EEPD 2009:The Collaborative Inquiry

ProcessFarmington High SchoolNovember 3, 2009

Identification of Student Learning Needs

1. Pick a topic or concept or a skill that you think students never quite understand; something that you want students to understand or be able to do better. Describe what led you to pick this “problem of practice.”

2. Develop a plan to teach this topic, concept, or skill in a way that students will understand it deeply.

Our team will

Research relevant content and best pedagogical practices related to our goal to surface strategies for students to do the work of the discipline.

Develop common lesson plan(s) for the topic, concept, or skill our team is focused on. Included in this are common performance tasks and common assessment packages. Curriculum maps and curriculum map rubrics will be utilized in this process.

Participate in collaborative inquiry activities. These class visits will allow us to watch students do the work of the discipline in real time. We will attempt to answer the question “ How does the work of the students reflect an understanding of the topic/concept/skill being taught?”

The Collaborative Inquiry Process

Observational Data

Next Steps

Analysis

Our Problem of Practice

Students have difficulty developing and utilizing economic reasoning skills. 

Focus Question: Do students demonstrate their economic reasoning

about how supply and demand work in the real world?

Observational Data Collection: The Descriptive Framework

Teacher

ContentStudent

What is the teacher doing?

What is the teacher saying, and to whom?

What are the students doing?

What are the students saying, and to whom?

What is the nature of the academic task?

What are materials and technology used in the lesson, and who are they used by?

Adapted from CT Center for School Change, 2006

Analysis

The team begins to answer the focus question.

Next Steps

Based on what we saw and discussed, what are our next steps?

Examples include: What instructional decisions do we need

to make as a result of what we learned? What other research or work do we need

to do to improve the lesson? Are there certain students or groups that

we need to think about?

DOING THE WORK OF THE DISCIPLINE ECONOMICS

Thinking Like An Economist

Look at how people make choices under conditions of scarcity and of the results of those choices for society

Economists try to address their subjects with a scientist’s objectivity.

The economic way of thinking . . . o Involves thinking analytically and

objectively. o Makes use of the scientific

method (Develops theories, collects, and analyzes data to evaluate the theories.)

Examine own biases on an issue/revise thinking based on data (metacognition)

Ask Questions Like an

Economist or someone in the

market

Are the benefits greater than the costs? Who pays the costs and who gets the

benefits?

Do research like an economist

Develop a question related to a real

world/contemporary problem Carry out research using proper data Generate/collect data related to an

identified problem Participate in relevant simulations

Act Like an Economist or

Someone in the Market

Take an action if, and only if, the extra benefits from taking the action will be at least as great as the extra costs

Estimate costs and benefits/analysis Economists use models to simplify

reality in order to improve our understanding of the world

When economists are trying to explain the world, they are scientists.

When economists are trying to change the world, they are policy advisor.

Using the Terminology of

Economists

i.e. opportunity cost elasticity surplus demand supply

Use the tools of an economist

Calculators Supply and demand curves: Uses

abstract models to help explain how a complex, real world operates.

Spreadsheet Software Analytical Software

Video of a Teaching Episode

The Collaborative Inquiry Process

Observational Data

Next Steps

Analysis