I did my first guided inquiry project this fall with two of my freshman ELA classes. The general topic was on civil rights–connecting the movement of the 1960s to the civil rights climate in society today. Partly due to it being my first GID project, we did not assign a final paper, project, or presentation based on the research, which on the one hand seemed to make things a little easier on me, and on the other hand felt a bit like cheating. My students were confused, too. Although we had a good vision for the project, a lot of it was planned as we went along since I was also learning as we went along, and we never planned a final product assignment. My teacher librarian helped me understand that with GID, that was an acceptable option.
I have always claimed to be someone who appreciated the journey more than the destination and the process more than the product, but it seems different when you are responsible for teaching, although it shouldn’t. One of the things I discovered during this guided inquiry is that I like to see what my students “got.” “What did they get out of it? Did they get something? What did they get?” I am curious. I want to know. I want to see it, even if I don’t always want to grade it.
At the end of the project, I had no regrets about not having assigned a traditional paper or presentation, except for the fact that I didn’t feel like I saw enough of what they got. On the other hand, I didn’t exactly put a lot of time into reading their research notecards, either! We did ask the students to complete a final reflection in writing. It’s just that for me, there wasn’t enough about what they learned, content-wise, in their reflections.
That being said, I am definitely satisfied enough to do this project again in a similar way. I am looking forward to working with our teacher librarian, Anita Cellucci, again because I know that her guidance will help me evaluate, adjust, and fine-tune the process. I am also hoping to come across some other good ideas for guided inquiry projects. I am planning to read Leslie’s high school edition of Guided Inquiry Design in Action to help inspire me.
Meanwhile, here are some of the noteworthy reflections from the students who were the founding participants of our civil rights GID project.
How did what you found in your research help you understand what is going on today?
How did knowing that there was no paper to write affect how you felt about your research?
Describe how you felt about working on this inquiry project a) when you first started, b) as you were gathering information and c) as you discussed your research with your classmates.
Thanks for reading! –Susan Smith
Hey Susan!
How interesting! I love seeing how different people determine what bits they want to bite off in their first “go” of GId. I am wondering- what parameters did you place on the students while searching since they didn’t have a final product? How did you ensure that they kept working at a high level throughout?
Will you add a product next time? If not, perhaps a prompt that addressed some of your curriculum to see if students are able to use the terminology and respond to some of the core understandings that you need them to take away from the unit.
Thanks for being a risk taker, a wonderful teacher and sharing all of that with us! I hope you’ll join the fun next year so we can hear how this evolves for you!
Best wishes,
Leslie Maniotes
Hi Leslie,
I like the idea of a more focused prompt for reflection or some more directed questions for them to respond to at the end next time. I have also been considering a slide presentation for next time.
One reason they kept working at a high level throughout is that they thought there would be a final product until near the end. We didn’t lie, but we were not clear, if I recall, or maybe I was still undecided until near the end. We just encouraged them to keep exploring answers to the essential question and didn’t mention that there would be no research paper. Plus, there were the note cards and sources that they needed to track through Noodle Tools as well as the fact that there was a check-in or a progress sheet or an inquiry circle at the end of almost every class period. Maybe they were engaged, as well? It is possible!
Thanks for your support!
Susan