Let's Make a Movie!

Yeah! We made an iMovie about our TLLP project and what inquiry-based teaching means to us. Check it out and let us know what you think!

Since we had so much fun creating our movie, we invited students to create their own iMovie for the ‘Space’ project.  The students picked an area of interest and began working in groups of 3 or 4.

Collaborative Work VS Solitary Work

Let’s consider point number three ‘Collaborative Work Versus Solitary Work’ from the list on our website. We have found that one of the most important strategies in inquiry-based learning is to create the culture of collaboration and small group work. Research shows, that in order for our students to be successful in the 21^st century, they will need to develop effective collaboration skills.

We teach our students how to build these skills with specific lessons. One lesson we use is called “Home Court Advantage: Showing Friendliness and Support “ developed by Nancy Steinke and shared on page 126 in “Comprehension and Collaboration” by Daniel Harvey and Stephanie Daniels.  At the beginning of the school year, we model and teach many lessons about how proficient collaborators think and act plus we show them what social strategies look and sound like. If you haven't started small group collaboration, you can develop and build these strategies anytime during the school year...'effective groups are made, not born.' 

Our students have lots of experience working in small groups so they were able to create groups quickly and start work on their iMovie projects. We were able to observe them listening actively, sharing and encouraging each other, and showing tolerance and respect. The students picked an area of interest, decided on a question, did their research and started working on their movie. It's amazing how quickly they can create movies and how easy it is for them to work together in small groups.  I can't wait to see their final product. 

How do you encourage group work? What does small group work look like in your classroom?