iMET 12 Assignment

Introduction
"I imagine a school system that recognizes learning is natural, that a love of learning is normal, and that real learning is passionate learning. A school curriculum that values questions above answers.creativity above fact regurgitation.individuality above conformity.. and excellence above standardized performance... And we must reject all notions of 'reform' that serve up more of the same: more testing, more 'standards', more uniformity, more conformity, more bureaucracy". Tom Peters

Preparation

Peruse the Workshops in:
Exploratorium Institute for Inquiry

Skim
Focus on Inquiry: A Teacher's Guide to Implementing Inquiry-based Learning

Inquiry Page™ - Learning Begins with Questions
Inquiry-based Learning and the Web: an epaper
WNET's Workshop on Inquiry-Based Learning (*source of quotes)

Agenda

7:00    Sign in > Gather in JoyceED > Greet and Banter
7:10    Check in
7:20    Small Group Discussions
7:50    Break
8:00    Continue Discussion
9:00    Break    
9:15    Recorder finalizes summary and posts to the forum
9:30    Check out

Discussion
In your group, discuss the *quote provided below for your particular group and then
collaborate to create a forum post as a group with the following details:

• your group number in the subject of the forum response;
• names of all group members listed at beginning of post;
• a collective definition of social learning and inquiry;
• create a rubric using Taskstream for a lesson from the Inquiry Units page
• provide a link to the rubric in your forum response
• a brief synopsis (1-2 paragraphs) of your discussion on the quote for your group (provided below).
• Note: Your response is not limited to the quote provided - use it as a springboard for discussion.

Group 1: "At each age and grade level, there are prescribed lists of concepts, words, and spheres of knowledge that children should know or acquire. Youngsters are regularly tested on this information, rewarded when it has been acquired, and encouraged to study harder when their familiarity with it proves spotty."

Group 2: "Inquiry is an important part of multiple-intelligence work -- and cooperative and collaborative learning is inherently inquiry-based. Inquiry is also a key tool for learning in constructivism."

Group 3: "Inquiry-based lesson plans are usually referred to as "facilitation plans," to help teachers remember their role as facilitator of learning, rather than fount of all wisdom. The notion also helps teachers structure lessons more loosely to allow student questions to drive the learning process without derailing it."

Group 4: "The commission suggested that students needed to develop 'ten rational powers.' These were: recalling and imagining; classifying and generalizing; comparing and evaluating; analyzing and synthesizing; and deducing and inferring. These are also some of the fundamentals of inquiry learning."

Group 5: "The Whole Language movement was a very positive development in the history of inquiry-based learning. The recognition of the roles that reading and writing play in learning began to change attitudes and practices in the schools."

Group 6: "In a society in which education has focused on transmitting "what we know," it is a challenge to develop a widespread view that "how we come to know" is very important in modern society."

Recorders Post to the Forum

Groups and Roles:

• Facilitators host the meeting, keep the group on the topic, and help ensure that all members have a chance to be a part of the discussion.
• Timekeepers must keep the group on time and aid the facilitator in ensuring that all members have a chance to be a part of the discussion.
• Recorders take notes during the discussion and prepare the summary.