Reading Prompt #6

Reading Prompt: Describe an inquiry or problem solving activity appropriate for ELLs that you have used, participated in, read about, or just now thought of. Describe which critical thinking skills it requires students to use and develop. Then, describe how this activity supports language and content learning for ELLs. Finally, comment on how podcasting could be used within the inquiry and problem solving process in a manner which supports language and content learning for ELLs.


An inquiry, according to Egbert Chapter 6, is a process of discovery where the student goes through stages of questioning, reflecting and research. Examples of such activities would be library research and historical event research just to name a few. He also stated that problem solving is defined as making accurate observations, finding and organizing information, predicting, synthesizing and using higher order thinking.

An example of an inquiry and problem solving activity would be a WebQuest activity called "Transform your City/Transforma tu Ciudad". I read about WebQuests in an online professional development course I participated in through the district I work for.

WebQuests are inquiry-oriented activities in which most or all the information used by the learners is drawn from the web. WebQuests are designed to have learners use their time to research through the net, which supports higher order thinking, such as analysis, synthesis and evaluation. There are many WebQuests created by teachers on the internet. WebQuests are usually made up of the following sections:

-Introduction: Developed to capture the interest of the learners.
-Task: This section describes the activities and the end product.
-Process: This section describes the strategies the students may take to complete the tasks.
-Resources: This section includes websites and links selected by the teacher that can be used to complete the assignment.
-Conclusion: In this section the learner reviews what the results should be.
-Evaluation: This section is where the students view the rubric and where the students are encouraged to reflect on the process and results performed.

In this particular WebQuest the students research their city's past, explore it's present and it's future. Students are tasked to create informative oral presentations while working in small groups. They are tasked to use traditional sources such as enyclopedias and periodicals. The students are also asked to view specific internet links and search the websites for pertinent information. They must browse through the information on the site and pick and choose what information they need. Students will then create booklets to document their research within their small groups. This WebQuest is bilingual, it's in both Spanish and English. The teacher can give specific tasks for each individual in each of the small groups.

The critical thinking skills used and developed in this activity are:
-Distinguishing between fact and opinion. Students will be searching websites and deciding in groups whether the information is fact or an opinion.
-Distinguishing relevant from irrelevant information. Students must be able to decide what information they need to complete the tasks. Within their groups they can discuss the importance of specific information and discard the rest.
-Indentify unstated assumptions. The groups must be able to fully understand the information provided in the sites and discuss in groups any assumptions, especially when discussing and imagining the city's future.

The link for this WebQuest is: http://home.comcast.net/~battla44/Bogota2015/webquest.htm
(If anyone has any trouble opening this link let me know in class).

This WebQuest activity supports language and content learning for ELL's by providing the activity in both English and Spanish and by having the students work in small groups to discuss and dissect the information. In addition, in this activity the students are learning through metacognitive stategies. They are learning by exploring and doing the research themselves instead of sitting in class listening to the teacher talk about the research. They are also acquiring knowledge through trial and error. While in their groups they are able to discuss the meaning of each article and develop an understanding while correcting each other. They are also reviewing the articles and information on each site in order to decide its usefulness. Throughout the WebQuest the students will be learning language by asking each other questions and making conclusions about language and text meaning.

Podcasting could support language and content learning by completing daily practice lessons recorded by their teacher. This activity could provide inquiry by questioning the meaning of what the teacher said on the recording, reflecting and maybe researching for the answer.

Another example of a Podcasting activity that supports language learning is a recording by an English speaking student asking questions that the non-English speaker must answer or repond to. In this activity the student demonstrates inquiry by reflecting and maybe questioning himself or others in search for an answer. He also demonstrates problem solving by answering higher order questions that require predicting or synthesizing. If the student has trouble with answering a question he/she could research and find information that would develop an answer.

The Podcast provides the student with the opportunity to inquire and problem solve. The student is participating in an active process thus acquiring language learning through trial and error. The student may discuss with his peers the correct answer and be corrected in this discuss. The student will also be able to apply the strategies he or she already knows and come up with conclusions about language.