The Inquiry Design Model – Conceptual Principles: Inquiry Begins with a question
This one might seem obvious and we have certainly talked a great deal about questions within these many blog posts. I’ve talked about the importance of questioning more broadly and about crafting compelling questions that aren’t just interesting but are important to know. (See Who Cares?)
Reading back over the IDM Assumptions, I thought about what makes those questions both interesting and important to know. A question is considered compelling because it is one that students would ask in order to try to make sense of their world. No, students might not ask questions of ancient history out of the blue, but these inquiries still have an enduring issue that, when wrestled with, help students understand the human experience.
As stated in the Assumptions, compelling questions put “students in the middle of legitimate and authentic inquiries rather than marching them through a series of ‘just the facts’ curriculum units.” Facts separated from student experience are memorized…and ultimately are likely to remain dormant in student memories, if not completely forgotten.
Students, from kindergarten to college-aged, are trying to understand how society operates – and how they fit within that complex network of systems. Issues of individual rights, private vs. public spheres, fairness, to name just a few, permeate social issues. These are the big topics that all of the different social studies disciplines are tackling.
We can apply this idea to the compelling questions from the NY Toolkit Inquiries – for all ages. Since my background is secondary education, I typically think of examples that apply to that age group. However, this semester I have been working with S.G. Grant concerning social studies in the elementary grades.
So, I’m using an example from the elementary years—take the kindergarten inquiry on needs and wants: Why can’t we get everything we need and want? You can apply this idea to the various social studies disciplines – how many times in history have we seen conflicts about resources/wealth? If you look at the other inquiries under economics, this concept is the foundation for all of them. (And another reason why students need social studies instruction as it is such an important conceptual base for young minds.)
The question should present a topic that we want students to think about and make a reasoned assessment. But, arguably more important, we want this to be a way for them to address an issue that they can apply to their own experiences.
When writing your own compelling question, keep in mind this essential element. Yes, we want it to grab student interests, we want it to be important to know, or intellectually meaty, but we also want its enduring issue to help students understand their world and understand their place within it.
