As I enter the final stage of my inquiry journey, it is important to reflect on the learning undertaken. Carol Kuhlthau’s Information Search Process (ISP) is a helpful guide to use to think about the stages I went through.
I started in the initiation stage where I began to realise just how little I actually understood about the skills students needed to successfully complete inquiry.
This led me to the selection phase of my own inquiry where I focused on the skills students needed. As I continued my exploration, I found that it wasn’t necessarily the skills I needed to teach my students to be successful but the skills that they would gain through completing inquiry learning, and thus my research question changed to match this new line of thinking.
The formulation stage saw me realising how I as a teacher could support my students whilst they inquired and that through questioning I would be developing my students ability to critically think and problem solve, along with work collaboratively with their group.
Collection saw me reading a number of articles and blogs, as well as viewing a range of video clips related to my topic. At this point I felt that I had a much clearer understanding of inquiry skills than what I had started this journey with.
I felt a huge relief as I reached the presentation stage. I had done what I thought almost impossible – created a website (basic but I still achieved it) and the creation of my infographic based on my curation collection. Even though I feel my presentation skills are not fantastic, I feel a great sense of accomplishment that I have given it a go and have produced something.
Whilst I enjoyed the learning that took place during this time, I felt that I constantly battled the technology and different platforms I used until I found one that I liked and could use. I definitely understand the frequent technology issues that my students face and will be more understanding of their issues as they arise in future.
Giving Back
Inquiry Learning Journey 