Strategic Inquiry - Earth Science Curriculum

Along with using the assessments, pacing, and suggested objectives in this curriculum, we strongly advise teachers to direct their work using the process that Panero and Talbert (2013) refer to as “strategic inquiry.” Strategic inquiry is a collaborative evidence-based process that utilizes the collective wisdom of school teams...to better understand problems with the status quo and to create new knowledge to solve them.” To engage in cycles of strategic inquiry in conjunction with this curriculum, we encourage teachers to team up with colleagues and begin by choosing a target group of students from their class that are outside of the school’s “sphere of success” to study.

Having identified the target student group, teachers should:

Examine target student work from a unit test or formative assessment.
Identify what students can do and are struggling with on the assessment
Diagnose a “high-leverage” skill gap -- that is, a skill that, if improved upon, would greatly enhance a student’s ability to demonstrate mastery of content
Establish long and short term goals for target students
Identify the appropriate evidence that will demonstrate movement towards those goals
Develop a plan for all students to reach the goals set for the target group
Design interventions to be used during the implementation of 5E Instructional Model plans
Act on the interventions
Reflect on the implementation of the interventions by observing, watching video, or reading low inference transcripts of the lesson and examining for for evidence that the lesson objectives were met
Examine student work from summative unit tests and/or performance tasks to monitor the impact of the interventions and begin the cycle over again

By continually looking at student needs and working to ameliorate their literacy struggles, teachers will improve student learning outcomes, learn more about their students, educate themselves and their colleagues on how to teach the skill gaps that most plague students and enrich this curriculum through their collaboration.

Works Cited Bruner, J. (1960). The Process of Education. Cambridge, MA Bybee, et. al. (2006) The BSCS 5E Instructional Model: Origins and Effectiveness Donovan, M. & Bransford, J. (2005). How Students Learn: Science in the Classroom. National Academies Press. Education Partnerships, Inc. (2012) Research Into Practice: The Spiral Curriculum. University of South Florida Hannum, W. (2005). Jerome Brunner’s Theory. Retrieved from http://www.theoryfundamentals.com/bruner.htm Panero, N.S. & Talbert, J.E. (2013). Strategic inquiry: Starting Small for Big Results in Education. Cambridge: Harvard Education Press. Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by Design. ASCD. Alexandria, VA.