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The Independents Page Inquiry Question  How do inquiry based experiences create independent learners in our discipline?

Summaries of the Independents ===Kris: I have found that inquiry learning has been a growing experience for myself and students. This year my 8th graders did the "Artist Cube." I gave them the cube assignment guidlines and info on the artist and told them I was a supervisor "GO!" I have found thisw to be an interesting process, because they don't know how to be independent. My answer to their questions, "Go ask your group." After two days into the projects their independence grew. ===

Lorraine: Social Studies can be very dry, but NOT with inquiry based learning. My students were given the assignment of researching and presenting information so that the //other students would become engaged and learn from it.// They chose a collaborative partner, were given examples of different applications on the iPad, different web tools, and examples of ways to present. They are creating puppet shows, green screen videos, Popplet web presentations, and more. They have found ways to use the tools that I did not know existed, of course we are all learning from each other. The collaboration with each other and use of new tools motivated their learning!


 * Diane: This year I used inquiry learning as a springboard for student independence. My students took over the planning, design preparation as well as the performance of the concert. My students did everything from choosing music and conducting to the layout of the stage and lighting and order of the show as well as the concert programs and advertising. **
 * I have found that my students learned to find resource help from each other, parents and teachers. This broadened their learning because students utilized many sources and I feel that the concerts were a great collaborative learning opportunity. Parents and the community loved the shows. **

===Donna: Being a part of the Arts Educator 2.0 project has been an inspiring opportunity. Each year has brought challenge and allowed me to expand my teaching skills. As an instrumental music teacher, it is important for me to create hands on activities that promote progress and develop increased skill and musicianship. This year I was able to incorporate inquiry into my lessons and move the students to a deeper understanding of the music they practice and perform. We maximized rehearsals and created 21st century discussions using a wiki. Students researched and posted information on composers for the selections we were studying. The discussions focused on the "back story" and the intent of the composer. We moved from an exploration of imagery to the Russian 5, to nationalism. Student have related that they felt the orchestra was performing more expressively and that there was a more consistent effort to move beyond a mere translation of notation to a more interpretive performance of each work. In addition the students each selected a romantic era composer to research. They shared their research in a "sandbox" day where all of the students could view each others project and easily collect data. Their investigation brought forth reflections on how accessible the information was when presented in these projects, how interconnected the composers were, and how the musical style of the romantic era brought about so many changes and considerable advancement in technical demands on the players. The infusion of inquiry opened many new doors for the students this year. The wiki, the projects and the performances have created a new energy for the students and have changed their perspective on critical analysis of music they play and hear.===

Found this on EdWeek Update... [|Independence and Inquiry]