Learning Commons Episode 7: Going to the Wall with Daily Inquiry

SUMMARY: School libraries need to encourage a continuous climate of inquiry. Ways to create dynamic spaces for inquiry are explored. Practical and creative suggestions to promote the inquiry process are offered, with a caveat.


The Basic Idea

Three weeks ago on this blog, my daughter Alice wrote of her experience at Waterloo University, where high school students collaborated on mathematical questions and problems, using gathering places with walls and boards to record their ongoing inquiry. Common in university settings, the idea could have innovative application in 21st century schools.

Template for Inquiry Wall 1

In particular, teacher-librarians could harness this idea in our elementary and secondary school libraries by creating special areas for ad hoc inquiry. Here students could work together over a day, a week, a month etc. on a question we pose to them or better still they pose to each other. This is often formerly done with a captive class. However, the idea here is to establish a place that encourages a continuous climate of spontaneous inquiry to develop self-motivated, reflective habits of mind. In other words, when students decide they have a question, they go to this area to collaboratively inquire about it.

Such areas begin the transformation towards the whole library as a learning commons.

Creating the Space

How do you start? Wherever you can within your library, create a learning commons/inquiry space that balances private work and public access. Sign it well. Make it inviting, beautiful, and functional, with a relaxed atmosphere to encourage social networking.

Centre it around blackboards, bulletin boards, flip charts, or white boards. Arrange chairs and other furniture to establish the space. You can create a virtual space, of course, on a school network through chat, wiki etc. but the visual display of simultaneous information sharing is optimum here. It captures the palpable excitement of real-time learning.

Template for Inquiry Wall 2

There are myriad ways to set up the writing and recording surfaces, depending on the question and grade level. Be sure to provide paper, stickies, coloured pens, and even cameras to record stages of thinking and sharing.

The recording of ideas, research data, conclusions, etc. can be done simply or you can get fancy. For instance, you could begin with an open-ended template (Slide 1). You could experiment with stickies -- even using different colours for questions, data, conclusions etc (Slide 2).

See if you can work towards implementing your library's inquiry model. Slide 3 is based on work done by the Ontario Library Association. (see my March blogs for details). Get staff and students involved in the enterprise by making their own templates for different situations.

Insist on rules that both preserve and respect everyone's contribution. Nearby, display some words of guidance or witty quotations about what makes for good conversation and problem solving. Set appropriate limits regarding language and graphics to focus on learning and meaningful talk.

Template for Inquiry Wall 3

Promoting the Idea

Whenever students, individually or as a class, come into the library, invite them to visit the inquiry/commons area and engage in the process. Make announcements each day/week etc. on the sound system, newsletters, or teacher notes about the question currently being posed, collaborations noted, and progress being made.

Celebrate answers and solutions reached with the whole school and follow up the inquiry with real action where appropriate. Inquiry counts!

Hold inquiry marathons for particular groups, timed for energy and fun. Perhaps invite an audience.

Organize part of a class visit around the inquiry area to get a larger project going. Whenever a small group asks a "library" question, take them over to the inquiry area and work through it on paper, modelling the process of inquiry for them.

Collaborate, collaborate, collaborate

Work with subject teachers, school club members, administrative teams, and parents to generate interesting and authentic questions for each inquiry. Share the process and your particular applications of it with local school librarians, administrators, and board personnel.

Write me a comment on this blog or better still tell us all about it on our library network at http://lcommons.org/. For more details and context about this network, please go to my blog post here.

Caveat

Inquiry is at the heart of the idea of the library as a learning commons. The heart pumps -- continually, loudly, and dynamically. Be prepared for active learning and enjoy new life in your collaborative learning space!