Scholarly Article 1

The first scholarly article that I would like to share is one by Daniel Callison entitled, “Key Words in Instruction: Inquiry” which was published in the School Library Media Activities Monthly, Volume XV, Number 6 (February 1999): 38-42. I looked up this article because it was referred to as part of the suggested readings in Leslie Preddy’s website: (www.lesliepreddy.com).

Callison views inquiry on four levels which also fits with the developmental stages of the student and is also reminiscent of Bloom’s Taxonomy as each stage is increasingly more complex.

· Controlled Inquiry: involves skill practice and generally research topics are chosen by the teacher.
· Guided Inquiry: students may work in small groups, deal with the same information and are judged using the same rubric.
· Modeled Inquiry: students have more freedom of choice in their research topic and are viewed as research apprentices.
· Free Inquiry: students pose their own questions and are expected to analyze and synthesize data to produce a unique project.

The rest of Callison’s article talks about the new emphasis of inquiry and information literacy sweeping the United States at that time. He also cautions that a shift in emphasis does not mean we abandon the old but that we build on the former practices to enhance the new. I found this to be an interesting article because Callison seems to be forecasting what is now happening with regards to the inquiry process.

· Past- Teacher directed New- Student collaboration
· Past- Locating Information New- Evaluating information
· Past- Printed material New- All sources of material
· Past- Secondary sources New- Primary sources
· Past-Single perspective New-Multiple perspectives
· Past- Paper product New- Variety of formats

I agree with Callison when he talks about the library media centre’s job as being more than just the location of information. Once the students have found the information it’s more what do they do with the information that is important. This brings the level of inquiry to the evaluation and synthesis stage. With reference to print material, it is the job of the teacher-librarian to determine which resources will be the most beneficial. When he discusses sources he refers to the “why” questions of two year olds and encourages the use of primary sources to help students be more specific with their facts rather than to rely on secondary sources such as encyclopedias. Where I think that the inquiry process has changed the most is in the product. Students now conduct their own surveys, debate results and write plays. At our school the students have conducted inquiries about where our food comes through research, interviews and have produced a short documentary.