Jeannie Martin uses student questions and responses to shape inquiry in her English literature class. She assigns provocative readings and asks students to identify important questions, which she compiles and uses to frame the "big questions" that will guide inquiry. She puts students in teams to explore the questions, applying protocols to ensure all students participate. Jeannie facilitates team discussions to help critical thinking, while teams also present summaries to the full class. This collaborative process allows students to engage deeply with complex issues and develop important thinking skills.

1. ART OF TEACHING: ENGAGING STUDENTS IN INQUIRY LEARNING
Vignette #1
Building Inquiry from Student Response
First Year ~ English Literature Class
This chapter offers insight into the question: How can professors effectively use
input and responses from students to help shape the questions for inquiry?
Through reflecting on her teaching and students’ learning experiences, Jeannie
Martin has developed a strategy that helps first year students develop the Jeannie Martin
collaborative skills and critical thinking processes necessary for engaging in
meaningful inquiry related to provocative human issues and compelling moral Summary of Themes:
dilemmas.  Students define powerful
questions from readings
Jeannie begins by assigning readings that are rich in controversy and & research
complexity. They offer students portrayals of human experience that are meant  Professor shapes class
to provoke them emotionally and intellectually. In preparation for team inquiry dialogue and inquiry
and dialogue, she asks students to identify the questions from reading the from students’ questions
literature that they found most salient and puzzling. She then assembles the  Inquiry teams of 4
collection of questions that have been written on cards, and from her summary guided by collaborative
frames the “big questions” that represent what is most compelling for the learning protocols
students.  Authentic and ongoing
feedback & assessment
Jeannie then engages the whole class in a summary of the “big questions”
and invites initial discussion. While she respects the power of whole class
discussion to launch some new ideas, she also is very aware of the limitations:
1) that the most confident and most verbal of the students tend to predominate
and 2) if she wants all students to learn the process of thoughtful inquiry, they
need time and safe context in which they can formulate mindful analysis of the
questions, decide on a specific interpretation or position, and select evidence
from the literature to support their thinking.
To create a safe haven for critical thinking, Jeannie teaches the students basic
protocols for teamwork; that is, how to involve all participants in teams of four,
how to summarize and record ideas, and how to present the summary of key
insights to the whole class. As the teacher, she facilitates student inquiry during
team time by moving about from team to team, clarifying, challenging and
facilitating their exploration of the questions.
The vignette ends with a reporting out of team ideas, followed by a brief
discussion of the means of student assessment.