Guided-Inquiry Framework

Overview:

The key feature of a integrated-inquiry approach is that you let your students explore problems/concepts before you  explain them - Explore, then Explain.  By asking key questions and encouraging exploration, you access students' prior knowledge, encourage new ideas, and nurture their natural curiosities.

Your assignment for this week is to develop an integrated, guided-inquiry science lesson for you to teach to your students at some point during the school year.  You can modify one of the lessons that you see during the week, or you can develop your very own. We will take the last 60 minutes each day to work on these lessons.  We will conclude the workshop by briefly presenting our ideas to our colleagues on Friday afternoon.  You are responsible for making 30 copies of your lesson so that we can all benefit from our collective efforts. 

The following represents a general outline for lessons that are developed within the integrated-inquiry framework. The lesson plans utilize a learning cycle approach and each lesson should include the following components:

Title of Lesson:

Engagement (Introduction):

Describe briefly how you plan to launch the lesson. What do plan to do in order to capture the students' attention and get them excited about this topic. Try to relate it to a real world problem that needs to b solved. You may also choose to briefly introduce the purpose of the lesson and the concepts that students are about to investigate. 

National Science Standards

Georgia Performance Standards 

Exploration:

In this section, you guide students through exploratory activities. This exploration should be primarily open-ended and student-centered. This part of the lesson may involve one continuous activity (whole class, small group, individual) or may be divided into separate centers that involve different activities. This section should include

1) a step-by-step description of what you the teacher and students will be doing

2) a student activity sheet  that explains key aspects of the problem/lesson to students

3) a list of 3-4 essential questions that you can ask  to stimulate student ideas and thinking 

Explanation:

In this section, you should let students apply their mathematical skills in ways that will help them to detect patterns and relationships in their results. They should analyze their observations, explain their thinking with each other, and you and answer any questions that are included.  Students should also use their language arts skills to discuss, clarify, and justify their thinking.  At this point, you should guide the discussion toward the stated objectives of the lesson. The discussion can be framed in terms of what scientists consider as our current best explanation of the observed concepts or principles.

This section should include:

1) a brief description detailing how you plan to lead the discussion

2) concept discussion: a detailed explanation of the key concepts of the lesson - What are the one or two key ideas that you want your students to understand after the lesson?  This is a key point in the lesson because it is an opportunity to build and strengthen their current level of understanding.

3) mathematical/language arts integration: what key math and language skills/concepts can be used to help students comprehend their problem and communicate possible solutions 

Extension and Connections:

In this section, you have students consider how these concepts can be applied to real-life situations. There are always connections that can be made to similar situations and student are usually able to suggest several of   them. A thoughtful question or two can help kids to make relevant connections.  This is also a good time for students to concept map, journal, or take action in their local communities. 

Assessment and Closure:

In this section, you describe how students will be held accountable for what they have learned in the lesson. The assessment should be designed to evaluate the students' learning based on the stated objectives. You may give a quiz, use an observational checklist, or assess an activity sheet. A copy of your assessment should be included.  Finally, you should close the lesson by having students summarize the key concepts of the lesson.