Year 1 Course Pages

During this phase of the inquiry project you will be doing some reading that focuses on your area of interest. This will allow you to learn more about the complexities or your question and may even help you to refocus your question a bit.

What is the purpose for reading about my area of interest?

There are several reasons why it will be beneficial to read what experts have to say about the various issues related to your question. Doing so will help you to:

1. better focus and articulate your question.

2. identify some new questions that you hadn't considered before.

3. better understand the complexities of the ideas embedded in your question.

4. identify ways to go about answering your question.

5. identify possible problems with the question you are considering.

The better you understand the concepts embedded in your question, the more successful and satisfying the remaining phases of your inquiry project are likely to be.

What should I read about?

The reading that you'll be doing should somehow inform your understandings of issues related to your question. For example, suppose you are interested in finding out how allowing students to choose their own texts would affect their motivation to read. You would certainly want to find out more about the complexities of what motivates readers. And you'd want to read about what experts have to say with regards to student choice in the classroom. In the course of your reading you are likely to come across issues related to student choice and reading that you hadn't considered before. If you could find texts that focused specifically on the topic of the motivational effects of allowing students to choose their own texts, those would likely to be beneficial to you. But finding readings that suggest or imply answers to your question is not necessary, and might even be impossible. Also, keep in mind when you're reading that just because the "experts" might suggest answers (in whole or part) to your question, that doesn't necessarily mean that those answers are right for you and your students. The purpose of teacher inquiry is to identify practices that work in your unique context. Identifying practices that, according to the professional literature, work in other contexts is certainly a step in the right direction. But your job as a teacher-inquirer would then be to determine whether and/or how they work for you and your students.

What types of texts should I read?

The types of texts you read depends, to a large extent, on what your question is and on what is available to you. Here are some ideas:

• Articles from teacher journals. (You are welcome to read "research reports," but you certainly don't need to. Because there is such a focus on methodology, these tend to be difficult to read. It would probably be better for you to read texts written for teachers. They're more likely to include the information you're looking for and that will help you make decisions for your project.)

• Chapters or sections from teacher education textbooks.

• Chapters or sections of educational trade books.

• VoyagerU texts.

• Resources your school owns.

• Online texts. (Please be certain that any online texts you use are from reliable sources. If the host of a web site you visit is not affiliated with a well-known and respected educational organization, find a different text to read. Remember, anyone can post a text on the Internet!)