Inquiry Paths to Literacy Learning

At a time when society and schools are running at a faster-than-ever break neck pace, a purposeful move towards inquiry-focused learning is precisely the salve that can create more thoughtful and critically-minded students and teachers. What Elizabeth Kahn and her colleagues do in Inquiry Paths to Literacy Learning is provide an essential guide—collected from experts around the field of English Language Arts--to developing classes of students who thrive while pursuing deeper, nuanced understandings of issues important to them. -- Christian Z. Goering Ph.D, Professor, English Education, University of Arkansas, Director of the Northwest Arkansas Writing Project, Faculty Director of the Center for Children & Youth
This book puts the process of inquiry at front and center. Instead of merely touting the benefits of inquiry, the authors adeptly unite theory and practice by first presenting readers with a rich theoretical and historical backdrop for the concept of inquiry and next illustrating inquiry in action in English language arts classrooms. The depth of this book will reignite teachers and teacher educators’ excitement about the learning process. -- Heidi L. Hallman, Professor, Department of Curriculum and Teaching, University of Kansas
The editors of Inquiry Paths to Literacy Learning have curated an inspired approach to guided inquiry, one that teachers will find indispensable. Through cogent explanations and inspiring and well-crafted examples, this volume places guided inquiry right at the heart of literacy instruction, where it belongs. -- Deborah Appleman, Hollis L. Caswell Professor of Educational Studies
Kahn and her colleagues provide us with a remarkable approach to teaching English that harnesses students’ curiosity to engage them in real-world problem solving—and that’s also a lot of fun. Demonstrating admirable depth and breadth and rooted in the foundational research of George Hillocks, their advice covers a range of topics, from classroom instruction to service learning, from planning to assessment, from canonical literature to contemporary young adult texts, from whole-class instruction to small-group work, and from traditional classrooms to digital tools. Are you concerned that you and your students are just going through the motions? Would you like to turn up the dial on your students’ engagement in rigorous critical thinking? Is it time for you to cast a bolt of energy into your class discussions? Read this book, follow its promising practical advice, and stand back! -- Ken Lindblom, professor of English, Stony Brook University (SUNY)