TITLE: / Pathways to inquiry
SOURCE: / School Library Media Activities Monthly 16 no9 23-7 My 2000
COPYRIGHT: / The magazine publisher is the copyright holder of this article and it is reproduced with permission. Further reproduction of this article in violation of the copyright is prohibited.
The students in Tom Stevens's class arrived on Monday morning bursting with excitement about the hot air balloon show at the festival over the weekend. Many students had been to the show and watched the graceful balloons launch and fly away They were intrigued with the role of the chase cars and wondered what happened to the balloons after they disappeared into the sky Mr. Stevens encouraged their discussion and soon they were developing a web on the chalkboard to show some of their ideas about hot air balloons.
"All right," said Mr. Stevens. "Who would like to investigate hot air balloons?" Many hands were raised.
"What would you like to know about hot air balloons?" he asked. He suggested that students work in small groups to brainstorm a list of questions. After a few minutes, he pulled the groups back together and they shared their questions, which included:
* How do they fly?
* What makes them go up in the air?
* How do they come down?
* Can balloonists steer?
* What are chase cars?
* Are balloons used just for fun or do they have a serious side?
* Who uses balloons?
* How does the changing weather effect balloons? After some discussion, they narrowed these to three research questions:
* How do hot air balloons fly?
* What problems do balloonists encounter as they fly?
* How do people use hot air balloons?
In the remaining time they had for class, Mr. Stevens asked students to write in their journals.
Later that day, Mr. Stevens visited with Sylvia Daniels, the library media specialist. He told her what had happened in class that morning and asked her to help him with this new project.
"They were so excited and actually this topic fits quite well with several science outcomes we need to cover in the next few weeks. I will adjust some of language arts plans for this week. I know writing and spelling will occur during this project. What about our work with the Pathways Model?"
"Why don't you bring your students to the library media center tomorrow morning? I have an open slot at 9:30. We can get started looking for information," said Mrs. Daniels.
The next morning, Jeremy and Will met Mr. Stevens outside the school office. "We talked with my dad last night and he knows the people who organized the hot air balloon show this past weekend. He called and got the names and phone numbers of several of the balloonists. We called one of them, Bobby Weaver. She seemed very interested in our project and would be willing to come talk with our class."
As they walked down the hallway toward the classroom, Connie came running up. "I got on the Internet last night and found some great Web sites about hot air balloons. I saved the addresses as bookmarks on my disk. Can we look at them today?"
Mr. Stevens started class by asking Jeremy, Will, and Connie to share briefly their findings. "How would you like to proceed?" he asked. Many students wanted to go to the computer lab and look at the Web sites.
"We could do that, but what is your plan for finding information? Mrs. Daniels has been teaching you about the Pathways Model." He pointed to the large poster of the model on the bulletin board. "What have we done so far and what is our next step? Sherrie?"
"Well, yesterday we did some brainstorming."
"What else did we do?" asked Mr. Stevens.
"We developed research questions," said Jenny.
"Yes," said Mr. Stevens. "Now, what is our next step?"
"We need a plan that will help us find information," said Mark.
"Sounds good," said Mr. Stevens. He pointed to the three research questions they had developed the day before. "How will you find information related to these questions?"
Jeremy raised his hand. "The last time we did a research project we worked in groups. Maybe each group could investigate one of the questions."
"How many of you would agree to Jeremy's suggestion?" asked Mr. Stevens. There seemed to be general agreement.
"Mr. Stevens," asked Jeremy "I need to call the balloonist back this evening with a time when she can come visit with us."
After some discussion they agreed that Friday morning would be a good time. Jeremy was delegated to make the arrangements.
The students spent time in the library media center during the next several days. Mrs. Daniels talked with them about possible resources they might use, including books, periodicals, newspapers, CD-ROMs, and videos. They also talked about the Internet and which search engines might be useful. She gave students a log form to help them develop key words and a search strategy, and also evaluate the effectiveness of their strategies.
At the end of each class period, they were encouraged to write in their journals. Mr. Stevens always began each class by asking, "What are some new questions you have about hot air balloons?" Sometimes he asked, "Are there any changes in your research questions?"
Mr. Stevens met with each small group, encouraging them to talk about their information and focusing them on their research questions to be sure their information was relevant to those questions.
"How do you know your information is accurate, unbiased, and current?"
"Mrs. Daniels told us we should always have at least two sources for our information as a check," said Connie.
On Friday, the balloonist came to talk with them. Bobbie Weaver had been a balloonist for fifteen years and had flown many hours. The students had developed questions they wanted to ask her and it seemed like the time flew by. As she was concluding she asked them, "What are you going to do with all the information you are gathering? Have you considered making a Web page? There are many Web pages about ballooning, but most of them are very commercial and are just ads for different balloonists or balloon shows. It sounds like you are really gathering information about hot air balloons and how they are used. That would make a very useful Web page."
Before he left school that day, Mr. Stevens had a conversation with Sylvia Daniels and Chris Rogers, the technology teacher. "We are considering using the information about hot air balloons on a Web page, but this project would require help from both of you and I realize this is a rather late request."
Both Sylvia Daniels and Chris Rogers were excited about the project. "I can help them with pictures and a story board," said Mrs. Daniels.
"They have had a little experience with putting documents into HTML," said Miss Rogers. "Our technology class time is already planned for spreadsheets in the next few weeks, but I would be willing to work with small groups of students before school a couple of days in the next few weeks. This piece about hot air balloons could be an addition to our school Web site and that is not difficult to do. The most challenging task is designing the page."
Over the next several weeks, students worked on the Web page design and made decisions about the information to include. Mr. Stevens shuffled students so the new groups included students who had been working on each of the three questions. Each group was responsible for writing a short story about a hot air balloon adventure. The stories were posted on the Web page.
One morning, Jeremy came to class very excited. "I got a telephone call from Miss Weaver last night," he said. "She and her balloon will be appearing at the Spring Fest in two weeks. She said three of us could ride in the chase car!"
INQUIRY AND THE PATHWAYS MODEL
"Inquiry is an investigative process that engages students in answering questions, solving real-world problems, confronting issues, or exploring personal interests" (Pappas & Tepe 2000).
Inquiry is a student-centered discovery process that is recursive in nature and functions in a learning environment that nurtures questioning. Students who engage in inquiry begin with a problem that needs resolution or perhaps a project or interest they want to explore. As they pursue this inquiry project, students question, find information, interpret their information, use information, and construct new understandings.
Pathways to Knowledge(TM) (Pappas & Tepe 1997) is an information process model that provides stages and strategies for anyone interested in gathering, using, and evaluating information. Pathways includes six stages: Appreciation, Presearch, Search, Interpretation, Communication, and Evaluation. The graphic version of the Pathways Model (Figure 1, page 25) was designed to show the nonlinear aspect of the process which is emphasized by the visual use of bands and double tipped arrows. The stages appear across the top. Five of the stages have a function statement that provides a focus for the stage. For example, the function statement for the Search stage is "Planning and implementing my search strategy." The strategies that appear in the circles are general strategies and the other strategies within each band are more specific. For example, "Developing an Overview" is a general strategy under the Presearch stage. Some specific strategies under the Presearch stage are: "formulate initial questions," "brainstorm," "build background," "explore general sources," "relate to prior knowledge," and "identify key words." There is also an extended text version of the Pathways Model that provides more complete information regarding each stage. A descriptive paragraph is provided for each stage and strategies are written in outcome language. Both the graphic and extended text versions of the model are available on the Pathways Web site (http://www.pathwaysmodel.com).
COMMON STRATEGIES OF PATHWAYS AND INQUIRY
The Appreciation stage of the Pathways Model includes curiosity, enjoyment, and discovery. Inquiry is typically fueled as students pursue interests that have engaged their curiosity, or sense of enjoyment and discovery. Figure 2 (page 26) shows strategies that are common between inquiry and the stages of the Pathways Model. The Pathways' strategies were taken from both the graphic and extended text versions.
The students in Mr. Stevens's class became curious about hot air balloons after they enjoyed an afternoon watching the balloons gracefully float across the sky. A teacher's role in the inquiry process is one of coach and facilitator. What are some strategies Mr. Stevens used to validate his students' curiosity about hot air balloons and to nudge them into an inquiry project? Can you find these strategies on the Pathways Model?
Questioning is an important part of the inquiry process and it transcends all inquiry stages. The Pathways Model provides many strategies that enable questioning, such as:
* brainstorming,
* formulating initial questions,
* relating to prior knowledge,
* defining the question/need,
* integrating concepts,
* reflecting, and
* evaluating.
All enable a questioning process. Notice that the first four are found under Presearch but the other two are located under Interpretation. As you read through the scenario, what strategies did Mr. Stevens, Mrs. Daniels, and the students use to foster a questioning process? The chart in Figure 2 was not meant to be an all inclusive list of Pathways' strategies. Can you find any other strategies that enable or foster a questioning process?
Many strategies for finding information are included under the Search stage of the Pathways Model. Some of these strategies include:
* Identifying information providers,
* Selecting and using information resources and tools,
* Developing search strategies, and
* Determining relevancy of information.
The function of the Search stage is "Planning and implementing my search strategy." How did Mr. Stevens coach students to develop a plan for finding their information? What other strategies might you encourage students to incorporate into their plan? How did Mrs. Daniels focus students on a variety of resources?
Information is not knowledge, so simply finding information is not sufficient. Individuals engaged in inquiry must apply various strategies of interpretation before the information becomes useful to them. The Interpretation stage of the Pathways Model provides an array of strategies that enable an organization, analysis, synthesis, or evaluation of information. What are some strategies Mr. Stevens used to encourage students to interpret their information? How was Mrs. Daniels involved in this process? How might you extend her role?
Interpretation leads to developing new understandings or new knowledge. This process requires those engaged in inquiry to solve a problem, satisfy a need, or answer a question. The Pathways Model includes the following strategies for interpreting information:
* Filtering information (point of view, bias, etc.);
* Reflecting;
* Organizing information;
* Comparing and contrasting;
* Determining credibility;
* Classifying;
* Evaluating information;
* Understanding cause and effect;
* Integrating concepts; and
* Synthesizing
Developing new understandings or knowledge requires students to take the information filtered through their interpretation strategies and make connections between this new knowledge and their existing schema. Some Pathways' strategies include:
* Applying information to answer a question or solve a problem,
* Organizing information,
* Evaluating and redefining the question, and
* Checking for effective communication of new knowledge.
How did Mr. Stevens's students develop new understandings?
Sometimes the process stops with the development of new understandings. However, there are many situations in which those engaged in inquiry want to use or apply their new knowledge in some way. They may decide to communicate this knowledge to others. For example, a person who investigates new cars often buys one. The Pathways Model includes a significant list of strategies for applying or communicating new knowledge. "They choose a format that appropriately reflects the new knowledge they need to convey, then plan and create their product" (Pappas & Tepe, Extended Text, p. 3). How did Mr. Stevens's students decide to communicate their new understandings about hot air balloons? Is this an appropriate format?