With the conclusion of a unit comes the opportunity for students and teachers alike to reflect on the statement of inquiry. The statement of inquiry is a statement which is made up of a key concept, one or more related concepts and a global context. This is compiled by the teacher into a meaningful statement which students can understand. A conceptually driven model, this aims to cultivate deep thought on the part of the student; inspire questions, inquiry and the seeking of knowledge as facilitated by their teacher.
Unpacking the statement of inquiry at the start of a unit helps students become familiar with the global context, key concept and related concepts for their subjects. Students can begin to consider how their other subjects incorporate a similar key concept or global context yet delve into different topics. At the heart of concept based learning is the notion that instruction is driven by big ideas, bringing real world meaning to content knowledge and skills.
Now that we are at the end of the semester it’s time to reflect on the statement of inquiry and consider what further questions students have and what information they have gathered. An idea put forward by teachers at Atlanta International School, Sherry Weeks and Simon Bell involves using the Micro Lab Protocol (Ritchhart, 2015) as a tool for reflection, students are first asked to silently journal for a full 5 minutes. The statement of inquiry is presented on the board along with a number of prompts to provoke their thinking.
At the end of the 5 minutes students move back into groups of three. One group member speaks first, they would need to speak for 1 minute while their team members listen and take notes. At the end there is time for a silent reflection after which the group can discuss common threads, ideas or themes that have arisen. By reflecting on the statement of inquiry at the conclusion of a unit, students have an opportunity to consider how their thinking has changed and developed across the semester. Students enjoy this chance to discuss real world issues and how they affect them; making connections with big ideas as it relates to the content they are learning in the classroom.
Andrea McNamara
International Baccalaureate Teacher
