I love the idea of dialogues, not debates that Dr. Craft brought up.

I asked this in the chat and got some really good advice from Abby and Meaghan but if anyone else wanted to contribute:

It sounds like thoughtful groups and group work are a foundation of Inquiry based learning.  With that being the case: How much agency do you suggest giving kids in having any degree of power over their groups?  How do you deal with a  " ew, I don't want to work with her " situation or two people really, really wanting to be together who actually do work well.  Do you let that have any influence, or do you make the groups and stick hard to them to maintain fairness?

I’d love to know how to create that sense of propulsiveness. I often have a vision but struggle to tie in/direct student replies. Thinking this is like the highest level of teaching and love the idea but would appreciate tips on how to structure a unit that is inquiry-based but/and purposeful in a way that makes kids feel safe… if that makes any sense? (This is Abbyjabroad from the session)

Maybe I missed someone sharing information that would have helped me with some struggles (especially with my first period class) that I have encountered when trying to implement inquiry and essential/compelling questions within my classroom.  What are some things I can do to help move my classroom forward in an inquiry based format when most or all of my students at the time are not wanting to talk (for various reasons)?

In one of the rooms I Co-taught in this year, we often used the Wheel of Names to get the conversation going.  By the end of the year, they would all be arguing with the wheel to pick/not pick them during the discussions.

But I would really appreciate more organic ways to up surly early morning 8th Grader invlovement.

I keep coming back to this idea about building community. Inquiry creates a natural environment in which students are curious and want to learn. As they work together in deliberate groups to solve problems or answer compelling questions, they learn to lean into each other's strengths, are responsible to one another for their collective learning, and allowing them to practice working together (being comfortable in the discomfort) as they will likely need to do in the "real" world. Metacognitive practice of reflecting on the process allows individuals to think about their personal experience, assess their progress, and note ah-ha moments or those that required resilience.

Thank you, Nisse! This is helpful.

I have found that Inquiry in my ancient world history class is a necessity, I really liked the Elaborate, communicate, and coordinate method of group work. I feel that it is a way for students to have freedom but maintain a structured conversation

the one thing I struggle with when doing inquiry  based practice is the role of the the content? how much content do I give or Front load? 

Last year I committed to facilitating a community circle every day. We physically stand/sit in a circle so everyone can see each other. Everyone gets a chance to be heard. I pose questions that are silly, get-to-know-you, would you rather, as well as thought-provoking ones like Should parents have to have a license before they have a child?, linked to content or goal-setting. I have a menu of canned questions, but often they are responsive to what's going on at school, in our classroom, or in our world. I took this idea from the 80% proactive approach in Restorative Practices as I struggled to build community and get to know my students with large class sizes in my move from private international schools abroad to a large public school here in WA state. The commitment and the time spent every day paid off in big ways to get students comfortable with taking, but always keeping the power to pass (that in very few cases led to a private conversation with the reluctant sharer to consider why it's so difficult to share). www.centerforrestorativeprocess.com/.../teaching_restorative_practices_manual.pdf