Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0871207192, Paperback)
After the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, many people questioned why no one had anticipated the terrorists' acts, even when events and intelligence seemed to point toward them. John Barell wonders if the attacks speak to a greater societal problem of complacency. He believes many students have become too passive in their learning, accepting information and "facts" as presented in textbooks, classes, and the media. Drawing on anecdotes from educators and his own life, Barell describes practical strategies to spur students' ability and willingness to pose and answer their own questions. Antarctica expeditions, outer space discoveries, dinosaur fossils, literature, and more help define the importance of developing an inquisitive mind, using such practices as
* Maintaining journals on field trips,
* Using questioning frames and models when reading texts,
* Engaging in critical thinking and problem-based learning, and
* Integrating inquiry into curriculum development and the classroom culture. To become habits of mind, students' daily curiosities must be nurtured and supported. Barell draws a vivid map to guide readers to "an intelligent revolution" in which schools can become places where educators and students imagine and work together to become active citizens in their society.
(retrieved from Amazon Tue, 19 Apr 2011 21:20:28 -0400)
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(4.5)
Wikipedia in English
1
John Barell, states in his insightful book Developing More Curious Minds, that student questions are the attainment of the highest thinking skills. Some will be tempted to take this thesis for granted. But think of actual classroom practice. Too often, in most of our classrooms, student questions are a distraction from our plan and our pacing. Listening to questions, thoughtfully responding to questions, guiding students to discover their own answers to questions rather than supply the answers for them takes time and skill. Time is the one thing most of have in very, very short supply.
But Barell gently reminds us that questions signal thought processing which is the goal of effective classroom interaction. This book is unique in that Barell offers actual teaching practices and ideas to facilitate higher order thinking in our classrooms. Developing More Curious Minds details how to teach for student inquiry.
Too many books declare the importance of inquiry teaching. But after the studies are noted and the experts quoted, there are very few pages left for the actual implementation of inquiry-oriented teaching. It's About Time that a book came along that speaks to "how" to reach and develop curious minds. I was glad to finally read a book that quotes and highlights the practices of other learning specialists and educators in the field. I especially liked the student responses and the modeling of effective inquiry teaching practices.
Anyone who has opened a computer's user manual knows that effort is the key to success. I may know what all the words in the user's manual mean, but only when I attempt to carry out their instruction is success a possibility. IQ alone will not equal technological competence or school and life success. Only communication through thoughtful response in an environment that encourages a free exchange of ideas will meet the inquisitive, curious minds of our students. Developing More Curious Minds does just that. (