Why did you choose to be part of this book club?

[Kristin Fontichiaro]

The idea for this book club came out of a Twitter conversation Beth and I, and soon others, were having. But I'm curious to know ... what tickled your fancy about this online adventure?

[Raya Samet]

Quite honestly, it's just hard for me to stop following Kristin around doing whatever she does. :-) But seriously, I think that this international cohort linking up to do some self-directed professional development is exciting. I have been meaning to learn more about inquiry circles, and this is an excellent opportunity to get a feel for how an online book club can work, while at the same time exchanging ideas with some brilliant librarians.

[Kristin Fontichiaro]

Awww, leave it to my former student to be the first to reply! Trust me - it's a mutual admiration society, and you guys will love having her as a colleague!

[Kelly Brannock]

I'm really excited about the chance to do some prof development with this cohort! What a great way to do some learning and connecting... not to mention the importance of the book topic. I'm thinking that this will get me far more engaged in the ideas than I could hope for by reading on my own. (And if things go as I expect, then this could be just the start of many similar learning opportunities!)

Anxiously waiting for my book and looking forward to hearing from other members of our learning circle.

Kelly

[Donna Bills]

Several years ago when computers had blinking green cursors and before I became a librarian, I taught an eighth grade earth science class with an out-of-date horridly boring textbook. So, I put the book on the shelf, and taught the class through a series of research units, using all of the print and video resources I could scrounge from libraries and our education service center. The next year we adopted a beautiful slick textbook with lots of "bells an whistles" that should have captivated the students. To my surprise, at the time, it was the he previous year's students who learned the most. They were the ones who were captivated by authentic self-directed learning. That experience was one of the reasons I became a librarian.

In the years that have passed since then, I have become entangled in the day to day stresses of fixed scheduling, dwindling support personnel and the drill and practice culture of high stakes testing. I am really looking forward to a renewal of passion for inquiry learning by discussing this book with others who have a common interest in the subject.

[Annie Davis]

I joined because I work in a district where I, unfortunately, am rather isolated from the rest of the school library world. I'm a relatively new TL and am hungry to learn as much as I can, and I know I will learn more in a group than alone. I am really excited about this!

[Paula Daubert]

Inquiry learning sounds like a hot topic and I can't wait to read the book! My principal took all my tables away so I try to use my 6 library computers as much as I can to get the 4th and 5th graders off the floor and into something engaging. I am really looking forward to this discussion and hearing ideas on how I can use this in an elementary library.

[Kristin Fontichiaro]

Hmmm ... where did the tables end up? Sounds like an endless picnic in your space!

[Donna Bills]

We went without tables in the library for the first semester.when our school was new. t was kind of like extended summer camp.

[Kristin Fontichiaro]

Whew - thought it was some wacky "let's take all the furniture away and create a kind of Japanese tea house" scheme. :)

[Leslie Maniotes]

Hi ALL! I am so happy that Kristin created this group. Beth invited me to it on twitter and I am really excited. It speaks very closely to some of the work that I have been doing and thinking about for the past 5 years.

In our book Guided Inquiry: Learning in the 21st Century(Kuhlthau, Maniotes, Caspari 2007) I developed the concept of Inquiry Circles springboarding off of Daniel's Literature Circles. A year prior I had completed an ethnography a fourth grade classroom using literature circles and saw the power of them for students when they had good guidance and support from a thoughtful caring teacher. From that experience I saw that this approach could be used in an information environment and I came up with the idea of inquiry circles (p 43-45) In my notion of inquiry circles I saw the jobs as a way for students to dig into information literacy skills within the inquiry process. I felt that teachers and librarians together could tailor the jobs that the students do to match the information search they were engaging in order to scaffold the learning of 21st century skills. The circles would provide the collaborative environment and setting needed to do meaningful research. Through inquiry circles students would be working on the strategies that Kuhlthau laid out from her research on interventions in the inquiry process (conversing, charting, composing, choosing, continuing, & collaborating) (p139)

Daniels sees inquiry circles as a way to improve comprehension. I question this. I wonder whether or not when we are doing things for authentic purposes if comprehension is inherent. I question the need to push comprehension in this setting for all children. I know that some students continue to need support for their comprehension, but wonder if this is the best use of inquiry circles.

I am very interested to read this text and learn from this group about varying perspectives on inquiry circles and will bring a critical stance to the process. Looking forward to this conversation.

[Kristin Fontichiaro]

So Leslie, your perspective is that authenticity (not necessarily the use of lit circles) inherently leads to comprehension?

[Leslie Maniotes]

That is my perspective. I see heaps of value in circles, just question the over teaching of comprehension strategies, when learning can be layered as in natural environments.

The circles offer an opportunity to hone in on certain behaviors or skills that we would like to enhance and strengthen. My question is in Inquiry Circles what are the most useful skills to hone in on? IF kids are asking their own questions and have real curiosities that they are responding to in inquiries, I would bet that comprehension strategies might not need to be the focus. And when do we stop teaching comprehension and start teaching info literacy at the core- how to locate, evaluate and use information to create new knowledge and understandings.

But I haven't read this book yet...that is my preconceived notion about language literacy and learning. :)