JUSTIFICATION
This inquiry unit “How Do We Show Who We Are?” is a new inquiry unit of study for the next school year. I felt that this assignment would be an excellent opportunity to explore new ways to integrate technology into the inquiry process. "Because design-based activities provide a rich context for learning and lend themselves to sustained inquiry and revision, we thought that they were well suited to help teachers develop the deep understanding needed to apply knowledge in the complex domains of real-world practice." Mishra, P., & Koehler, M. J. (2006).
NEW LITERACIES (Leu, D.J et. al. (2004)
There seems to be a common misconception that because the students in our classes have grown up with smart phones and computers and more technology in their daily lives they are somehow more digitally literate. But in fact, it is becoming more apparent that "many students have not yet acquired the new literacy skills that are needed to read and write with these new technologies" Henry, L. A. (2010) Using a web site as a vehicle for inquiry based learning seems to me, an obvious way to introduce new literacies to our students and build the skills they need to grow good digital habits. "As the Internet becomes more and more inherent in our daily lives, it is increasingly important to ensure that our students have adequate skills to function with the many new forms of ICTs that are being developed on a daily basis. An adequate education should include the new literacies required for reading on the Internet as new reading challenges are introduced in the context of Internet texts " Nachmias & Gilad, (2002)
THE INQUIRY
At my school, we have been fortunate to have Kath Murdoch, author, university lecturer and inquiry based learning consultant working with us in the development of these units so I used the framework and content from our unit planner to build the unit. After becoming familiar with the content I began to plan the lessons trying to keep it as close to the inquiry process as possible. Once the overall plan was complete I needed to consider which technologies would best match the content and the needs and levels of the students as well as fit with the structures and methods I wanted to develop with the children. For example, I chose wall wisher for the home activity because each child would have their parent guiding them and perhaps doing the typing for them. I also chose to design a very structured and controlled search within the website for their first time, rather than sending them directly to the internet.
TUNING IN
I designed these activities to give the students the chance to draw on their prior knowledge. I especially chose some symbols that I knew the children would be familiar with because I wanted to start them with what they knew. This would then give them the confidence to start posing and answering questions about those they were less familiar with. "Drawing out and working with existing understandings is important for learners of all ages." Bransford et al. (2000) This lesson style will also me the chance to observe their confidence and ability with the simple search process and a very non threatening sharing activity to prepare them for those to come. These observations will guide my decisions when choosing which future technologies to introduce. It was my intention that as the lessons progressed the sharing would become more involved and detailed, leading to the final summative reflection at the end of the unit.
FINDING/SORTING OUT
The next activities were designed for the children to begin to gather information and experience the work of a researcher Murdoch, K. (2010). Again it was important to start with something close to the children to activate their learning. I designed the tasks to introduce the students to various methods of gathering and organizing information to grow their thinking and encourage them to take some risks. " Deep understanding of subject matter transforms factual information into usable knowledge." Bransford et al. (2000) After each activity there is generally an opportunity to respond. This is where I would model a response and give time for practice, providing the scaffolding needed to prepare them for the final reflection. Our school places great emphasis on developing the habit of looking for learning. In every subject, regularly throughout the year, the children are given opportunities to talk about and reflect on their learning. This focus is reflected in this unit as the children are required to respond in some way after most learning experiences. "The model for using the meta-cognitive strategies is provided initially by the teacher, and students practice and discuss the strategies as they learn to use them. Ultimately, students are able to prompt themselves and monitor their own comprehension without teacher support." Bransford et al. (2000)
FINAL ACTION
The final part of this unit, gives the children the opportunity to take a more personalize learning journey. This is when they use everything they have learned about symbols to create a few of their own and then one for our class. These last activities really try to tie together all the pieces of the unit as well as making significant cultural connections to our host countrys' traditions around batik. It is at the final point that students are required to make their learning evident in some form of response which will be used as the summative assessment.
TECHNOLOGY
The technology component of the unit is multi-modal. In choosing the technology pieces I had to consider the fact that this unit is early in the year and the children may not be ready to work independently with many tools. I felt it was important to match the technology to what I needed rather than just use a technology for the sake of using technology. "As teachers, we must approach technological change by asking ourselves whether our teaching has the potential to be enhanced by technology, and whether technology serves a purpose in aiding student learning. If not , then why use it?" Sutherland-Smith, Wendy (2002) Most of the recording and collecting is done by myself, and a variety of tools are gradually introduced. Another aspect of this is the conscious effort to include several opportunities for parents and students to participate from home. of course each home activity has an option for those who can't get online.
REFERENCES
Mishra, P., & Koehler, M. J. (2006). Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge: A Framework for Teacher Knowledge. Teachers College Record, 108(6), 1017-1054. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9620.2006.00684.x
Henry, L.A. (2010). Reading on the Internet : Searching for Information as a Gatekeeper Skill, International Reading Association, p1
Nachmias, R., & Gilad, A. (2002). Needle in a hyperstack: Searching for information on the World Wide Web. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 34(4), 475–486.
Bransford, J. D., Brown, A. L. & Cocking, R.R. (2000). Learning: From speculation to science. In J.D. Bransford, A.L., Brown & R.R. Cocking (Eds.), How people learn: Brain, mind, experience and school (pp. 3-27). Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press. Retrieved from http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?isbn=0309070368 (pp 15, 16, 19)
Murdoch, K., (2010). Murdoch Model for Inquiry. Retrieved from http://www.kathmurdoch.com.au/index.php?id=22
Sutherland-Smith, Wendy 2002, Weaving the literacy web : changes in reading from page to screen, Reading teacher, vol. 55, no. 7, April, pp. 668.
Dwyer, B. (2012, in press ). Developing online reading comprehension: Changes, challenges and consequences. In K. Hall, T. Cremin, B. Comber & L. Moll (Eds.), International handbook of research in children’s literacy, learning and culture. UK: Wiley-Blackwell
Leu, D.J, Kinzer, C.K., Coiro, J. & Cammach, D. (2004). Toward a theory of new literacies emerging from the Internet and other information communication technologies. In R.B. Ruddle &N.J. Unrau (Eds.) Theoretical models and processes of reading (5th Ed. Pp. 1570-1613) Newark, DE: International reading association.
NEW LITERACIES (Leu, D.J et. al. (2004)
There seems to be a common misconception that because the students in our classes have grown up with smart phones and computers and more technology in their daily lives they are somehow more digitally literate. But in fact, it is becoming more apparent that "many students have not yet acquired the new literacy skills that are needed to read and write with these new technologies" Henry, L. A. (2010) Using a web site as a vehicle for inquiry based learning seems to me, an obvious way to introduce new literacies to our students and build the skills they need to grow good digital habits. "As the Internet becomes more and more inherent in our daily lives, it is increasingly important to ensure that our students have adequate skills to function with the many new forms of ICTs that are being developed on a daily basis. An adequate education should include the new literacies required for reading on the Internet as new reading challenges are introduced in the context of Internet texts " Nachmias & Gilad, (2002)
THE INQUIRY
At my school, we have been fortunate to have Kath Murdoch, author, university lecturer and inquiry based learning consultant working with us in the development of these units so I used the framework and content from our unit planner to build the unit. After becoming familiar with the content I began to plan the lessons trying to keep it as close to the inquiry process as possible. Once the overall plan was complete I needed to consider which technologies would best match the content and the needs and levels of the students as well as fit with the structures and methods I wanted to develop with the children. For example, I chose wall wisher for the home activity because each child would have their parent guiding them and perhaps doing the typing for them. I also chose to design a very structured and controlled search within the website for their first time, rather than sending them directly to the internet.
TUNING IN
I designed these activities to give the students the chance to draw on their prior knowledge. I especially chose some symbols that I knew the children would be familiar with because I wanted to start them with what they knew. This would then give them the confidence to start posing and answering questions about those they were less familiar with. "Drawing out and working with existing understandings is important for learners of all ages." Bransford et al. (2000) This lesson style will also me the chance to observe their confidence and ability with the simple search process and a very non threatening sharing activity to prepare them for those to come. These observations will guide my decisions when choosing which future technologies to introduce. It was my intention that as the lessons progressed the sharing would become more involved and detailed, leading to the final summative reflection at the end of the unit.
FINDING/SORTING OUT
The next activities were designed for the children to begin to gather information and experience the work of a researcher Murdoch, K. (2010). Again it was important to start with something close to the children to activate their learning. I designed the tasks to introduce the students to various methods of gathering and organizing information to grow their thinking and encourage them to take some risks. " Deep understanding of subject matter transforms factual information into usable knowledge." Bransford et al. (2000) After each activity there is generally an opportunity to respond. This is where I would model a response and give time for practice, providing the scaffolding needed to prepare them for the final reflection. Our school places great emphasis on developing the habit of looking for learning. In every subject, regularly throughout the year, the children are given opportunities to talk about and reflect on their learning. This focus is reflected in this unit as the children are required to respond in some way after most learning experiences. "The model for using the meta-cognitive strategies is provided initially by the teacher, and students practice and discuss the strategies as they learn to use them. Ultimately, students are able to prompt themselves and monitor their own comprehension without teacher support." Bransford et al. (2000)
FINAL ACTION
The final part of this unit, gives the children the opportunity to take a more personalize learning journey. This is when they use everything they have learned about symbols to create a few of their own and then one for our class. These last activities really try to tie together all the pieces of the unit as well as making significant cultural connections to our host countrys' traditions around batik. It is at the final point that students are required to make their learning evident in some form of response which will be used as the summative assessment.
TECHNOLOGY
The technology component of the unit is multi-modal. In choosing the technology pieces I had to consider the fact that this unit is early in the year and the children may not be ready to work independently with many tools. I felt it was important to match the technology to what I needed rather than just use a technology for the sake of using technology. "As teachers, we must approach technological change by asking ourselves whether our teaching has the potential to be enhanced by technology, and whether technology serves a purpose in aiding student learning. If not , then why use it?" Sutherland-Smith, Wendy (2002) Most of the recording and collecting is done by myself, and a variety of tools are gradually introduced. Another aspect of this is the conscious effort to include several opportunities for parents and students to participate from home. of course each home activity has an option for those who can't get online.
REFERENCES
Mishra, P., & Koehler, M. J. (2006). Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge: A Framework for Teacher Knowledge. Teachers College Record, 108(6), 1017-1054. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9620.2006.00684.x
Henry, L.A. (2010). Reading on the Internet : Searching for Information as a Gatekeeper Skill, International Reading Association, p1
Nachmias, R., & Gilad, A. (2002). Needle in a hyperstack: Searching for information on the World Wide Web. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 34(4), 475–486.
Bransford, J. D., Brown, A. L. & Cocking, R.R. (2000). Learning: From speculation to science. In J.D. Bransford, A.L., Brown & R.R. Cocking (Eds.), How people learn: Brain, mind, experience and school (pp. 3-27). Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press. Retrieved from http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?isbn=0309070368 (pp 15, 16, 19)
Murdoch, K., (2010). Murdoch Model for Inquiry. Retrieved from http://www.kathmurdoch.com.au/index.php?id=22
Sutherland-Smith, Wendy 2002, Weaving the literacy web : changes in reading from page to screen, Reading teacher, vol. 55, no. 7, April, pp. 668.
Dwyer, B. (2012, in press ). Developing online reading comprehension: Changes, challenges and consequences. In K. Hall, T. Cremin, B. Comber & L. Moll (Eds.), International handbook of research in children’s literacy, learning and culture. UK: Wiley-Blackwell
Leu, D.J, Kinzer, C.K., Coiro, J. & Cammach, D. (2004). Toward a theory of new literacies emerging from the Internet and other information communication technologies. In R.B. Ruddle &N.J. Unrau (Eds.) Theoretical models and processes of reading (5th Ed. Pp. 1570-1613) Newark, DE: International reading association.