INQUIRY

Millions saw the apple fall,

but Newton asked why.

STUDENTS WHO INQUIRE

  • Analyze and synthesize material or ideas

  • Clarify their own thinking

  • Probe other’s thinking

  • Work through ambiguity



Teachers should:

  • Use effective questioning techniques in the classroom to promote students’ critical thinking or higher order thinking skills

  • Create a classroom culture that nurtures thinking and inquiry

  • Engage students in using Costa’s/Bloom's Levels of Thinking to think more deeply and broadly

  • Teach students to identify and employ inquiry as a strategy and skill of successful learners


LevelsOfThinkingComparisonChart.pdf
Student resource for Inquiry.pdf
SocraticSeminardescription.pdf

The Socratic seminar is a formal discussion, based on a text, in which the leader asks open-ended questions.

Within the context of the discussion, students listen closely to the comments of others, thinking critically for themselves, and articulate their own thoughts and their responses to the thoughts of others.

Providing “sentence starters” is a great way to help students participate in positive/respectful way.

AVID Articles of the Week
Five Phases of Focused Note-Taking Overview.pdf

The Focused Note-Taking Process


  • inquiry focused in most every phase

  • encourages critical thinking about connections and questions students still have about the subject