The impact of teaching with inquiry leads to the creation of mindful and critical thinkers through the habituation of good practices. The following three paragraphs support my thinking on this.
Reflecting on the effect of inquiry-based teaching methods in my discipline (teaching the language of English to students of various language abilities through middle and high school years, or “ELA” for our purposes) brings to mind the experiences I had while working in schools that were within the realm of the International Baccalaureate (IB 2018). One of the great paradigms that came from my years at them was to “Lead with Inquiry.” This element of leading with inquiry was based on the principles of IB schools’ order and structure (IB 2018). I found that by doing so, a person can approach nearly anything with a softer effect, a more accepting positioning, and an easier interactive experience since it inherently presents an approach that is not set up to be imposing. It is set up to listen and learn. As well, the four levels of inquiry (Confirmation/Verification, Structured, Guided, and Open) lend a smart order of progression for a student’s learning patterns (Herron 1971).
By applying this core paradigm to ELA as a student, one can step into each exercise/lesson/class, what have they, with a receptivity that is prepared to absorb, is prepared to learn, is intentionally set to pick up on what may be the intended goals, but also is able to reach deeply into what may be hidden beneath the initial layers of possible learning. By teaching students to inquire about their texts, a teacher is priming students to be critical thinkers by setting students on a path of necessitated doubt in this era of “alternative facts” and Artificial Intelligence technology, which is wildly employed by otherwise respectable organizations that could otherwise be considered fonts of knowledge, providing what is now more doubt-worthy information (Blake 2017). This questionable information is more slickly packaged than before, leading to the broader narrative of news stories, scientific topics, social narratives, etc. being presented as believable, while they are in fact in dire need of the kinds of analyses that can be provided by the thoughtfully formatted doubt that can be found created from the architecture of critical thinking that comes from a teacher’s elicitation through an inquiry-based focus by applying techniques such as the “five whys and seven so what’s” and other arrangements of inquiry that are patterned within this kind of thinking (Siddiqui 2019).
This connected nature between inquiry-based teaching and critical thinking is especially important to an ELA classroom because of the diverse nature of the material that comes across the desks of students and teachers in this discipline. May the material be metaphorical literature such as Kafka’s Metamorphosis, seemingly innocuous articles extracted from popular magazines like Time or National Geographic, or historical documents like the Magna Carta or the Declaration of Independence; leading with inquiry allows a student to stabilize their perspective as they approach the work or text that they have in hand. Inquiry-based teaching methods (such as described by people like Tayyab Siddiqui and Marshall D. Herron in his groundbreaking work) can lead students to well-positioned, independent thinking that empowers them to be in control of their learning, can help them become more aware of just how tenuous the nature of material that is presented as fact to them sometimes is, and can help them approach literature from alternative perspectives that lead to a greater understanding of what they would be dealing with.
For the purposes of our discussion, today’s discourse will be based around an Argumentative Writing activity about the intentionally light-hearted topic of whether or not students should be allowed to bring their pets (other than support animals) to school on a regular basis. It would aim to incorporate the Writing Standard for grades 9-10 found in the CCSS listed as follows:
- Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
- Introduce precise claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and create an organization that establishes clear relationships among claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.
- Develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly, supplying evidence for each while pointing out the strengths and limitations of both in a manner that anticipates the audience’s knowledge level and concerns.
- Use words, phrases, and clauses to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships between claim(s) and reasons, between reasons and evidence, and between claim(s) and counterclaims.
- Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms and conventions of the discipline in which they are writing.
- Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument presented (Common Core 2022).
In preparation for this activity, I would isolate my goals for the students, hopes for their productions, and timeline for the overall project. Within the scope of goals, I would incorporate a discussion of vocabulary (claims, counterclaims, objective tone, transition phrases, etc.), an understanding of intended audience, and persuasive arrangements of language, etc. Considering their final product, I would offer the frame of a three-to-five-page paper, excluding their citations page, but would be flexible in allowing up to seven pages, though no less than three. (Visual presentations would be welcome as an element to their final product if they feel comfortable with presenting in that way.) They would be encouraged to be creative about the audience to whom they might be addressing to expand their conceptualization of voice and possible impact. To that effect, I would ask them to be able to name that audience in their introductory paragraph aimed at we, the local audience, so that their ultimate intended voice could be incorporated as we take in their work. Indeed, I would be open to final presentations being in a variety of formats so that students of different styles could more easily approach the overall goal of creating a persuasive essay, depending on their differentiated needs and inclinations. Overall, a production of this kind could settle well as a two-week project so that students would be able to comfortably create something that would be well-reviewed upon completion.
When preparing students for this activity, I would start with a topical warming exercise that reaches into the area of their feelings about pets in general. From there, I would inquire about where they think pets should and shouldn’t be normative, generally. By leading into the activity in this way, I am eliciting their previous knowledge about pets in society, and in the students’ personal lives. After this warm-up activity, I would let the students know that we would be researching the question of whether or not pets should be allowed in schools. On their Canvas/interactive class websites, I would have links available to them to start with. They would include: https://pawsofmichigan.com/comprehensive-analysis, https://spca.bc.ca/programs-services/leaders-in-our-field/position-statements/position-statement-on-animals-in-schools/, and https://www.peta.org/teachkind/humane-classroom/whats-problem-classroom-pets/. However, I would also encourage them to do their own research on the matter so they can more solidly support the positions they have, individually. In doing so, we would talk about keywords being used in search boxes, how the possible use of artificial intelligence may be integrated with their digital sourcing, and how we need to consider the sources of our information – mindfully valuing voices of organizations, individuals, and origins of other sorts in measured ways. During our first class together, they would be tasked with beginning their research using these parameters, finding at least five more supporting sources for their inclined position and creating a basic thesis for their assignment, which they would provide for me as an exit slip.
In the following class, the students would be tasked with beginning the construction of their work. As such, we would warm up by looking at some examples of other persuasive essays that have been created by previous students. As well, this would be when I would isolate the formulaic theory behind an argumentative/persuasive essay by introducing key ideas such as claims and tone in order to thoughtfully frame how they would eventually present their ideas. Helping them see that they need to take into account the argument that stands in contrast to their own in a way that considers the support it might have, would be appropriate at that time. Providing this line of thinking and the associative language of appropriate transition sentences in sets that can be offered as examples for students to practice with, would help set the students up for success as they consider how they would eventually construct their own positions. Subsequent classes would be set up as workshops to naturally progress the construction and research needed to make it to a final product, complete with peer-review and my own review, as appropriate.
While the foil of ‘pets in the classroom’ is employed as a placeholder for a topic in this scenario, it would be emphasized to the students that the real purpose for the exercise is the productive learning of how to create an argument in a way that is persuasive. As such, while they would learn plenty about the topic of classroom pets through their reading of materials provided by the SPCA, PAWS, and many others, I would coach them to focus on their presentations along with the understanding that this topic is replaceable and any argument or position may come up against another, and must be prepared for defense, as such (SPCA 2024, P.A.W.S. 2012, PETA 2024). Notably, it is entirely possible that some students would be in the school’s debate club and so may be familiar with keeping an eye out for and avoiding logical fallacies and addressing biases. However, some students would likely not have that particular background and experience. As such, it would be appropriate to cover a few common notions in that area so all students would be familiar with regularized errors and deficiencies in modern interactions, so that they can speak with a more solid position than what might otherwise occur.
By scaffolding for student needs through inviting various formats, students would be able to create what is appropriate for their capacity. Through using the instructional strategies that introduce vocabulary, structure, and methodology such as attention to contrasting positions, biases, and fallacies, students would be well-positioned to create a well-thought-out argument. As such, this generalized illustration would be successful in practice after being fleshed out through thoughtful design incorporating more distinct pacing, ordering, and expanded details that are all excluded here for the sake of form and brevity. Students would certainly understand the process of argumentative writing more solidly from an exercise that covers the above-mentioned points. Similarly, and more genially, they would be more understanding of whatever the school policy about pets in the classroom might be after these weeks of focus due to the incidental learning that would come through their reading required for a successful presentation.
Citations
Blake, Aaron (2017). “Kellyanne Conway says Donald Trump’s team has ‘alternative facts’. Which pretty much says it all”. The Washington Post. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
Common Core. Common Core State Standards for English Language arts & Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and technical Subjects. https://learning.ccsso.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/ADA-Compliant-ELA-Standards.pdf Retrieved May 2024.
Herron, M.D. (1971). The Nature of Scientific Enquiry. The School Review, 79, 171 – 212.
International Baccalaureate, online resources (2018). Programmes standards and practices. https://www.ibo.org/globalassets/new-structure/become-an-ib-school/pdfs/programme-standards-and-practices-2020-en.pdf. Retrieved May 2024.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), (2024). https://www.peta.org/teachkind/humane-classroom/whats-problem-classroom-pets/. Retrieved May 2024.
Progressive Animal Welfare Society of Michigan (P.A.W.S.), (2012). Should Pets Be Allowed in School: A Comprehensive Analysis https://pawsofmichigan.com/comprehensive-analysis. Retrieved May 2024.
Siddiqui, Tayyab (2019). Critical Thinking: The Art of Thinking. Medium. Online magazine. https://medium.com/@tayyabsiddiqui/critical-thinking-the-art-of-thinking-95741f5632f5
The British Columbia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), (2024). Position Statement on Animals in Schools. https://spca.bc.ca/programs-services/leaders-in-our-field/position-statements/position-statement-on-animals-in-schools/. Retrieved May 2024.