Creating: The Fourth Stage of the Inquiry Process

The fourth stage of the inquiry process, as identified by our work with the Ontario School Library Association, is termed creating. 

This stage concentrates activity on the construction and communication of knowledge. Excitement builds, as students who have engaged in the inquiry process deeply and broadly, naturally want to share their results. In academic settings, this is usually done in three ways:

• the student makes and presents the product of their inquiry in the way most appropriate to the assignment, audience, topic, and context. Such ways include a large repertoire of formats and formats (e.g., print pamphlet, media collage, digital website, oral presentation, written essay, artistic representation). 
• the student and teacher finalize the assessment and evaluation of the product and process in ways stated and understood in advance, using clear and fair tools and recording decices (e.g., rubrics, achievement charts, checklists, conferences, test). Such assessment has as its chief purpose the improvement of student learning.
• the student reflects on his/her learning in ways that foster its extension and transfer to other inquiries. Such reflection deepens the inquiry experience and brings new meaning to new contexts, both immediate and lifelong.

It is easy to get the balance between process and product wrong. For me, it is about intention. For instance, there are situations where it is perfectly reasonable to let the fruit of one’s labour speak for itself. The in-competition performance of a cello piece might be the culmination of a process the audience can’t be expected to see as they rise to applaud the performer. In other situations, the nurturing of the fruit is the most important thing. Being able to identify and discuss the strengths and areas for improvement in using historical archives may be, in fact, the heart of the change sought in an individual’s learning.

The creating stage is a time for teachers both to carefully assess student performance and to examine the ways in which they usually assess students. So in the following weeks, I want to discuss assessment strategies, in ways that are compatible with current practice.

Checklist of Teaching/Learning Strategies 

In the meantime, I have posted Page Three Checklist of Teaching/Learning Strategies based on the large glossary I finished last week. I hope this will help teachers organize assessments, share their goals with students and parents, and ultimately record, balance, and increase their repertoire of pedagogies.