PME801CollaborativeInquiry:DesignBriefbyCameronTruemanandNeilWestcott

Introduction
ThroughKF6,NeilinitiatedtheformationofagroupwithCamtotackletheissuessurrounding
collaborativeinquirywithEnglishLanguageLearners.Inourgroup,wecommunicatedviaemail
toestablishaspecificproblembrief.Initially,weconsideredwhetherCollaborativeInquiry(CI)
wouldbeausefultoolforstudentswhohavecommunicationbarrierssuchasstudentswith
autismorstudentswhosefirstlanguageisnotEnglish.Indeed,thetopicseemedmuchbroader
thanweanticipatedsoweagreedtonarrowthescopetolearnersinclassroomswhosefirst
languageisnotenglish.However,aswebegantheprocessofresearchingthetopicofCIfor
EnglishLanguageLearners(ELLs)wefoundnoevidencetosuggestthisapproachwouldbe
limitingandinfactallstudiesindicatethepositiveeffectsofCIonELLs.Sowhatwerethe
limitingfactorsthatpreventedCIinschoolswithELLstudents?

ProblemBrief
Awholeschoolapproach(i.e.achangeinschoolculture)tocollaborativeinquirywherebythis
ishowwedothingsaroundhere,willfosterabettersupportivelearningenvironmentfor
studentswhoareEnglishLanguageLearners.

Avisualoverviewofourproblembriefcanbefoundat:
https://www.mindomo.com/mindmap/fcc165b5d0d4427880cb4505a83842d1

CollaborativeProcess
WearrangedtomeetoveravideoSkypecall.Ourfirstmeetingwasacasualintroductionof
ourselves,wherewelive,ourbackgrounds,ourcurrentactivitiesandbrieflytouchedonthe
experiencessofarinthePMEprogram.Thiswasagoodopportunitytoestablishcommon
threadsandmakesomepersonalconnection.Furthermore,theintroductionworkedasan
icebreakertohelppavethepathforopendialogueregardingourprojecttopic.

Neil
livesinPhnomPenh,Cambodia
hasbeenteachingoverseasforadozenyears
interestsinEAL(EnglishasanAdditionalLanguage)
originallyfromtheTorontoareaandtaughttheirbeforegoingoverseas
isalsoenrolledinPME803OrganizationalLeadership
Cam
livesinOttawa,Ontario
receivedhisteachingdegreefromQueens
taughtinB.C.
hasrecentlybeeninvolvedwitheducationprogramdevelopmentforcultural/heritage
organizations
hastaughtoverseasforaThaiNGO

isalsoenrolledinPME803OrganizationalLeadershipandPME812Organizational
Learning

Webothagreedthatcollaborativeinquiryisapowerfultooltouseintheclassroomandthere
couldbemanydirectionsfromwhichwecouldapproachourtopic(e.g.whataboutcollaborative
learningforchildrenwithspecialneeds,whataboutculturaldifferencesinlearning?)However,
forthisproject,wewillkeepitsimpleandfocusoncollaborativeinquiryforstudentswhoarein
EnglishLanguageLearning(ELL)classes.Thereforewenarroweddownourtopicdiscussionto:
WhatarethelimitationstotheCollaborativemodelofinquiryforstudentswhoarelearning
EnglishasAnotherLanguage?

GoogleDocs
AfterourfirstSkypemeeting,wecreatedandsharedacoupleofGoogleDocssothatwecould
postasharedsynthesisofourdiscussions.Weusedanotheroneforsharinglinks,research
andourthoughtsaboutwhatwewereinvestigating.Thesedocumentsprovedtobean
invaluabletechnologyforusbecauseofthesignificanttimedifferencebetweentheplacesin
whichwelive.Withtheuseofcolourcodingforourindividualandcombinedthinking,wewere
abletopinpointthingsintheresearchorwhatwehadtalkedabouttomakethebestuseofour
timetalkingonSkype.Wefoundthatourtimedifferenceactuallyhelpedourcollaboration,
becauseitseemedliketherewasoneofusalwaysworkingonourinquiry.

FromoursecondSkypemeeting:
Timewasspentrunningthroughthelengthylistofreasonswhycollaborativeinquiryissucha
potentlearningtool.Amongthebenefits:helpingchildrentodevelopautonomyintheirlearning,
criticalthinkingskills,andasapowerfulvehicleforbuildingsocialskills.

Therefore,weconsidered,howmuchourinitialquestionaboutlimitationswouldberelevant?
Wesharedthatourinitialinvestigationsintothesubjectallleadtothesamefactnamelythat
collaborativeinquirywasthemostappropriatemethodofinstruction.Whatcameoutofour
discussionwaswhilethatmightbethecase,manyfactorsprecludecollaborativeinquiryfrom
beingaseffectiveasitotherwisemightbe,andotherfactorswhichimpededcollaborative
inquiryfromeverbeingadoptedatall.Thus,ourthinkingaboutlimitationswilllikelyreflectthe
factthatthereisadisconnectbetweenthetheoreticalandtheactual(ie.whatisandwhatought
tobe).

Wearticulatedtheproblemofsustainabilityanditsrelationtocollaboration.Ifcollaborative
learningstructuresarenotfosteredandbuiltupon,thenhowcananylearner,muchlessan
ELL,derivethemostoutofcollaboration?

Wethendiscussedbuildingcollaborativeinquiryprogramswithpeoplewhowerenotteachers.
Thishighlightedthefactthathavingsomebackgroundknowledgeandcommonunderstandings
aboutgoalsandaimsofaprogramareessential.Webothagreedmanyteachersare
illequippedprofessionallytosupporttheneedsoftheirELLsandwillserveasalimitationtothe

effectivenessofcollaborativeinquiryinwhichtheyinvolved.Thevalueofdiscussionand
supporttocreatemeaningfulinvestigationsisoneofthenecessitiesofanygoodinquiry
program.Wewonderedaboutteachertrainingandthebuyinnecessarytodriveinquiry
learning.Howdoweconvincesometeacherstoreplacewhattheyalreadyhaveandmethods
thattheyalreadyuse?

Anotherissuewetouchedonwasculture.Thereneedstobeacommonlanguageandsetof
beliefsaboutlearninglanguagethatdrivesaprogramofcollaborativeinquiry.IfELLstudents
arenotsupportedbytheconsistentuseoflanguageatschool,thentheyarenotbeing
supportedaswellastheyshouldbe.Sharedcultureincreasesthechancesofagroupofpeople
havingasharedsocialandacademiclanguage.Whenschoolsaremadeupofsignificant
differentethnicgroups,itislesslikelythatstudentswillcometoschoolwithsuchashared
language,whichmakescollaborationlessaccessibleunlessthelanguageistaughtexplicitlyto
allstudents.Inessence,bothstudentcultureandschoolcultureimpactheavilyonthesuccess
ofanyschoolprogramandinquirylearningisnodifferent.

Terms
EnglishLanguageLearners(ELL):
Studentswhosefirstlanguageisalanguageotherthan
english.
SocialJustice:
Fairandequaldistributionoflearningopportunitiesinordertoeliminate
marginalizationofstudentsinschools
Inclusion:
ValuingstudentsandtheirfamiliesbyplacingtheircultureandlearningofEnglishat
thecentreoftheschoolcommunity.
PullOut:
removesELLsfromtheclassroomforpartofadayfortargetedlanguageinstruction.
PushIn:
ELLteachergoesintoamainstream(homeroom)classtoworkwithELLs.

SolutionPrototype
Westartedtoframeouranswerbasedonresearchfromanumberofsources.Itwasbecoming
clearthatawholeschoolapproachtoCollaborativeInquiryprovidedthebestchancesfor
successfulELLprogramstoflourish.AccordingtoLeadingInclusiveELL:SocialJustice
LeadershipforEnglishLanguageLearners,GeorgeTheoharisandJoanneOToolearguedthat
althoughteachers,students,parents,andotherstaffhaveasubstantialroleintheexecutionof
CIinschools,itreallybeginswithstrongleadershipfromtheprincipal.

Whenprincipalsviewlanguageasaproblem,theyconsequentlyviewlanguagelearnersas
havingproblemsthatneedtobefixed(Crawford,2004),anorientationthathasthepotentialto
negativelyaffectthequalityandtypeofservicetheyareprovided(Reyes,2006).Whenprincipals
viewlanguageasaright,theypromotesocialjusticeforELLsandworktoprovidethemequal
accesstoeducationalopportunities.(Crawford,2004).

Inthiscontext,aschoolprincipalbelievesinandisresponsiblefor:
aninquirymodelofeducation
theneedfor,andisabletodrive,achangeinthinkingatschoolifnecessary

valuesaninclusivecommunityoflearners
willingtoadvocateonbehalfoftheirmostmarginalizedstudents,whoareoftenELLs.
addressesequityissues
promotingsocialjusticeissues
raisingequityconcerns
supportinginclusivepractices
addressandeliminatesmarginalization

Teachers/SupportStaff
Wecontinuedtofindsupportiveevidencethatprincipalsactingalonewasnotenoughto
deliverysuccessfulmodelsofCIinschoolsandthatclassroomteachers,ELLteachersand
supportstaff(thisincludeslibrarians)werehighlymotivatedtoparticipateaslongasthey
receivedsupport,
throughinformedinquiryandcollaborativeplanning,alloftheseeducatorstakechargeoftheir
educationalprograms(Shaw,2003)andcustomizelearningenvironmentsforELLsinawaythat
reflectslocalcontextualfactorsasitaddressesthelearnersdiverseneeds.(August&Hakuta,
1998).

SuccessrateinschoolsforCIdependedonallteachersandsupportstaffwhoembraced:
aconstructivistviewoflearning
ateamapproachtoteaching
acompetenceindesigningprocessassignments
acommitmenttodevelopinginformationliteracy
apushinmodelofsupportingELLs
leadingcollaborativeteamsinattendingtolanguagestructuresnecessaryforlearning
languageinaregularclassroom
Contentareateachersandlibrarians:
Mustseethemselvesaslanguageteachersfirstandforemost,evenitisthroughalens
whichmakesthecontentclearerfortheirstudents
AllowforcollaborationwithteachersfromotherdisciplinesandtheELLsupportteacher
Allteachersmust:
Developacommonunderstandingofacademicvocabularyusedintheirschoolculture
andbefaithfulaboutusingit
Definewhatwedohereandhowwedoit
Professionaldevelopmentmustinclude:
Continualupdating,addingandbuildingtothelexiconofstrategiesthateachteacheris
abletodrawontosupportELLsintheirclassroomonavarietyoflevels

Students,ParentsandCommunity
AllplayakeyroleinensuringELLsbuildfromtheircollaborativelearningandcontinueto
succeedintheirdevelopment.

Studentsbenefitwhenthey:

makeasincerecommitmenttolearningandtothedevelopmentofcooperativeskillsin
theclassroom
pursuevariousopportunitiesoutsidetheclassroomtoenrichtheirlearning
seekoutrecreationalreadingmaterialsandmultimediaworksinEnglishandtheirhome
languagetoextendtheirknowledgeoftheworldaroundthem
engageinconversationwithparents,peers,andteachersaboutwhattheyarereading,
writing,andlearning
takeincreasingresponsibilityfortheirownprogressandlearning.

TosupportCIinenglishlanguagelearners,parentsarestronglyencouragedto:
readtotheirchildren,inthehomelanguageand/orEnglish,onaregularbasis
becomefamiliarwiththecurriculumandwhattheirchildrenareexpectedtolearnat
school
involvetheirchildrenintalkingabouttheirschoolexperiences
attendparentteacherinterviews
speakwiththeirchildsteacherorappropriateschoolpersonnelwhenevertheyhave
questionsorconcernsabouttheprogramortheirchildsprogress
participateinparentworkshopsandothercommunityeventswhichhelpthemtolearn
moreabouttheOntarioschoolsystem
encouragetheirchildrentodevelopandmaintainactiveuseofthehomelanguage
partnereffectivelywithschoolstafftohelptheirchildrenachievetheirgoals.

Thecommunitycansupportstudentsliteracyandlearningneedsbybeinglivingmodelsofhow
thecurriculumrelatestolifebeyondschool.Communitypartnerscanbeinvitedto:
connectnewfamiliesimmediatelywithacontactpersonofthesamecultural/language
background,asettlementworker,oracommunityserviceprovider
shareinformationaboutorstartacommunitybasedhomeworkclubs
collaboratewithschoolboardstooffer:
communitybasedliteracyprogramsforyouthinschools,publiclibraries,and
communitycentres
avarietyofotherschoolbasedsupports,suchasbreakfastclubsandrecreation
programs
workshopsbasedonfamiliesneedsandinterests(e.g.,completingincometax
returns,jobsearches,andinterviewskills)
offerinformationandorganizeworkshopsandeventsforfamiliestoprovideadditional
informationontheOntarioschoolsystem,aswellasonpostsecondarypathways
providelinkstoCitizenshipandImmigrationCanadaandothergovernmentand
communityprogramswhichprovidesupportfornewcomers
offeraschoolvolunteertrainingprogramtobuildparentconfidenceandinvolvement
(e.g.,sessionsprovidingcoachingonbeingareadingbuddyoralibraryassistant)
fostermentoringservices(e.g.,parentmentorsforotherparents,communitymentorsfor
parents,parentmentorsforstudents,orcommunitymentorsforstudents).

ConclusionandRecommendationsforFurtherInquiry
Formanyschools,itmustbeveryfrustratingknowingthatwhatisisnotinalignmentwith
whatoughttobe.ForstudentswhoareEnglishlanguagelearners,thisfrustrationwillbe
detrimentalasacademicoutcomesarelessthanaverage,dropoutratesgrow(Crawford,2004)
andmarginalizationofELLspasscriticallevels(Theoharis,2007).Progressisbeingmadeas
moreschoolsadoptCImodelstohelpELLstudentssucceedintheclassroom,however,
inhibitorssuchas:lackoftime,confusionofrolesandpoorlydesignedassignmentsprevent
manyschoolsfrommovingforward.But,undertheguidanceofastrongadministration,awhole
schoolapproachtoCIwillenableteacherstotuneinwithcolleaguestodevelopinclusivelesson
plansandengagestudentsinasafe,andfunlearningspace.

Itisnecessarytoviewthecollaborativeprocessintermsoftheelectronicworldinwhichwelive.
Asschoolscontinuetobuildtheirtechnologicalinventory,itisimporttoconsiderhowthese
resourcescancontributetotheoverallsuccessofthelearner.Specifically,howwillthis
technologyimpactonthelearnerandwhattoolscancontributetocollaborativeinquiryforELL
students?SincecontinuationofELLscollaborativeinquirybeyondtheclassroomisideal,itmay
beworthwhileexploringthisquestioninthefuture.

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