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Three steps for differentiating a guided inquiry<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The purpose of both differentiation and guided inquiry is to equip students with the knowledge and skills to become lifelong learners. Your goal is to help students thrive not just in your classrooms, but in life beyond school. But how do you practically differentiate an inquiry in your classroom? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Unlike traditional differentiation, in an inquiry-based classroom, you don\u2019t always know what content will be studied from the start. Instead, you begin with student interests and questions, which shape the learning path.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While the guide is organized by steps, remember that inquiry is cyclical\u2014you\u2019ll likely revisit and refine each step as you progress through the inquiry. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n As you begin planning a differentiated guided inquiry, the starting point is getting crystal clear on what success looks like. Ask yourself, what will students know, understand, and be able to do as a result of their time in your classroom? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Although there\u2019s plenty of room for student inquiry and personalization in the learning process, our success criteria set the same high expectations for all learners<\/strong> and serve as the foundation for provocation, planning, assessment, and teaching. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You might:<\/p>\n\n\n\n It can be helpful to turn these into student-friendly ‘I can’ statements or create simple, one-point rubrics for clarity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Try using AI to help you with this step! You can copy and paste your curriculum standards and ask the chat to \u201cunpack these standards into knowledge, understandings, and skills.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Now that you have a clear picture of what success will look like by the end of the unit, it’s time to consider the exciting task of tailoring the journey to your learners’ needs and interests<\/strong>\u2014the unique paths they’ll take toward reaching these goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The beginning of an inquiry is very important. While you have a high level view of what success looks like, an inquiry doesn\u2019t truly begin until each student has a unique question they are eager to explore. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Tomlinson\u2019s (2014) framework for differentiation provides a beautiful starting point for planning an inquiry, inviting educators to consider each learners\u2019 interest, readiness, and preferences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s dive into each of these elements and discover how you might use them to begin planning an inquiry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n What do your students like learning about?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Understanding your learners\u2019 interests\u2014both generally and within a unit\u2014is essential to both inquiry and differentiation. The more you know your students, the easier it is to find connections, making learning meaningful and foster a sense of belonging throughout the unit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n How might students learn best?<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Rather than focusing on fixed learning styles, you can differentiate by considering learning preferences and variability. Encouraging students to <\/strong>explore how, when, where, and with whom they learn best recognizes that these preferences can change depending on a number of factors including the subject and even time of day!<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n What barriers might stand in the way of learning?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Readiness is not fixed. As teachers, you should stay curious about what students know, understand, and can do, always aware of their strengths and areas for growth. It’s important not to pigeonhole students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To truly understand where your learners stand, you need pre-assessments connected to your learning goals. <\/strong>With a full picture of their strengths and challenges, you can plan responsive supports and enrichments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Readiness is multi-faceted! You could consider:<\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, Jamie might be considered a \u2018beginner\u2019 in business concepts, yet excels at coming up with creative product ideas and expressing them with enthusiasm. However, he might need support with managing time effectively or building confidence when it comes to organizing his ideas into a business plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Once you\u2019ve identified students\u2019 burning questions (interests), the obstacles they face (readiness), and how they learn best (preferences), you can begin crafting learning experiences, scaffolds, and extensions to move the inquiry forward.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n At this stage, you step into the role of facilitator, using the elements of content, process, product, and environment to design a learning setting that supports students in answering their questions and reaching their goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s dive deeper into each of these factors: <\/p>\n\n\n\n How do I create flexible and equitable spaces for learning?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n A major part of building an inquiry environment involves setting the stage with your learning environment design. The list of considerations I’ve provided is by no means comprehensive! You and your students spend an incredible amount of shared time in the classroom, so it\u2019s essential to establish clear norms around the tools and resources available for learning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By thoughtfully arranging these elements, you can create a classroom environment that actively supports student engagement and growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Think about:<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n How will students access new information?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Imagine you\u2019re learning to make a new recipe. How do you learn best? Some of us prefer a video that shows each step, while others might turn to a blog or cookbook. Now, switch gears to learning a new language. Would you use the same method to learn French that you used to bake? Probably not!<\/p>\n\n\n\n The same principle applies to our learners. When you differentiate content, ask yourself, what\u2019s the best way for each student to access new information? <\/strong>While all students are expected to gain the same knowledge, understandings, and skills, there is flexibility in how they access that information. One helpful framework for scaffolding content comes from Katie Novak, who suggests three types of scaffolds: linguistic, conceptual, and socio-cultural. These can be used to effectively engage students as they build their understanding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By considering students\u2019 readiness, interests, and preferences, you can offer a range of scaffolds for them to choose from as they work. Katie also recommends limiting choices to no more than six options, as too many choices can become overwhelming!<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n How will students make sense of new knowledge, understanding, and skills?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Processing involves two main aspects: taking in new information and making sense of it. When planning for processing, I consider two essential questions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Your goal is to offer a range of options that accommodate students’ learning interests, preferences, and readiness, ensuring personalized pathways within their learning experiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n How will students apply their knowledge, understandings, and skills? <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Products make up only a small portion of your assessments. In differentiated inquiry, the majority of your time is spent on processing information and providing ongoing, actionable feedback.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can think of a product as a milestone in the inquiry process\u2014an opportunity for students to showcase and apply the knowledge, understandings, and skills they\u2019ve developed along the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When designing these learning experiences, the guiding question becomes: How will I know students have mastered the success criteria? <\/strong>You can give students choice and flexibility in how they demonstrate their learning, as long as it aligns with the goals you identified in step one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A product might be: <\/p>\n\n\n\n Remember, it\u2019s a cycle!<\/strong> Although presented in steps, it’s important to remember that both inquiry and differentiation are cyclical. You\u2019ll likely revisit these phases multiple times as students progress and learn throughout the inquiry.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n ASCD. (2011). Differentiation for Readiness<\/em>. https:\/\/pdo.ascd.org\/LMSCourses\/PD11OC138M\/media\/DI-Instruction_M4_Reading_Readiness.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Brown, M., Holeton, R., & Long, P. (2017). Learning Space Rating System<\/em>. https:\/\/acode.edu.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Educause-Learning-Space-Rating-System-1.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nStep 1: Define success criteria<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Step 2: Personalize the inquiry<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nInterests<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nLearning preferences<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nReadiness<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Step 3: Scaffold the inquiry<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Scaffolding the learning environment<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Scaffolding content<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nScaffolding the process<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nScaffolding the product<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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In this guide, I\u2019ve outlined three major phases for planning an inquiry:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
References<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n