The processs continues

After typing in Inquiry based learning, Google offered over 7 million sites - way too many to read but the first site looked interseting so I took a look.

Concept to Classroom published by 13 ed online was an informative site that offered a range of definitions and explanations of the benefits associated with enquiry learning and it also contained a number of diagrams that showed visually the transfer of knowledge from the known to unknown contexts.

As this was currently the phase I was operating in, it made perfect sense to me.
The original google site also contained links to other useful sites and included suggestions for alternative search phrases such as project based learning and problem based learning.

http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/inquiry/index.html

I decided to test my information gathering skills further by refining the search and adding some boolean operators to the search phrase. Using AND social science narrowed the hits by 4 million and delivered some scholarly articles for further reflection.

Scholarly articles for inquiry based learning AND social science
	A critical theory of adult learning and education - Mezirow - Cited by 984 Addressing the challenges of inquiry-based learning … - Edelson - Cited by 384 Constructivism: Implications for the design and delivery … - Duffy - Cited by 1020 Further hunting found information on IBL by Michael B. Eisenberg and Robert E. Berkowitz who identified the Big 6 and Super 3 as productive steps in the research process. Big 6 The Big 6 is an information problem-solving approach developed by Michael B. Eisenberg and Robert E. Berkowitz. It is the most popular model for information skills. It includes the following steps: Task definition Information seeking strategies Location and access Use of information Synthesis Evaluation Super 3 Although The Big 6 only includes six steps, some primary teachers find it overwhelming for their young learners. As a result, teachers have developed modified versions to meet their needs. Eisenberg and Berkowitz have developed a version called the Super 3 for very young children. It includes three steps: Plan Do Review http://virtualinquiry.com/inquiry/big6.htm  These 2 model have been referred to in a number of articles that I have come across and are effective because of their simplicity. The super 3 are probably useful for the 2 ESL students in my Year 8 Cultural studies class as the steps are very clear. In terms of research for my assignment, these models are helpful and reinforce the need to evaluate the task when completed. I am clearly in the sythesis phase according to the BIG 6 model and am finding that the overwhelming number of articles requires careful synthesis in order to formulate a clearly structured response to the assignment topic. On the following link I found useful "noodle tools" for researching as outlined by DebbieAbilock.                                                                                            http://www.noodletools.com/debbie/literacies/information/1over/infolit1.html  This model is practical and clearly articulates what skills and outcomes are achieveable using the process. I liked the detail outlined on the site for strategies to use and noticed that Boolean operators were refered to ensure the search is analytical. Something that I need to take on board as at the moment I am searching broadly - I need to narrow my focus and be far more analytical in my approach!!