The Framework : CQI The Culture : Inquiry-Based Learning The Process : Reflective Practices

1. The Framework: CQIThe Culture: Inquiry-Based LearningThe Process: Reflective Practices The Result: Sustaining high quality early learning environments for children and families Muriel Wong WELS Systems Foundation February, 2013

2. Intended Outcomes • Learn and reconnect with inquiry learning and its role in quality efforts • Recognize and reaffirm the importance of reflection to us as individuals and to our collaborative work • See the interdependency of inquiry and reflection central to CQI

3. Keystone Stars OUR FRAME

4. Provide the best possible environments (facility, people (children, families, staff), relationships, classrooms, meaningful learning experiences) for our the children and families that we serve. • Go beyond meeting the basics. • Small, continuous steps toward achieving better results that support positive development and learning of children • All site leadership and staff work together to in developing action plans that improve learning environments and move forward unresolved issues to the next CQI level Key Stone StarsCQI Philosophy forPrograms Serving Children and Families

5. The Framework: CQI http://www.inquiry.uiuc.edu/index.php

6. Guide for selecting focus and actions. How is this working with you and your programs?

7. Building a Culture of Inquiry • Think back to your own experiences in school or work. • Do you remember your favorite project? • What was your topic? • How did you share your information? • What made the experience so special?

8. Inquiry implies involvement that leads to understanding. Involvement in learning implies possessing skills and attitudes that permit you to seek resolutions to questions and issues while you construct new knowledge. What is inquiry- based learning

9. Inquiry is not so much seeking the “right” answer. It is about seeking appropriate resolutions to questions and issues.

10. Where did Inquiry come from? • J. Richard Suchman (coined the term) “Inquiry is the way people learn when they're left alone." http://scied.gsu.edu/Hassard/mos/7.4.html • Dates as far back as Socrates and the Socratic Method. • John Dewey Dewey called for education to be grounded in real experience. He wrote, "If you have doubts about how learning happens, engage in sustained inquiry: study, ponder, consider alternative possibilities and arrive at your belief grounded in evidence." Inquiry is a key part of constructivist learning. http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/constructivism/index_sub4.html

11. Major Contributors http://www.css.edu/depts/edu/EDU3500/researchproj_files/Web_pages/constructivism_inquiry2.html#Contrib

12. Major Contributors http://www.css.edu/depts/edu/EDU3500/researchproj_files/Web_pages/constructivism_inquiry2.html#Contrib

13. The Culture: Inquiry for Learning Reflective Practices http://www.inquiry.uiuc.edu/index.php

14. Skills and Strategies Identify a areas for inquiry grounded in QRIS Standards Identify data and information sources for areas Identify who is the audience (classroom, groups, families, staff) and approaches Ways to evaluate progress/change Select relevant information that is also needed Evaluate information in relationship to site staff and children/groups Plan outline Planning

15. Actions and Interactions • explore ideas and questions and identify areas of focus based on data, information and Standards • consider the needs of the children in classrooms/groups in terms of creating and sharing plans • recognize the process nature of the work and acknowledge that reworking, rethinking and refocusing are integral to the inquiry process • acknowledge the feelings that accompany this phase. • examine data and information sources and the order in which they used them • write/talk about what new questions, problems, issues and ideas have emerged.

16. What are the feelings? • feeloptimistic,yet uncertainand worried • understandthatfeelings willchangeduring • theprocess • What Else?

17. Creating Skills and Strategies • Organize information • Create a plan • Think about the audience – children, families, staff • Revise and edit • Review and revise the plan for inquiry

18. Actions and Interactions • work with others to develop and enhance the plan • recognize and discuss the strengths and areas of need • complete a plan that incorporates information and suggestions from others and highlights new understandings • recognize that this endeavor requires some thinking and multiple versions before it is ready for sharing • recognize the emergence of new questions, issues and ideas during the creation process • acknowledge the feelings that accompany this phase of the change process

19. What are the feelings? feeloptimisticinitiallyand confidentintheir ability to completethetask feelincreasedinterest feeloverwhelmed feelexcitementand interestbutalsopressure to completethe tasks on the plan What Else?

20. Sharing and Reflecting Skills and Strategies • Communicate with among and with staff, directors • Present new understandings • Demonstrate and share about appropriate behavior/interactions children, families and staff

21. Actions and Interactions • share new understandings among and with administrators and teaching teams impact on children in their classrooms/groups • focus on the particular needs of the children in classrooms/groups • teams participate and reflect on what engages them about a particular experience in plan • reflect on the successes and challenges of sharing experiences and write/talk about what has been learned • evaluate sharing strategies and offer suggestions for improvement next time • acknowledge the feelings that accompany this phase

22. What are the feelings? feelexcitementand interestbutalso pressuretoperform What Else?

23. Evaluation Skills and Strategies • Evaluate the inquiry process and inquiry plan • Review and revise personal inquiry thinking • Transfer learning and practices into daily routines, procedures and policies

24. Actions and Interactions • understand the evaluation criteria for the inquiry • evaluate own inquiry process, using established criteria • provide constructive feedback to their peers, using established criteria • reflect on similarities/differences between this inquiry and other inquiries in the past • reflect on learning styles and how they influence the inquiry process • reflect on the successes and challenges of their experiences, and write/talk about what they have learned • acknowledge the feelings that accompany this phase.

25. What are the feelings? feelasenseofrelief feelsatisfactionor dissatisfaction understandhowtheir feelingschange during inquiry understandhowtocope withtheirchanging feelings What Else?

26. Building a Culture of Inquiry

27. Strategies: Building a Culture of Inquiry • Approach inquiry with enthusiasm and excitement. • Admit that inquiry involves the unexpected for you and for program site staff. • Model the way • Use the language of inquiry. • Facilitate the process—discuss, clarify, support and monitor. • Evaluate the process (and make it really count). • Use technology to do what would be impossible otherwise.

28. Program Staff Doing Inquiry-based Learning View themselves as learners in the process of learning. • They look forward to learning. • They demonstrate a desire to learn more. • They seek to collaborate and work cooperatively with teacher and peers. • They are more confident in learning, demonstrate a willingness to modify ideas and take calculated risks, and display appropriate skepticism. http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/inquiry/index_sub2.html

29. Inquiry and metacognition Metacognition: knowledge about own thinking: knowledge of your own thoughts and the factors that influence your thinking Building a culture of inquiry also means recognizing, supporting and teaching the role of metacognition. Metacognitive skills are part of the “learning to learn” skills that are transferable to new learning situations, in school and out of school. Through reflecting on the process during inquiry-based learning activities, opportunities are given to explore and understand both the cognitive and affective domains of “learning to learn”

31. Discussion/Reflection about Inquiry… • What stood out for you and why? • What connections with your own work did you make? • Do you have any disagreements with what you have heard?

32. Inquiry requires Reflection

33. Which of the following definitions do you most agree with? Reflective Practices • It is a complex process that requires high levels of conscious thought as well as a commitment to making changes based on new understanding of how to practice. • Reflective Practice provides a way to understand and make sense of the world. • Deliberate thinking about action with a view to its improvement. • Reflection is a process, both individual and collaborative, involving experience and uncertainty. It is comprised of identifying questions and key elements of a matter that has emerged as significant, then taking one’s thoughts into dialogue with oneself and with others. • Reflection-on-action, reflection-in-action and reflection-for-action.

34. Three commonalities exist in most definitions: • Methodical processes • Inquiry orientation • Improvement as a goal Taggard & Wilson (1998, p.17)

35. “Reflective practice, while often confused with reflection, is neither a solitary nor a relaxed meditative process. To the contrary, reflective practice is a challenging, demanding, and often trying process that is most successful as a collaborative effort.” Karen Osterman and Robert B. Kottkamp, 1993. Reflective Practice for Educators. California: Corwin Press,Inc.

36. Reflective Thinking Process

37. Individual Reflection contributes to: • enhanced educational practice; • greater awareness of personal performance; • increased recognition of professional dilemmas; • different ways of thinking about dilemmas; and • making adjustments in practice.

38. Dewey’s Three Characteristics/Attitudes of a Reflective Practitioner: • Open-mindedness • Responsibility • Wholeheartedness Taggard & Wilson (1998, p.17)

39. Reflective Break(Open-mindness, Responsibility, Wholeheartedness) Do you possess these characteristics now? At what level? (High, Medium, Low) A. Open-Mindedness 1 - High 2- Medium 3- Low B. Responsibility 1-High 2- Medium 3-Low C. Wholeheartedness 1-High 2-Medium 3- Low Which other desirable characteristics should a reflective practitioner have?

40. Hierarchical Levels of Reflection LEVEL 3 Ethics, Morals LEVEL 2 Theories, Beliefs LEVEL 1 Actions, Behaviors Level 1: The level of the actions in the classroom - observable behaviors Level 2: The theoretical level - the theories behind the behaviors in Level 1 Level 3: The ethical, moral level - the role of the wider community in influencing theories (Level 2) and practices (Level 1)

41. The Reflective Schema Reflective Stems TA and Site Staff Perceptions 8 Areas of Inquiry • Beliefs About Practice (Early Learning and Development) • Personal/Professional Identity • Children in Programs • Program Organization • Content Knowledge (Development, interactions, quality) • Continuous Quality Improvements and Data • Social Justice • Who? • What? • When? • Where? • How? • Why? Reality Destination

42. Two Essential Conditions forReflective Practice • Trusting relationships • Thought and inquiry York-Barr, Sommers, Chere, Monte, (2001) Reflective Practice to Improve Schools

43. Trusting Relationships • Treat information with confidentiality. • Deprivatize practice. • Provide framework for a relationship based on learning. • Let participants feel safe, secure, and able to take risks.

44. Components of Trust • Being present. • Being aware of oneself, others and the environment. • Being open. • Listen without judgment and with empathy. • Seek understanding. • View learning as mutual. • Honor the person. • Honor the process.

45. Coaching for ReflectionSix Levels of Transfer Fogarty & Pete (2004)

46. Six Levels of Transfer • Overlooks • Duplicates • Replicates • Integrates • Propagates • Innovates Fogarty & Pete (2004)

47. Overlooks • Participates in the training but … • Is unable to see how to apply it when she/he returns to their site, home or classroom Fogarty & Pete (2004)

48. Duplicates • Takes the strategy and … • Duplicates it exactly as was taught. • No modification or contextualization. Fogarty & Pete (2004)

49. Replicates • Strategy is applied and it looks slightly different, but … • Is used in a similar context and with similar applications. Fogarty & Pete (2004)

50. Integrates • Uses new strategy/ learning. • Blends new learning with old. Fogarty & Pete (2004)