Who would have thought that while learning to refine a search engine query I would discover that I was applying 'Boolean logic' that was developed in the 1850s by mathematician and philosopher George Boole? Such an unlikely revelation sparked my interest in Boolean operators, which I have found to be extremely useful tools when combining key words to broaden or narrow search results.
I refined my search results, by experimenting with the logical application of Boolean operators, and the careful selection of key words or phrases in search strings, while finding out about this inquiry question: How can broad themes and big ideas be incorporated in the design of inquiry learning? These are the key words I selected to begin the search: big idea, inquiry learning, primary / elementary, education Choosing key words that are relevant, broad, yet not too broad is important to refine search results. FUN FACT
A website called 'Google Fight' allows you to enter two search terms, to determine which term has the highest visibility, calculated by the number of results returned on Google and also the number of times each query is typed in a month.
Once the key words are chosen, the way the words are combined also matters.
Key Findings
Many results were postings by schools describing how big ideas are used in curriculum design. Additional key words emerged as I read through selected results, highlighting the importance of using synonyms to broaden search results. These included: problem-based, project based, conceptual understanding, central idea, PYP, IB and several names such as Jay McTighe, Grant Wiggins, Lyn Erickson. One result linked to a PDF extract of a chapter from the book 'Taking the PYP Forward' entitled 'Inquiry as a Stance on Curriculum' written by Kathy G Short which provided a rationale as to why big ideas are incorporated in inquiry learning:
FUN FACT
After recognising the benefits of including synonyms in search terms, I explored the website Instagrok, which is a wonderful way to generate an interactive mind map that incorporates synonyms. This could inform the selection of key words for an internet search. Click on the image below to open up a 'Grok' showing stems from 'inquiry learning'. Have a go at sliding the difficulty setting to see the results change.
inquiry learning | Learn about inquiry learning on instaGrok, the research engine:http://www.instagrok.com/results.html?query=inquiry+learning&share_id=_&result_id=JUfVat0ZSECOzGvkBpU5&action=view
GOOGLE SCHOLAR
The Google Search results included a suggestion at the head of the page of scholarly articles using the same search string. I followed this link and was directed to Google Scholar. Isn't Google clever to make such a useful suggestion! I presume the suggestion arose as I had included recognised academics in the search query. The 1860 Google Scholar offerings were starkly different to the 111 000 listed on the Google search results. As the name suggests Google Scholar allows users to find scholarly literature. Restricted access to full transcripts of some results listed on Google Scholar may be an issue for users without access to an academic library database.
Findings
My second search term included the names Wiggins and McTighe because in my initial Google search these names emerged in association with "big ideas". In the initial Google search results were more informal text types such as a blog post written by Wiggins. However on Google Scholar the text types were more formal, including the first Chapter of the Wiggins & McTighe publication 'Understanding by Design'.
Consider an inquiry about extinction (enduring understanding or big idea). Students may learn about extinct species (worth being familiar with), consequences of land clearing / overfishing / pollution (important to know) and research skills (important to be able to do). All of the planned learning in an inquiry is designed to foster an understanding of the big idea of extinction. Without the big idea as the focus, children may become experts on dinosaurs, or dodo birds, or Tasmanian Tigers - all of which are worth being familiar with, but not enduring understandings. However, with the big idea as the focus of an inquiry, learning facts about these extinct animals can lead to an understanding of the concept of extinction.
Further Questions
Wiggins and McTighe have written extensively about the importance of big ideas, but I also noted the mention of essential questions. It seems obvious that questioning is an important component of any inquiry. If it is important, I should know more about it.
To follow up on this initial inquiry, I would like to find out: What role do questions play in fostering student understanding of big ideas? It seems I am on my own quest of Understanding by Design, using the backward design approach. I've realised the starting point is identifying big ideas, now to discover how educators can guide students to construct understanding of a big idea.
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