Inquiry involves "being in the company of a passionate adult who is rigorously pursing inquiry in the area of their subject matter and is inviting students along as peers in that discourse."
-Larry Rosenstock, Principal of High Tech High
About this Website
This teacher’s guide seeks to provide insight into how the the eight principles of the Galileo Educational Network’s Discipline-based Rubric for Inquiry Studies can enhance the conceptual framework of historical thinking articulated by Dr. Peter Seixas and colleagues at The Historical Thinking Project. To show what this could look like in practice, I have documented a grade 7 historical inquiry into pre-Confederation Canadian history by two teachers at Connect Charter School in Calgary. As can be seen, throughout this resource I have imbedded links to web pages, articles, and videos that will help the reader gain a deeper, more comprehensive understanding of the ideas and insights explored in each of the five chapters.
Traditional Approaches to Education: To better appreciate the fundamental shift involved in engaging young people in discipline-based inquiry, in this section I explore core assumptions that underpin traditional approaches to education.
What is Discipline-based Inquiry: I this section I discuss how discipline-based inquiry departs from the core assumptions of traditional approaches to education and offers a fundamentally new vision for education.
Historical Thinking: In this section, I highlight the nature of historical thinking as developed by Dr. Peter Seixas and colleagues at the Historical Thinking Project. To aid me in this process, I draw in particular on a recent publication by Dr. Seixas and Tom Morton: The Big Six Historical Thinking Concepts (2013) which offers the most recent articulation of how teachers can take up historical thinking with their students. For those unfamiliar with the historical thinking concepts, I have imbedded links to video resources created by TC2: The Critical Thinking Consortium that explains each of the six concepts.
The Galileo Educational Network's approach to Inquiry: Seeking to demonstrate how historical thinking could be enhanced by insights into the nature of inquiry formulated by the Galileo Educational Network, I unpack the eight principles of their Discipline-based Rubric for Inquiry Studies. To help introduce newcomers to this conceptual framework, I have augmented this discussion with a video presentation by Amy Park on how her 2010 Governor General Award winning grade 2 inquiry into the Inuit aligns with these eight principles.
An Example of Discipline-based Historical Inquiry: I begin by outlining a historical inquiry into pre-Confederation Canadian history recently undertaken by Jody Pereverrzoff and Chris Dittmann with their one hundred grade 7 students at Connect Charter School. To help explain the project I have included a short video outlining the various stages of this historical inquiry. I then subsequently explore how this historical inquiry helps students appreciate the nature of historical thinking, and further, aligns with the eight principles of the Discipline-based Rubric for Inquiry Studies.
Traditional Approaches to Education: To better appreciate the fundamental shift involved in engaging young people in discipline-based inquiry, in this section I explore core assumptions that underpin traditional approaches to education.
What is Discipline-based Inquiry: I this section I discuss how discipline-based inquiry departs from the core assumptions of traditional approaches to education and offers a fundamentally new vision for education.
Historical Thinking: In this section, I highlight the nature of historical thinking as developed by Dr. Peter Seixas and colleagues at the Historical Thinking Project. To aid me in this process, I draw in particular on a recent publication by Dr. Seixas and Tom Morton: The Big Six Historical Thinking Concepts (2013) which offers the most recent articulation of how teachers can take up historical thinking with their students. For those unfamiliar with the historical thinking concepts, I have imbedded links to video resources created by TC2: The Critical Thinking Consortium that explains each of the six concepts.
The Galileo Educational Network's approach to Inquiry: Seeking to demonstrate how historical thinking could be enhanced by insights into the nature of inquiry formulated by the Galileo Educational Network, I unpack the eight principles of their Discipline-based Rubric for Inquiry Studies. To help introduce newcomers to this conceptual framework, I have augmented this discussion with a video presentation by Amy Park on how her 2010 Governor General Award winning grade 2 inquiry into the Inuit aligns with these eight principles.
An Example of Discipline-based Historical Inquiry: I begin by outlining a historical inquiry into pre-Confederation Canadian history recently undertaken by Jody Pereverrzoff and Chris Dittmann with their one hundred grade 7 students at Connect Charter School. To help explain the project I have included a short video outlining the various stages of this historical inquiry. I then subsequently explore how this historical inquiry helps students appreciate the nature of historical thinking, and further, aligns with the eight principles of the Discipline-based Rubric for Inquiry Studies.