Teaching Inquiry -- Overview

This section includes support materials for the methods chapters in Composing Inquiry as well as suggestions for working with the introductory chapters. The different activities also illustrate the kinds of work that might be done in class with these methods. Follow the links to jump to particular activities.

Working with the Introductory Chapters:

•     introductory writing assignment based on the first chapter: use as a first assignment to get a sense of students' writing and set the expectations for the term

We typically assign the second chapter in sections, or at least return to it throughout the semester.

Observing:

•     introducing observing: hands-on activities for introducing observing

see also: observation paper post-write, in Teaching Writing -- Teaching Self-Reflection using Authorial Notes

Interviewing:

•     modeling focus groups: a collaborative teaching journal with two teachers describing and discussing their work with in-class modeling of focus groups

see also: examples of Pacing the Work both in the whole-term syllabus and an exploded schedule of work for a unit based on a focus group assignment

Working with Numbers:

•     introducing the survey assignment a class activity to introduce Frisch and the assignments with surveys

•     moving from research questions to survey questions a class lesson for after reading the survey chapter and before beginning a survey-based inquiry of your own

•     discussion questions for Frisch essay suggested questions for discussing elements of Frisch's essay to read as a researcher and as a writer

•     survey checklist a handout for getting a mid-assignment progress check

•     introducing data analysis group work using the NEA Report

•     trend analysis pre-write a small group activity aimed to help students move from the numbers in statistical abstracts to an inquiry project/investigation

•     practice activity 5.2 a teacher's lesson plan for practicing numerical analysis

    see also: student generated rubric for evaluating the survey assignment and a guided peer critique of a trends analysis assignment included in Teaching Writing -- Comments and Evaluation; additional data from Michael Frisch that updates his survey and a graph for Practice 5.2: Data Analysis included in Additional Resources; examples of Pacing the Work in the whole-term syllabus and in the exploded syllabi showing a unit of work based on a survey assignment and a unit on trends analysis.

Working with Texts:

[ Home ] [ Teaching Inquiry -- Writing Assignment for Introduction ] [ Teaching Inquiry -- Introducing Observing ] [ Teaching Interviewing -- Modeling Focus Groups ] [ Teaching Inquiry -- Introducing Surveys ] [ Teaching Inquiry -- Surveys ] [ Teaching Inquiry --  Discussing Frisch ] [ Teaching Inquiry -- Survey Checklist ] [ Teaching Inquiry -- Introducing Data Analysis ] [ Teaching Inquiry -- Practice 5.2 ] [ Teaching Inquiry -- Trend Analysis ]

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Copyright © 2008 Composing Inquiry: Methods and Readings for Investigation and Writing
Last modified: 02/21/08. Contributors to this site include: Margaret Marshall, Andrew Strycharski, April Mann, Isis Artze-Vega, Patty Malloy, John Wafer.