Planning

=**Planning for Inquiry**=

The concept of Inquiry-Based Teaching and Learning is very timely within the education world here in Saskatchewan. Virtually all of our new curricula has either been re-written or is in the process of being re-written, all to reflect an Inquiry framework. Therefore that is where we must begin.

The very first step of any planning process, of course involves a concentrated understanding of what the [|Grade Level Curriculum Outcomes and Indicators] are as specified by the Saskatchewan Ministry of Education. Our instruction, assessment, and intervention practices are guided by what these specific outcomes are and how they interact with the individualized students we work with daily. Once we have a clear understanding of what our students are to learn we can then begin to address a planning process which may work best within our Inquiry classroom. Will this be an Inquiry unit that is subject specific or will we allow for interdisciplinary connections? Knowing and understanding these curriculum outcomes will help to guide the questions that are to be asked by the teacher to begin the process by which students are learning from and through. Everything that happens within an Inquiry classroom must begin and end with the curriculum outcomes in mind. We need to know were we are going before we get there.

This article written by David Warlik has a l[|ist of teacher reflective questions] that would help to promote a reflective process for any educator to ask either of themselves or of others when in the planning stages of a unit of study.

There are many ways in which an inquiry-based project or unit may be designed for the classroom. The YouthLearn Initiative (2010) cites the inquiry process which Dr. Cornelia Brunner of the Center for Children and Technology breaks into four parts.

Source: YouthLearn Initiative (2010)

Alberta Learning's Focus on Inquiry describes a "Planning Cycle for Teachers: Source: Focus On Learning (Alberta Learning, 2004)

Planning Frameworks
The manner in which you set up your Inquiry project is a matter of preference. It is as unique as the individual. The following are a number of frameworks which an Inquiry project may be set up.
 * Backward Design Learning Plan
 * YouthLearn Initiative
 * Alberta Learning's Focus On Inquiry Document - [[file:focusoninquiry.pdf]]

**Examples of Inquiry Units**
The following links provide a number of examples of Inquiry units.
 * [|Inquiry Learning Resources]
 * [|Galileo Inquiry Based Projects]

Where Do I Start? What Do I Do? What Can I Use?
Please find below some suggested strategy tools that other teachers have found helpful within their classrooms to begin this process. Please remember it is a process that must work for you and your learners. It is our hope that this list will grow and expand as other teachers contribute classroom ideas that have worked well and can be easily adapted for any classroom.
 * The Storypath Method [[file:Storypath Method.doc]]
 * Inquiry Questioning Ideas [[file:Inquiry Questions.doc]]
 * RAN Strategy (Reading And Analyzing Non-Fiction Text) - Developed by Tony Stead [[file:RAN Strategy For Use in Classroom.pdf]] [[file:R.A.N Writing Frames.pdf]]
 * Powerful Questions as Discussion Builders [[file:Powerful Questions as Discussion Builders.pdf]]
 * Inquiry and Thinking Strategies with Two Games - "Question Dice" and "The Top Five" [[file:Inquiry and Thinking Strategies.pdf]]