Blog Post #2
Social Studies Inquiry
In my first initial blog post, I knew nothing about social studies inquiry. I came up with a definition that was so far out of the ball park to what SS inquiry actually is. So my understanding of social studies inquiry had grown immensely in this module. We were given a definition of social studies inquiry, and were shown how to use in in a classroom setting during our weekly meeting. At first I was very confused as to what was going on, but I soon figured out that what Gus was doing was inquiry based learning. He "used investigatable questions to dig deeply into evidence based answers." Inquiry is a way of asking students questions that have deeper meanings and cause students to think more about all of the possible answers rather than one short simple answered question. The questions also should be related to students lives in some way so that they can make connections.
One of the questions that I came up with from the "time to process" assignment was "What do you think were some of the issues that the people on the Oregon Trail experienced during their 2,170 mile trek?". This is a compelling question because it is a question that can create an intellectual discussion. Students can create answers that involve opinions, and can be a way for students to get deeply engaged. They can put themselves in the shoes of these people and begin to imagine issues that they think themselves personally could have. It is not a one answer question, it is a question that will have multiple answers and multiple opinions. These types of questions are important in IDM because it causes the students to have deeper thinking about questions and helps them stay more engaged in the content.
I do still have one question about social studies inquiry. Is this method of teaching supposed to be used for every social studies lesson, or is it used for certain ones? My guess would be that this could be used often, but not for every lesson just because it does seem time consuming and some lessons only have a certain amount of time available.
By: Katie Byers
Hi Katie,
ReplyDeleteYour blog was great and answered the questions perfectly, I am wondering your same questions but in the sense of when to use that kind of lesson. I like your examples for the compelling and supporting questions part and the Oregon trail example that seemed to be perfect and was well put. Thanks for sharing I have learned even more from reading your blog.
Hi Madison,
DeleteThank you so much! Im glad my understanding could help!
Katie
Hi Katie! I really enjoyed reading your blog! I too had a definition that was from way out of left field during week one! I am thankful for this course and to have been able to fine tune my definition and get a better idea of what SS inquiry is! I really liked the example question you included and what makes it a compelling question! I struggled with this part a little because trying to come up with something on the fly is always tough! After some contemplating I was able to come up with a few of my own (for the time to process assignment) that I think are close to what Gus expects... fingers crossed! I also liked your closing statement regarding the full-time implementation of SS inquiry and if this method is used on every lesson or not! I was curious about this too and agree with the answer you provided. If we find out that SS inquiry is always exercised, what are some ways you'd suggest to "speed up" the process so the lesson can be completed all the way through? I know I have been in classes where we have not finished something that the teacher expects us to finish and we end up having to scramble or skip things to just make it to the end. Ideas on how to make this avoidable?
ReplyDeleteGreat blog!
Mackenzie
Hi Mackenzie,
DeleteThank you! Im glad that we both got some more understanding this past week about social studies inquiry. When it comes to speeding up the process of SS inquiry due to lack of time, I wonder if we could split it up into different lessons if we had to or if the process of question and answer could be shortened? Hope you had a great weekend!
Katie
Hey Katie!
ReplyDeleteI want to say I appreciate your honesty about being confused in class this past Wednesday when we were examining the painting. There was a solid moment there for me as well where I was like, alright Gus what is the point of all this?
My definition was also way off, I am glad we dove into this concept thoroughly this week. Your response question for the "Time to Process" assignment is brilliant! I was stumped for quite some time with creating a compelling question for the Oregon Trail.
Our questions were relatively the same. I agree that time consumption is a huge factor when doing SSI lessons. Especially being on zoom, there really isn't enough time to spare for these kind of investigations.
Loved your post,
Nancy
Hi Nancy,
DeleteThank you! I'm also glad we broke down SSI this week and got a better understanding of the process but I'm curious if we are going to do another one just for an even better understanding? I agree that being on zoom can be hard to do things like this just because it deals with so much active participation and would be way easier to achieve in a classroom setting. Hopefully we can get into the classroom soon!
Katie
Hi Katie,
ReplyDeleteI agree that the example lesson Gus walked us through was helpful to see how social studies inquiry flows in a lesson. It definitely made it more clear for me and helped me visualize using it in the classroom. I like your compelling question about the Oregon Train because it will get students to investigate many different aspects of life on the Oregon Trail to answer the question. One of the supporting questions you could have could be about the transportation method they used and the rough terrain they encountered. I also have the same question about social studies inquiry. I'm wondering if inquiry can be used for all social studies standards or only certain ones. I think they can be used for all, but I haven't done enough research into the standards to be certain.
Hi Ashlyn,
DeleteThank you! I also have yet to do enough research into the standards to be certain whether or not SSI can be used for all of them but I think that they can be.
Katie
Hello Katie, great post! I agree that this module substantially grew my understanding of social studies inquiry. The Swan article, as well as our practice as a class with the picture of the revolutionary war, gave me a better understanding of not only what it is, but what it looks like as well from first hand experience.
ReplyDeleteI really liked the question you came up with! I liked the fact you added in there the exact number of miles they traveled. I think this is a great question to get students putting theirselves in the people of that days shoes to really think about all they would've experienced! I struggled a little with coming up with a question that was personally relevant to students, but struggles is something they can all relate to, so this was perfect!
Thanks for sharing!
Hi Lauren,
DeleteI'm glad that we both got more understanding of SSI this week with Gus's example on Wednesday. Yes, I added the miles so that students could really think about how long the trek was but also they can relate to struggles. It took me awhile to come up with but I think that it would really get students thinking deeper!
Katie