were given the option of developing an authentic study that had the potential to impact the academic status of the students and would be connected to the mandated content and curriculum. Teachers, instead of the outside project staff, select an area of concentration because they best know their talents and skills, the academic status of the students, or the culture and needs of the individual school.

Teachers were asked a series of questions to help them pinpoint ideas for an inquiry study. What will make you a better teacher? What are you talents? What are your strengths and what are your weaknesses? What are you doing in your class to assure a democratic society? Who are your students? What are your community resources? How much additional funding will it take to complete this type of work and can you create a proposal and budget? Things began to surface about what they wanted to do but were not sure if it had significance. Could they pull it off? Would the administration and fellow teachers back them?

Other advantages and unexpected successes are common when these teachers discuss the impact of inquiry on the classrooms and schools where they teach. The active participation tends to be exciting for the teachers and students alike. And, if these learning activities are not enough on their own, it is the secondary and unexpected consequences of these projects that must also be acknowledged and celebrated. Saudah Collins, a second grade teacher at Horrell Hill Elementary School, had a fear of animals - especially insects and reptiles – and this was clouding her ability to be an effective science teacher. Her inquiry project started as a teacher’s journey to feel at ease with creatures in the natural world and has evolved into the creation of an environmental nature lab, including snakes, geckos, insects, hamsters, gerbils, and rabbits. The menagerie is growing!

Collins and her students raise crickets for the reptiles, maintain a classroom garden and compost organic materials complete with earthworms. Now familiar and confident with the natural world, the successful project expanded this year into a service-learning project in which the students take the animals to visit other schools and classes to teach what they are learning about animals and the environment.

This past May, Collins and her class were presented the Champions of the Environment awarded by SC Governor Jim Hodges, an award sponsored by the SC Department of Health and Environmental Control and WIS-TV for their innovative school inquiry project.

Shawn Norris, an elementary PE teacher at Hyatt Park Elementary, sought to use physical education to teach low achieving students basic skills such as math and geography. He motivates students by keeping points and offering feedback daily, posting student points in the hall based on a holistic writing score. Pizza parties and a trip to Carowinds at the end of the year added up to the well deserved rewards for his students. No pressure – just the posting of points, immediate feedback on their writing (including spelling and accurate use of terms) and the end of the year reward.

This year Shawn Norris was named teacher-of-the-year in his school, an honor few PE teachers receive. Dr. John Lane, the principal at attributes Shawn’s inquiry work in writing as a major reason that he was nominated and selected for that honor. The comments about his award indicated Shawn’s dedication to the children and his ability to inspire at-risk students. For his follow-up project, Shawn is looking at the connection between students who participate in his program and the students whose writing PACT scores show significant improvement.

David Chadwell, a sixth grade teacher at Summit Parkway Middle School, developed a side-by-side curriculum based on having the students spend the entire year defining civilization and creating their own country. Throughout the year, students make their country come alive with a government, a form of currency, and resources based on their country’s geology and geography. Students must write clearly and concisely about their country as they make routine presentations about their progress. Chadwell has discovered that when his students are working on this program, their writing is more advanced, and their use of vocabulary is expanded and more accurate. When they study “real cultures” such as ancient Egypt or the Incas, their questions and answers are more critical, the student possess a deeper understanding and interest in arts, government, economics and of how they might be able to incorporate these concepts and ideas into their own developing cultures. It takes an entire year to build their civilizations at which time the students negotiate as trade representatives in the open market place and as ambassadors.

Chadwell, with the blessings of his principal, decided to have his civilization unit as the core of his curriculum next year. He is also using this work in a new Ph.D. program he starts at USC in Fall 2002 and plans to investigate whether using an inquiry unit such as his, impacts other areas such as overall reading, writing and math ability as well as self-confidence and classroom discipline.

Conclusion:
The USC teacher quality team is monitoring the projects and ultimately views collaboration between teacher education programs and public schools as a way of supporting excellent teachers in high-needs schools.

According to both university faculty and classroom teachers participating in this project, inquiry-based teaching is an essential process and method. It provides opportunities for children to cooperate and experience the gratification of team work; respects diverse backgrounds, ideas and cultures in our classrooms; shows children that their ideas and gifts are important and that liberty and freedom are a gift of our American society; and, lastly, provides different approaches to solving problems and supports learning as a lifelong endeavor.

Contact:
Dr. Jane Zenger
803-777-6239
zengerj@gwm.sc.edu

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