Design and the Circular Economy

What if we had a new way to design products, services, and businesses that were good for people, the planet, and business? That’s one of the questions we were seeking to answer when IDEO teamed up with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation to launch the Circular Design Guide.

Why a design thinking guide for the circular economy? Design thinking is a great innovation tool for tackling complex systemic challenges. It not only offers an approach that generates momentum through prototyping, but also strengthens insight around what works (and what doesn’t). This new guide is meant to help innovators create more elegant, effective, and creative solutions for the circular economy.

Want to learn more? Get started by visiting circulardesignguide.com.

Tim Brown

Inquiry in Australia – Sharing the theory and practice of Inquiry

Sharing the theory and practice of Inquiry

Sourced through Scoop.it from: guidedinquiryoz.edublogs.org

Inquiry Blog

 

The last of my curated collection is the least scholarly, but probably the most useful for my practice. I found myself coming back to this edublog time and again as the research papers, contributors and teaching resources were practical in their nature. Whereas much of my curated collection is research, this blog is filled with practical advice. 

 

A teacher who was not sure which path to head down with regard to inquiry learning could spend some time on this blog and glean enough ideas to "give it a go" – which is the point. The way I conduct inquiries in economics and legal studies are idiosyncratic. 

 

Deng Xiaoping remarked that one should ‘cross the river by feeling the stones’ – it aptly describes the process of pioneering new educational ground. This blog helps feel for those stones. 

The role of the teacher in inquiry-based education in the classroom

Summary

Inquiry-based learning receives much attention in educational practice and theory as it provides pupils with the opportunity to actively engage in the inquiry of real questions, which consequently enhances learning. However, many teachers find this a demanding approach to learning and it is not clear yet what teachers of different grades should do to stimulate this type of learning in their classrooms. We do know that the role of the teacher has been found to be important in inquiry learning within the whole school career. Still, more clarity is needed on what types of activities and material teachers should design, which didactical and pedagogical behaviour is most effective and how teachers can serve as models in inquiry learning. Teachers can influence pupil learning and motivation positively or negatively as a result of their role in the inquiry process. 

We will search for review studies and empirical studies on this topic. We will include studies that investigate different ways in which teachers can stimulate inquiry learning and its effects on pupils. Outcome variables that are included are learning outcomes, skills, attitude and motivation of pupils. 
We aim to provide teachers with practical guidelines on their role in stimulating inquiry learning in the classroom and information on the effects of this approach on pupil outcomes.

Sourced through Scoop.it from: www.nwo.nl

A continuum of student-directed and teacher-directed inquiry

 

Marjolein Dobber, Rosanne Zwart, Marijn Tanis and Bert van Oers conclude student-directed inquiry learning has been found to give better results than teacher-directed inquiry (Bencze, 2010; Blanchard et al., 2010; Sadeh & Zion, 2009, 2012).

 

They suggest that it seems plausible to conclude that differentiation along the continuum between student-directed and teacher-directed inquiry is most desirable. This is a rather neat idea as it allows for a flexible approach to teaching – it reinforces concepts already in my curated collected that place teacher involvement (but not too much) at the core of proper inquiry learning pedagogy. This paper extends the work by considering not just subject-specific inquiry, but also whole school inquiry. 

 

The authors conclude that teachers need time and support to facilitate their development towards new practices and that teachers to have sufficient knowledge of subject content
and inquiry. To my mind, this advocates the case for more professional learning around inquiry – particularly in my secondary school context.

 

The authors also suggest teachers need to alter their vision of inquiry in the classroom. The role of the teacher in inquiry-based education is complex, multi-faceted and demanding, but
also worthy of research and practice, since it can create unique opportunities for future students in elementary and secondary
schools to develop themselves as agentive inquirers.

The Twin Purposes of Guided Inquiry: Guiding Student Inquiry and Evidence-Based Practice

Guided Inquiry is a means by which student enquiry can be facilitated in schools, while simultaneously being the vehicle for evidence-based practice. This paper illustrates this twin purpose in two contexts: An overview discussion of the 2008 NSW Association of Independent Schools’ Project, led by Dr. Todd, and a 2010 Guided Inquiry at Loreto Kirribilli. Both projects are discussed as student practice and as a means of gathering data about student learning using the School Library Impact Measure (SLIM) Toolkit, while highlighting the use of wiki as an organising tool. Lastly, the paper affirms the impact that Guided Inquiry has had on some Sydney schools.

Sourced through Scoop.it from: eric.ed.gov

The significance of the search process which lies at the heart of guided-inquiry

“In Guided Inquiry, open-ended assignments should not be unconnected with curriculum; rather they should seek to link to what Kuhltau (2007, p32-33) terms the First Space – students’ local and cultural knowledge, including web 2.0 – with Second Space – school curriculum – the goals, standards, learning outcomes at the base of what is taught. The aim is to engage students in research that creates the Third Space – where students use out of school knowledge to make sense of the curriculum.”

Fitzgerald writes about the search processes significance which allows students to become aware of their processes and enables teachers and teacher-librarians to frame the task, and to bring together in a meaningful way scaffolds which we might have used in an unconnected way in the past.

She argues that, central to the success of Guided Inquiry, is the feedback sought from students throughout their process, which allows teachers and teacher-librarians to frame individual and group interventions, and which forms the basis for ongoing evidence-based practice.

Does Guided Inquiry Enhance Learning and Metacognition?

Guided Inquiry is a way of thinking, learning and teaching that changes the culture of the classroom into a collaborative inquiry community. (Kuhltau, Maniotes, Caspari, 2012)

It is an emerging pedagogy said to produce deep learning by its focus on the Information Search Process, the autonomy of students in finding and answering their own inquiry question, its focus on working in groups (inquiry circles), and its ongoing support for students from teachers and teacher-librarians.

Sourced through Scoop.it from: www.slav.vic.edu.au

The inquiry process, evidence of its benefit and implications for teachers.

Lee Fitzgerald (Charles Sturt University) notes from the outset of his work into the significance of guided inquiry for high school ancient and modern history students that “…it takes time to develop the personal take characteristic of deep learning…”

This paper was excellent. The first thing I did once I read it was to forward it to colleagues at work. The paper outlines an excellent model of the inquiry learning process (the author uses the phrase guided inquiry to once again highlight a teacher’s role in the process). It also proposes eight implications of inquiry learning that span student expectations, working with teacher-librarians and classroom teachers too – a fantastic resource and one that is of significant use for my practice.

The last word is from a student, demonstrating the excitement of learning, through inquiry learning:

Without realising it I have actually connected a few dots in my understanding of world history as Alexander’s world is linked to the experiences of other people in history. It surprised me at how connected every event is despite seeming a long time ago. I’m very happy with my final essay.

Connectedness and Social Justice

Abstract:

Significant interest and concern are currently being expressed about student retention, participation and achievement rates in post-compulsory schooling.

Governments and schools have developed many programs to improve outcomes in the areas of student engagement and disengagement with learning. The most successful of these programs engage the learner with the real world – ideas and issues that young people see as important for themselves now and for their futures. A recent study from Queensland has called this connectedness. Connectedness is more than merely “real life” education. Connectedness must enable students to have more control of their lives and be connected to a more participatory social vision. “We all know that from being in the classroom daily that the main thing students want when it comes to engaging education is to leave the classroom! Students crave the opportunity to take education beyond the four walls as it appears in its usual format.” (Papadopoulos, 2002)

How are we to overcome these conflicting tensions where teachers acknowledge that a range of thinking and learning styles needs to be incorporated to enable students not only to engage but also to achieve improved outcomes especially for at-risk students from disadvantaged and low socioeconomic backgrounds?

Many teachers seem to intuitively understand that learning needs to be interactive and fun if it is to be effective. But do we unintentionally doubly disadvantage the already disadvantaged students by serving them up more of the “basics” and “busy work” instead of actively engaging their intelligence?

Connectedness to social and community development, a generative pedagogy, aims to address social problems through action learning and action research approaches to schooling and education.

Sourced through Scoop.it from: users.monash.edu.au

Social justice and the links with inquiry and higher-order thinking

This article, written by David Zyngier of Monash University, was a challenging read. It introduced a new conception to my thinking and extended my understanding of higher-order thinking to include compassion and empathy. Inquiry learning has a role to play in helping students see disadvantage – this is particularly relevant in my independent school context. The author challenges teachers to engage students and ensure a meaningful connection so that authentic and real inquiry can take place.

Once again, much work falls at the feet of teachers. Responsibility for differentiation, acknowledgement of unique learning styles and addressing gaps in student knowledge are handed to the teacher – this is probably right as no one in a classroom is in a better position to address a power imbalance or a structural injustice, but teachers, particularly early career teachers, are fatiguing under the weight of a regime of accountability.

The broader point the article makes is about seeing the world and understanding how it works – anything that pushes that agenda is a worthy read.

Epistemologically authentic inquiry in schools: A theoretical framework for evaluating inquiry tasks

Abstract: A main goal of science education is to help students learn to reason scientifically. A main way to facilitate learning is to engage students in inquiry activities such as conducting experiments. This article presents a theoretical framework for evaluating inquiry tasks in terms of how similar they are to authentic science.

Sourced through Scoop.it from: onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Teaching with authenticity 

This is a scholarly article that, though a little old, expertly tries to link the role of inquiry learning in a science classroom to authentic science education. It is an interesting proposition that there should be a difference between authentic inquiry and authentic science in the first place. Notwithstanding, that article proposed a framework for science teachers to ensure that their pedagogical best facilitates both real science and real inquiry.

A good amount of the literature on inquiry learning puts that foundational work at the feet of the teacher – this is interesting and gives rise to a tension. Teachers may rightly need to lay the foundations upon which good inquiry-based learning can take place, but too much foundational work from the teacher risks over-scaffolding the task such that the student responses are pre-formulated recipes or a series of steps that they simply have to follow. If this is the case, only shallow learning takes place. If teachers give too much scaffolding/support/structure, the inquiry process is jeopardised. Therefore, we may see not only poor inquiry but poor academic growth in the relevant disciplines too.

Skills for the 21st Century: teaching higher-order thinking

There are countless resources online and on paper to assist in the teaching of higher-order thinking, and while these are useful, an effective teacher needs to make few changes to programs already in place in order to ensure that students are encouraged to think. The research suggests that constant awareness of the language teachers use, and reflection on how the skills might be incorporated in every lesson, are pivotal in making the difference.

Sourced through Scoop.it from: www.curriculum.edu.au

Does a teacher need to know what higher-order thinking skills are before you it can be taught to students?

Robyn Collins from Independent School’s Queensland makes the point that the concept of high-order thinking skills is a contested space. Brookhart (2010) identifies definitions of higher-order thinking as falling into three categories: (1) those that define higher-order thinking in terms of transfer, (2) those that define it in terms of critical thinking, and (3) those that define it in terms of problem-solving.

This article draws on both educational theory and pedagogy inside independent schools in Queensland to make the point that how best to get at higher-order thinking skills is dependent upon a teacher’s understanding of them. This is of particular relevance in the inquiry learning space as a convoluted understanding of the destination limits the extent to which teachers can take students on the journey.

The Relationship of Teacher‐Facilitated, Inquiry‐Based Instruction to Student Higher‐Order Thinking in School Science and Mathematics

When we better understand how teachers who are successful in challenging students in higher‐order thinking spend their time relative to various components of inquiry‐based instruction, then we are better able to develop professional development experiences that help teachers transition to more desired instructional patterns.

Sourced through Scoop.it from: onlinelibrary.wiley.com

The intersection of teacher and student roles in inquiry-based learning

A strong, scholarly article indicating the extent to which teachers can play a part in ensuring that students gains from inquiry-based learning are maximised. This is a good reading as it acknowledges that effective inquiry-based learning is a two-step process between teachers who infuse the necessary content and skills in a class before handing responsibility and accountability for the learning over to students.