Our December discussion is the third stage of a 4-month journey where we will be reading and discussing Focus on Inquiry - A teachers guide to implementing inquiry-based learning.
This month we will focus on chapters 12 and 13 only. Further considerations.
Questions are below in the comments
To catch up on Part 1 check it out here.
To catch up on Part 2 check it out here
The recording of the webinar on the 13th January with the authors can be found at the bottom of this discussion.

Here is our discussion with Prof. Dianne Oberg and Prof. Jennifer Branch-Mueller. It is 1hr 40mins so please dip in and out as you see fit.
@WENDY WALKER I have received this message from Dianne that she wishes me to pass onto you. I have chosen to post it here so everyone can learn from the answer too.
Dianne said... I have been thinking about the question re: time needed for an inquiry project. I don't feel we really gave enough information in answering that question!
Focus on Inquiry (2004), pp. 77-78:
The process approach to inquiry means a shift in the way we think about and use class time. More time is needed in the early phases of the process for exploration, for building content knowledge and for developing a personal interpretation or focus. This is time well invested in developing students’ interest in and commitment to the topic being researched. Even very young researchers in Grades 1 and 2, given the opportunity for lengthy and rich exploration of a topic, can develop a clear understanding of the inquiry process and can produce unique and original final products. For example, one group of young researchers, investigating Insect Life, spent almost half of their research time in this early exploration phase, reading and talking about insects, hearing stories and singing songs about insects, watching videos about insects and going on a “bug walk” in the schoolyard. They were immersed in their topic, in ways that engaged both the affective and cognitive domains. Their interest and commitment to finding out about insects was deep enough to sustain them when they faced the challenges of finding answers to the questions that they had generated (Steeves, 1994). Older students generally demonstrate more interest in their research topics if they have solid background knowledge in the topic area and if they can see the purpose of the research and its connection to their other school work (Garland,1995).
This means, for example, an early introduction by the classroom teacher to the idea that an inquiry project will be part of the students' work in the unit of study and that there will be time in class to discuss and develop possible topics for inquiry that deal with or are related to the subject of the unit of study. The teacher-librarian should be part of this discussion and should assure the students that he/she will be available to them if they want to talk with someone about the topic/s they are considering. Prior to this (ideally) the teacher-librarian and classroom teacher should have learned what previous experience the students have had with inquiry projects and have identified classroom and/or activities that can fill in some of the skill gaps. The classroom teacher should keep a list of the topics that are developing so that both the teacher and teacher-librarian can give feedback on the potential of those topics. The classroom teacher and teacher-librarian should encourage students to access sources in the library and elsewhere in the weeks before the "strategic searching" begins in the library.
@Stephanie @dawnwoods2000 @Mary-Rose Grieve @micwag @Tom Neilson @Darryl Toerien @Jenny Toerien @Bernadette O'Hanlon @Connie Koorevaar-Goecks @Helen Precious @Katie Lane @Kimberly Pericles @WENDY WALKER
Thank you for joining in this discussion over the last few months. I have sent you all an email invite to the webinar on the 13th January at 3.30 GMT. I am concerned that it may have gone to a work email that you may not be able to access at the moment. If this is the case and you want to join in on the 13th can you please let me know and I will send you a new link. ehutchinson44@gmail.com
I feel very much that my thoughts and understanding are quite hazy, and I am desperately waiting for them to crystallise into something much clearer; it's a bit like trying to focus a camera... tantalising glimpses of clarity soon dissolve into an amorphous cloud of deep thought which is not much help to anyone; I am definitely in the frustrated stage...!
I know how I would undertake research myself, and can remember what I did when I was at university (rather too long ago!), but it is very difficult to explain that process to others - it feels quite instinctive and internal and the key is to be able to explain that, so I think I need to try and write it down to see if it makes it any clearer in my own head. It is something I have avoided so far because I am scared to see how slow and creaky my brain now is, and how hard it is to think!
@Elizabeth That’s the dream - the end goal! But we do have to start somewhere, so anything we can achieve right now is a positive.
4. Chapter 13: Professional Growth
We clearly have a vital role to play in developing our students' metacognitive knowledge - knowledge of one’s capacity to learn (person), knowledge about the nature of what is to be learned (task), and knowledge about the actions that one can take to aid one’s thinking (strategy).
How might you now go about developing your own metacognitive knowledge in relation to inquiry learning?
3. Chapter 13: Professional Growth
This shift in focus is rooted in constructivist learning theory, which holds that children actively construct knowledge - that is, they construct robust systems of belief - from information about the world, either first-hand through experience or second-hand through record. This recalls the GEN definition of inquiry as a dynamic process and stance of being open to wonder and puzzlement leading to knowledge and understanding of the world. However, educational systems tend to be arranged politically and structurally to support other approaches to learning that are largely teacher-centred and focused on instruction. Seymour Papert captured this tension in his assertion that "better learning will not come from finding better ways for the teacher to instruct, but from giving the learner better opportunities to construct”.
Does this insight change the way in which you view and might approach collaboration with your classroom colleagues?
2. Chapter 13: Professional Growth
The process approach to inquiry shifts our focus from information to the complexity of learning from information.
Does this alter your understanding of what it is that you do? If so, in what way?
1. Chapter 12 identifies some common challenges that need to be overcome when implementing a process approach to inquiry, namely cognitive overload, affective overload and time.
For each of these broad challenges, identify what in your particular setting is likely to cause you the most difficulty.