Inquiry+Question

So we can all see what is being explored and investigated. Inquiry Questions with names should be posted here.

Dianne DeVido (revised question) - If I deliver a workshop to staff who have internet safety as part of their curriculum, will there be an increase in teachers’ awareness of the potential dangers for our students, and will they then follow up with planned activities to raise student awareness?

Shân Gordon - Because I have noticed the strong effect advertising has on children, the purpose of the inquiry is to explore the impact of teaching the media triangle. If I explicitly teach the media triangle (including specific production techniques used by marketers) will this enable students to discuss advertising and pro duct marketing in greater detail? Will this graphic organizer help them to "read" a product and organize their thinking more successfully? THIS IS FINE - jl   Helen's question: Because the level of collaboration {in the school library program jl} is low, if I present current theory on collaboration and share successful past collaboration will there be an increase in homeroom and rotary teachers willing to enter into collaborative partnerships? THIS IS FINE - JL

Joanne Parum's question: Because I feel I have underestimated the students' receptive and expressive language skills, the purpose of my inquiry is to explore the impact using modified graphic organizers might have on the improvement of the students' prediciton skills, during story time, taking into consideration the students' special needs. THIS IS FINE -JL

Gina Thurston's question: Because I work with at risk students with attendance and motivation issues who struggle with completing assignments, the purpose of this inquiry is to determine what effect the webquest format will have on student attitude, motivation and completion rate for a research project. This is fine. Trista Mittermayer’s Question: Because I have observed that my students have great difficulties searching and finding relevant information on the internet, I would like to explore effective searching strategies. If I explicitly teach searching strategies will the students be more successful in refining searches and finding relevant information. (Editing help requested) THIS IS FINE.

Patricia Porteous: Because the internet appeals to students, the purpose of this inquiry is to determine if the WebQuest form of a research assignment motivates students to complete the assignment thereby improving student achievement.

Harinder Bell: Because students in a grade 3/4 class are able to access information, but have difficulty in sorting and classifying the information, the purpose of this inquiry is to investigate if I explicitly teach graphic organizers to organize and process the information for report writing, will students find it easier to present their information. THIS IS FINE

Anna Luszczynski's Inquiry: Students know how to use technology for browsing various interests, playing games, downloading and communicating. However, when it comes to the complexity of some school assignments, students are not sure where to begin. Because students have difficulty locating appropriate resources, if I provide lessons with differentiated instruction, examples, and a handout with concrete search strategies such as Boolean searches, pre-selected sites and specific databases, will they be more successful in stage two of the inquiry process ? THIS IS FINE.

Allison Smyka: Because we have had low turnouts to some of our literacy events, and because parental involvement is so vital in supporting literacy, if we promote our evening event aggressively, will we be more successful in attracting families? THIS IS FINE

Dianne DeVido How can I increase teacher knowledge of cyber bullying in order to provide a safe environment for students at schol and at home? This has to be a specific action. . . If I. . ..

Linda Waybrant Because students work on group writing projects and have difficulty staying on task and staying engaged, I would like to introduce wiki technology to address this area to one class in particular, the grade 10 Drama class. Since I have had some success with wikis informally (in the White Pine Book Club setting), I will be leading a workshop for interested staff once the Drama Wiki is created and the students have had a chance to explore its strengths. 

Debra Polgrain Because many students at Bowmore have not created a podcast, if I do a workshop with interested staff on how to use Audacity, and model for students and staff how it can be used, will staff/students include a podcast as a product option in future assignments.

Barton Burness Because my students have difficulty with understanding what they read, the purpose of the inquiry is to study tghe impact of Information or Nonfiction Literature Circles to improve their comprehension skills. If I teach students how to conduct information circles using the different roles, will student comprehension improve. Annotated Resource List For my annotated resource list, some of the best articles I chose and will be referring to the most are: 1. __Bridging the gap between fiction and nonfiction literature circle setting__. The authors were Debbie Stien and Penny L. Beed 2. __In the Company of Critical Thinkers__ by ReLeah Lent 3. __Conversation: The comprehension connection__ by Ann Ketch 4. __Literature Circles: a support document for grades 3-10__ by Myra Junyk Two excellent sources on “how to” do literature circles are: 1. __Literature Circles: Tools and Techniques to Inspire Reading Groups__ by Warren Rogers and Dave Leochko; and, 2. __Literature Circles: Voice and choice in the Student-Centered Classroom__ by Harvey Daniels

Carolyn Beaton: Because I have noticed teachers are not using the materials in our school's special collection directly related to character education (TDSB focus) and THESE are a part of a literacy program our school is piloting (We're Erasing Prejudice For Good), the purpose of my inquiry is to explore the impact of promoting these resources. If I strategically promote these resources demonstrating how to use them with students, will this increase the use of these materials and improve the efficacy of the literacy program.

Jennifer Derr I have observed that students in a grade six class are having relational issues leading to racial slurs. The purpose of this inquiry is, if I in collaboration with the teacher, create a research project around Character Education, will it better enable students to identify the issue and take action against racism.