Part 1, The Sharing Phase of Inquiry Learning: Introduction

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The Sharing Phase of Inquiry Learning is very important. I liken it to a sponge which is saturated with water. However, if no one ever squeezes the water out of the sponge, it will eventually turn smelly and old as it simply sits in the sponge. Students, who have worked through all the other phases of guided inquiry, will generally look forward to sharing their learning. In the next few blog posts I will discuss the aspects of that sharing. I felt that neither of our class texts provided much information on this topic. So I decided to ask the journalistic questions of Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How in order to drill down into the concept of sharing one's learning. I feel that there is some overlap with the Creating phase of the Inquiry Process. In both phases, students must be aware of their audience. I am leaving the research essay on the creating side of things. However, the essay may be the foundation for the sharing which takes place next. In fact, in many science or heritage fairs, students are asked to have their research essay available. Most people do not read it though since they look at the display or model or artifacts shared by the student.

Over the past few weeks, as I have been preparing to write about the sharing phase, I have also been preparing to share my learning as the presenter of a Twitter workshop. Since July 2009, I have been on Twitter--in effect, doing my own inquiry learning about how it works. Yesterday, I presented the workshop to four adults. I went through all of the stages of this sharing process. I will tell you a little about my experience of sharing as I wend my way through these blog posts.

The next blog post will address the Who and the What of the sharing phase. (Click here.)