Inquiry Explored

WISE model of research

At both the elementary and high school we use the same model of inquiry. This is the WISE model adapted from WSWHE BOCES. Inquiry is a process of learning, which incorporates, wondering, investigating, synthesizing, and expressing.  We also encourage building reflection into this process.  The only difference is that the students using the model at the high school are at a higher level of development than the students at the elementary, therefore the activities within each stage will be different, but the process stays the same. 

If you are looking specifically for activities that would fit in an elementary classroom then you can look for this icon before the relevant blog posts. These posts will reflect on collaboration being done in the elementary school.  If you have an activity or lesson that you would like to share we would love to highlight it here.  

If you are looking specifically for activities that would fit in a high school then you can look for this icon before the relevant blog posts.  Again, these will be reflections on work being done at the high school, and we would love to highlight your activities and/ or lessons.


Keep in mind that although we will indicate elementary or high school many of the activities can be tailored to fit different levels.

Inquiring Instructors

We started with a question..."How can we share what is happening with inquiry in both the elementary and the high school, so that instructors can get ideas and share what they are doing in their own classrooms?" This blog is designed to be a useful learning tool to assist instructors as they implement inquiry into their classroom. To make this blog user friendly, we are going to be using 5 main symbols to identify the stages of inquiry. In addition, we will also be tagging each post so that when searching for a particular idea you can easily find the posts that will be most helpful to you.

Wonder

Investigate

Synthesis

Express

Reflect

As you investigate new tools, activities, and ideas and apply them (synthesis) in your classrooms we invite you to express them through our Google+ community. This will allow us to reflect on our instructional practices and build a strong learning community.