Top Ten Inquiry Books
1. Teaching as a Subversive Activity
Neil Postman & Charles Weingartner
The original inquiry manifesto written decades ago (1969); also, the most dog-eared book in Kimberly’s education library. Still.
Kath Murdoch
Written by one of the most accessible writers and creative inquiry-based practitioners today.
3. Teaching with Your Mouth Shut
Donald L. Finkel
One of our favorite books on inquiry to recommend to college-level professors.
4. The Best Class You Never Taught
Alexis Wiggins
By the creator of Spider Web discussions (and daughter of late education thought leader, Grant Wiggins).
4. Beautiful Questions in the Classroom
Warren Berger
Berger is a lovely storyteller and compelling question-asker. His latest book is written with K-12 educators in mind.
5. Choice Words
Peter H. Johnston
A practical, inspiring book on why what we say matters.
Judith Wells Lindfors
Dr. J.W. Lindfors’ fascination of how students theorized about the world was ahead of its time.
Carol Kuhlthau, Leslie Manolitis, Ann Caspari
One of the best process and research-backed guides for implementing inquiry.
Colin Seale
How to teach critical thinking and questioning skills using law school techniques.
Trevor MacKenzie
This book is brimming with exuberance and example’s of MacKenzie’s own high school experiences with inquiry.
10. Syllabus
Lynda Barry
The jaw-dropping artistry of a born inquiry teacher.
Top Ten Inquiry Videos and Podcasts
1. Teach Teachers How To Create Magic, Chris Emdin
Professor from Columbia Teachers College urges educators to learn from those who students learn from outside of formal education environments; pedagogical magic can be taught!
2. Five Principles of Extraordinary Math Teaching, Dan Finkel
This talk is nothing short of revolutionary. Each of the five principals are relevant to every inquiry classroom, regardless of subject or grade level. Dan’s radio-style voice alone is worth a listen.
3. The Power of Ummmm…, Kath Murdoch
A compelling look at the environments that foster true curiosity (“wonder bubbles”) and how to create them in the most unusual of places: the classroom. Part of this talk includes a short video of students’ wonders; super cute!
4. What’s the Value of a Teacher, Alan November
The rejoinder for this title should be “What’s the value of a teacher…in an age where information is plentiful, cheap and easy to come by?” Alan is an incredibly entertaining speaker on the importance of teaching media literacy skills.
5. Who Owns the Learning? Most Likely to Succeed film (Innovation Playlist)
Watch anxiously as a group of new ninth graders begin their first day in an inquiry-based setting. Observe how their teacher sets up a Socratic Seminar asking students to immediately take charge of their own learning.
6. College Lectures are about as Effective as Bloodletting, Carl Wieman
Dr. Wieman is a Nobel Physicist from Stanford and he doesn’t mince words. Powerful evidence that active, student-led learning works.
7. Three Rules to Spark Learning, Ramsey Musallem
A chemistry teacher shares the life-threatening experience that saved him from “pseudo-teaching” for years.
8. Oracy in the Classroom, School 21, London, England
Watch as students learn to share ideas, back up their claims, and speak with purpose with sophistication rarely seen at such a young age.
9. School in the Cloud, Sugata Mitra
Innovator places a computer inside a wall in India. Magic unfolds as children in the village use the power of their own curiosity to make this contraption work.
10. Caine’s Arcade, Caine Monroy
Watch a 9-year old create an elaborate arcade at his dad’s auto parts store. Then cry with joy as the community comes to play!
Top Ten Inquiry Organizations
Math for Love teaches mathematics in its whole context. Mathematics begins by playing… with games, puzzles, patterns, shapes, numbers, structures, rules, and ideas. From there, you observe and ask questions. Owning your question leads to the rest: refinement, searching for solutions, discovering the connections that allow you to not just solve but understand your problem, and finally, rigorous writing and presentation of your solution.
2. Galileo Educational Network
The Galileo Educational Network creates, promotes and disseminates innovative teaching and learning practices through research, professional learning and fostering external collaborations.
Liberating Structures are easy-to-learn ‘microstructures’ that enhance relational coordination and trust. They foster lively participating in groups of any size, making it possible to include and unleash everyone. Liberating Structures spark inventiveness by minimally structuring the way we interact while liberating content or subject matter.
4. Youcubed
Youcubed’s goal is to inspire, educate and empower teachers of mathematics, transforming the latest research on math into accessible and practical forms. Based on the latest research on how to teach math well and how to bring about high levels of student engagement and achievement.
5. Visible Thinking (Project Zero)
Visible Thinking has a double goal: on the one hand, to cultivate students' thinking skills and dispositions, and, on the other, to deepen content learning. This means curiosity, concern for truth and understanding, a creative mindset, not just being skilled but also alert to thinking and learning opportunities and eager to take them.
6. ThinkLaw
ThinkLaw helps educators teach critical thinking to all students using real life-legal cases. They offer tools, guides, and coaching based on real-life cases. They find that the law’s Socratic questions methods make it easy for teachers to ask questions that build student critical thinking skills. “Critical thinking should not be a luxury good.”
7. Edutopia
Supported by Lucas Education Research, Edutopia is dedicated to transforming K-12 education so that all students can acquire and effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to thrive in their studies, careers, and adult lives. Founded by innovative and award-winning filmmaker George Lucas in 1991, they take a strategic approach to improving K-12 education.
8. Critical Thinking Consortium
The consortium’s aim is to work in sound, sustained ways with educators and related organizations to inspire, support and advocate for the infusion of critical, creative and collaborative thinking as an educational goal and as a method of teaching and learning.
9. Education for Liberation Network
A grassroots movement that provides resources and inspiration that reminds us of the ultimate purpose of education: to create a more just society.
10. PBL Works
Project-based learning and inquiry go hand-in-hand. PBL Works offers a justice-centered, research-based set of professional development resources that are second to none.
Top Ten Inquiry Blogs
1. What Ed Said
A prolific and concise blogger, Edna Sackson writes from the perspective of an International Baccalaureate (Primary Years) coach and elementary level inquiry-focused practitioner. Founder of global community blog Inquire Within.
“It is our position that all learning should result in substantive personal and social change (as opposed to academic training).” Chock full of terrific podcasts from practitioners and thought leaders. Type “inquiry” in the search bar and have at it!
3. Mind/Shift
This San Francisco-based public news organization dedicates staff to smart journalism in education innovation. This is my ‘touchstone’ site for carefully-researched innovations.
Teacher nerds unite through this stylish blog and podcast created by Jennifer Gonzalez. You can learn how to pronounce the word “pedagogy” here!
5. Atelierista
Teacher Anna Golden documents her studio-style classroom with early learners, providing transcripts, photos and easy-to-digest ideas. Poetic!
Kath’s wonderings are provocative, honest and refreshingly clear-eyed. She frequently shares her journeys to inquiry-based schools around the world, and actively solicits feedback from her community of readers.
Thoughts on “Being purposeful, working from within, seeking simplicity, being timely, making friends with curriculum, understanding the power of mood, making space, and pursuing wisdom.”
International inquiry teacher, Cindy Kaardal, does a terrific job of sharing how she manages time in an elementary classroom that favors student agency and integrates technology. Lots of fun photos to complement the text.
A brave and unabashedly honest look at teaching, policy, and politics written by an award-winning teacher.
Nancy Bacon offers a brilliant four-part structure to create inquiry-focused trainings for adults that motivates them to take action.