Hawaii IDM Generator Exercise

You will begin the inquiry development process with an overview of key information about your inquiry including a title for your inquiry, labeling your inquiry to the Hawaii C3 Teachers hub, indicating the grade level for your inquiry, adding your compelling question, and related standards. You can also add a representative image.

To begin, you’ll need a title. Make you title as descriptive, but concise as possible. Then use the optional drop down menu to select the Hawaii C3 Teachers hub and grade level.  Next, you’ll need a compelling question. Learn more about compelling questions here. Next you should add the standards connected to your inquiry. Think of just one or two standards that align with the content and skills you are emphasizing.  Lastly, you have the option of adding a cover image to your  inquiry. This cover image will appear on the front page of the print version of your final inquiry.

The second step in the inquiry development process is to write a description of your inquiry and to explain the structure of the inquiry.

Your description should be a walk through the basic outline of your inquiry. Consider the following when composing the inquiry description. Why is the compelling question important? Why was each formative task chosen and what value does it add? How and why did you choose the sources? How many class periods will a teacher need to get through this inquiry with students?

The description of the structure of the inquiry should explain how the formative tasks build toward the summative task and how the sources will enable students to learn key content featured in the inquiry.

The second step in the inquiry development process is to write a description of your inquiry and to explain the structure of the inquiry.

Your description should be a walk through the basic outline of your inquiry. Consider the following when composing the inquiry description. Why is the compelling question important? Why was each formative task chosen and what value does it add? How and why did you choose the sources? How many class periods will a teacher need to get through this inquiry with students?

The description of the structure of the inquiry should explain how the formative tasks build toward the summative task and how the sources will enable students to learn key content featured in the inquiry.

The next step is a big one! In step four you will add you supporting questions, formative performance tasks, and your sources. Supporting questions play pivotal academic and pedagogical roles. On the academic side, supporting questions a) signal the content ideas central to the compelling question and b) provide guidance for the construction of the formative performance tasks and the selection of sources. On the pedagogical side, supporting questions offer a set of guideposts around which teachers can build additional instructional activities based on the knowledge and ability of their students.

Prior to starting this process, you should have some idea about what your supporting questions and the related formative performance tasks will be. When you are ready to get started, you will enter each supporting question and related formative performance task separtly in the sequence those quesions will be enagged by students in the inquiry. For each question and formative tasks, you should write a one paragrapgh description of the qustion and task.

In addition, you’ll add your sources in this step. To begin the process of adding sources, click the “Add Source+” box below the Formative Performance Task Description. A small window will pop up. You can add a new source by then clicking on “Add New” or you can search existing sources.

You can add sources in two ways, either by copying and pasting text as a “exceprt” or by uploading images as an “image set.” You will be able to add up to four images in each image set.  Please remember to also include a citation for the source.

Once you have added your text excerpt or uploaded the images click “Add.” That will add your source to the IDM source datatbase. You will still need to add the source to your inquiry. You can do that by clicking on “Add” button next to the description of your source that appears at the top of the list of sources. After you click add, it will change to “added” to indicate that the source is now part of your inquiry.
Remember to name the sources so they can be searched (e.g. Summary of Uncle Tom’s Cabin).

The fifth step is to add your summative performance task. In the Inquiry Design Model, the summative performance task is always an argument. That argument can then be extended through additional exercise.  Summative performance tasks are tied to an inquiry’s compelling question and ask students to make an evidence-based argument in response to the question. Arguments consist of a collection of claims supported by relevant evidence, which can be considered an answer to the question investigated by the inquiry. As students become more sophisticated in making arguments, they should begin to include counterclaims that acknowledge the other sides of their arguments. Summative extensions highlight the additional or alternative ways in which students may express their arguments. Such activities are in keeping with the C3 Framework, which specifically states the need for students to a) present adaptations of their arguments, b) do so with a range of audiences, and c) do so in a variety of venues outside of the classroom.

You should briefly explain the argument task in the first box and then describe how the argument provides students an opportunity to address the compelling question in the argument description box. Do the same thing for the extension.

You may include supporting resources such as scaffolds or graphic organizers as “Additional Materials.”

The sixth step is related to Taking Informaed Action. In a few words, describe the three parts of the taking informed action task – understand, assess, and act. Taking informed action tasks are experiences that are intentionally designed so that students can civically engage with the content of an inquiry. In some cases, taking informed action is embedded into the formative and summative performance tasks to ease the time burden on teachers and to make civic opportunities more seamless within the inquiry. Taking informed action can take numerous forms (e.g., discussions, debates, presentations) and can occur in a variety of contexts both inside and outside of the classroom. The key to any action, however, is the idea that it is informed. The Inquiry Design Model, therefore, stages the taking informed action exercises such that students build their knowledge and understanding of an issue before engaging in any social action. In the understand stage, students demonstrate that they can now think about the issues behind the inquiry in a new setting or context. The assess stage asks students to consider alternative perspectives, scenarios, or options as they begin to define a possible set of actions. And the act stage is where students decide if and how they will put into effect the results of their planning.

The additional resources step is an opportunity for you to upload any other teacher materials (e.g. graphic organizers, tables, charts, rubrics etc.) that may be useful in implementing the inquiry.