Explore
In How To Use Your Eyes, James Elkins urges us to “stop and consider things that are absolutely ordinary, things so clearly meaningless that they never seemed worth a second thought. Once you start seeing them, the world – which can look so dull, so empty of interest - will gather before your eyes and become thick with meaning.” (p. xi)
Encourage students to explore unusual aspects of a common topic. Example the snow crystal graph from Weather Queries Blog. For instance "I’ve seen many images of snowflakes, but I never really thought about what impacts their shape. I’m going to refocus my inquiry."
Use real-world and virtual experiences to provide context. Consider materials such as Ocean Explorer from NOAA that apply professional experiences to student learning.
Varied Resources
Students often begin by exploring library and online resources. When guiding graphic inquiries remind students about the use of visual resources such as photo collections, atlas, artwork, and illustrated books. Consider the wide range of graphic resources that might provide different perspectives on a subject.
Expose students to many methods of communication. Infuse a wide variety of resources into learning materials.
- Use resources, then create your own.
- Read science, then do science.
- Listen to a book, then create your own podcast of original content.
- Watch the video, then create your own vodcast of original content.
- Read picture books, then write visual stories. - provide access for young children
- Read novels, then write historical fiction. - provide insights into family and life experiences
- Read graphic adaptations, then create visual projects. - explore different ways to convey key ideas
- Read nonfiction, then create timelines. - content specifics with general concepts
- Explore drawings, then create visuals. - visualize people and experiences
- Explore caricatures, create images.
Explore the following materials related to the study of Charles Darwin.
- The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin from Google Books
- The Complete Of Charles Darwin
- The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin: An Audio Version from LibriVox
- Evolving Ideas: Who Was Charles Darwin from Teacher's Domain
- Public Domain Images of Charles Darwin from Wikimedia Commons
- Books
- On Beetle Too Many: The Extraordinary Adventures of Charles Darwin by Kathryn Lasky. Provides young children with access to the story of Darwin.
- Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith by Deborah Heiligman. Unique look at Darwin's family life and experiences.
- Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species: A Graphic Adaptation by Michael Keller. The graphic style provides a different ways to convey key concepts from the original book.
- Evolution Revolution: From Darwin to DNA. Provides a larger context for Darwin's work.
- Websites
- Pathfinders
- LibGuide - do a google search for a topic within libguides such as site:libguides.com evolution
- The Life of Charles Darwin Wiki - do a google search for the word pathfinder and add your topic
Facilitate Inquiry
Use guiding questions to facilitate inquiry:
- What does this problem involve?
- What information do I have?
- What information is not needed or useful? Why?
- What additional information is needed? Where can it be found?
- What are the facts of the situation? How are these facts connected?
- How have I tackled similar problems in the past?
- How can I break down the problem into smaller pieces, fewer numbers, or chunks?
- Can I use a chart, graph, time line, drawing, or other visual to help visualize and organize thinking?
- What strategies will I use? What's my plan?
- What tools will I use? Calculator, online tools?
- What are my guesses? What's the range of solutions? What's the wrong answer? What guesses am I rejecting?
- What information do I need to solve this problem?
- How do I know what I know?
- What structure do we need to visualize our thinking? Would a concept map, chart, graph, help me visualized?
- How do I simplify and attack a complex problem?
- What's the relevant and irrelevant data?
Exploring and Technology
Use technology to structure exploration and collect data:
- Data Collection. Use polls, charts, or other types of tools for quick information gathering.
- Do you want to collect your own data? Use a poll.
- Flisti (no sign-up, no log-in)
- Fo.reca.st
- Poll Daddy
- Poll Junkie
- Snap Poll
- Survey Monkey
- Wufoo
- Zizu
- Zoho Polls
- Google Forms
- Do you want to be able to manipulate the data? Use a spreadsheet or graphic organizer.
- Do you need information based on a standards or well-known structure? Use quality websites.
- Earth's Orbit - Best Option
- Sun Clock - Best Option
- World Time Zone - Best Option
- Do you want to see established scales? Use online charts.
- Apgar Score (newborn babies) - Option 1
- Beaufort Scale (wind speed) - Option 1
- Bushel Weight (crops) - Option 1
- Cotton Bale Weight - Option 1
- Lunar Eclipse Brightness - Option1
- Drought Severity - Option 1
- Fujita Scale (tornadoes) - Option 1
- Glasgow Coma Scale - Option 1
- Modified Mercalli Earthquake Intensity Scale - Option 1
- Nutritional Values - Option 1
- Radiocarbon Year Conversion - Option 1
- Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Intensity Scale - Option 1
- Sheet Metal Thickness Gauges - Option 1
- Shot Pellet Diameters - Option 1
- Do you want to collect timed data? Use an online stopwatch - Best Option, Option 1
- Do you want to simulate data collection? Use online simulators.
- Playing Card Shuffler - Best Option
- Coin Flipper - Best Option
- Dice Roller - Best Option
- Spinner - Best Option
- Do you want to collect your own data? Use a poll.
- Data Collaboration. Use tools for online collaboration and information sharing.
- Do you want to brainstorm ideas? Use an electronic whiteboard.
- Do you want to organize ideas? Use an online bulletin board or sticky notes.
- Stixy (sign-up, shared stickies and documents)
- Wallwisher
- Do you want to take notes and highlight?
- Do you want to cite sources?
- Do you want tools to help you with inquiry-based questions and organizing research?
Questioning and Exploring - A Recursive Process
Real-world data such as the infographic Earthquakes can help bring scientific data alive for learners. Exploring leads back to questioning. Questions may be refined, restated, or new queries may emerge. Encourage inquirers to be risk-takers. Ask:
- What can I answer and what new questions do I have?
- How can I focus and narrow my questions?
- Did we miss anything the first time around?
- Are there other ways to think about the same thing?
- Are there other points of view that should be considered?
- Can I think of unusual approaches or different ways of thinking?
Students often forget that inquiry is recursive rather than linear.
How will you help students remember to address these questions?
Many students are looking for the quick answer. Encourage students to move from the shallow to the deep end of thinking through supporting cycles of questioning and exploring.
In Info Tasks for Successful Learning, Koechlin and Zwann (2001) suggest evaluating the quality of student research questions by asking:
Focus - Does your question help to focus your research?
Interest - Are you excited about your question?
Knowledge - Will your question help you learn?
Processing - Will your question help you understand your topic better?
Try It
Encourage young people to explore related topics. Introduce the book Tracking Trash by Loree Giffin Burns.
Provide quality resources to begin the investigation including statistics about the problem. Explore Hi-Cone Ring Recycling - Vital Statistics.
Encourage young people to explore different perspectives on a particular topic. As students if they agree or disagree with the following article: Should you cut up six-pack rings so they don't choke sea birds?
For a more in-depth exploration, read the graphic book Graphic Inquiry by Annette Lamb and Danny Callison available from Libraries Unlimited, 2011.