One hundred seventy-five eager educators just converged in Lexington, Kentucky for the 2016 IDM Institute. Beyond the obvious, the collective group received an in depth look at the structure and design strategies for how and why the IDM and C3 Framework was created. To help kids question! There were several great one-line gems given throughout the week, but S.G. Grant delivered one about the inspiration behind the inquiry design model that stuck with me. He said,
The idea is to bring ideas and kids together.
So we set out together on an adventure to do just that. We discussed the reasoning behind “why questions?” Questions set the frame, express rigor and relevance, and lead to the task. Rigor, usually a word for the “hotbed” of educational forums, reflects an enduring issue or concern. When designing an inquiry you must connect it with something that students care about, and then honor and respect children’s intellectual efforts.
We learned is that although the thought of creating compelling and supporting questions may seem easy, it may be the most difficult part of the IDM process. Compelling questions must hook the student from the beginning. Supporting questions must scaffold the student to answer the compelling question, as well as lead to relevance between other supporting questions, then those questions need to be supported by relevant sources. The IDM is convergent, as explained by Kathy Swan. You begin with a compelling question, and end with a task. The process converges with supporting questions, relevant sources, focusing on the end result of students creating an argument. Each step should be considered “exercise driven,” meaning there is a specific means to an end, not just an activity. Then students are encouraged to take informed action, like creating a social media page, contacting a civil servant on an issue, or even beginning a blog…
