They Don't Know How to WHAT? The Case for Reference Materials
I spend a lot of time in inquiry. My current school goal is around learner agency ; allowing students to choose what they want to learn is a big part of agency, and inquiry-based learning is a great way to organize this for students and teachers. As teacher-librarian, I help many colleagues build inquiry-based lessons so their students can achieve a sense of agency. Traditionally, almost all of this work has been around structure. Teachers are willing to jump if they know they have a landing place, and students still require structure as they build skills within the curricular and core competencies . The teachers and I co-teach critical literacy skills so they are thinking about what they are reading online, skills around analysis and synthesis, communication skills, and how to ask questions. These classes run well, the students are highly engaged, they learn new skills and progress in others, and they drive deeper into content as well. My favourite inquiry-based pedagogy comes from Ka...