{"id":2,"date":"2019-12-11T17:58:23","date_gmt":"2019-12-11T17:58:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/waterinquiry\/?page_id=2"},"modified":"2020-07-22T21:18:59","modified_gmt":"2020-07-23T01:18:59","slug":"about","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/waterinquiry\/about\/","title":{"rendered":"About the Water Inquiry Project"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

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Why Water?<\/em><\/strong> Insights from Educators<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

\u201cI wish every subject were like water. Kids like everything about it, and it\u2019s probably the most ubiquitous and magical substance around us,\u201d reflected art teacher Bob Hepner in a July 2015<\/a> Water Inquiry teacher workshop. Educators continually add to the list of reasons for studying water: \u201cIt\u2019s everywhere. It keeps changing forms. It sustains life. We have to improve how to manage it as a resource.\u201d They are struck by the \u201cvigor and persistence with which their students develop water questions, theories and explanations.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

Children\u2019s perspectives are equally enthusiastic and aptly distilled by one third grader\u2019s reflections in her nature journal: \u201cI love studying water.\u201d Students\u2019 curiosities provide a wellspring of energy from which to begin water investigations: \u201cGoing out in a downpour, looking up at clouds, peering down storm drains and watching the river after a storm, were moments that stood out for teachers because their students were deeply engaged in trying to explain phenomena in their world\u201d (June 2016<\/a>).<\/p>\r\n

Questions about water offer multiple points of entry for cross-disciplinary study consistent with Next Generation Science and Engineering practices, Common Core English Language Arts Standards, and STEM to STEAM. Where does water come from? Where does water go? Why is water important? How does water travel? How does water get clean (and what makes it dirty)? Can water run out?<\/em> These questions, often formulated from children\u2019s \u201cfirst thoughts,\u201d guide curricular practices by connecting students and teachers to the relevancy and urgency of confronting complex interactions between humans and water.<\/p>\r\n

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How does Water Inquiry work to improve ideas?<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

To cultivate problem-solving skills and prepare children for the challenges of the 21st<\/sup> century, the Water Inquiry project shapes learning experiences with an eye towards the kinds of thinking needed to engage in \u201creal world\u201d discourse. At our July, 2015<\/a> teacher workshop, professor Al Rudnitsky spoke of the project\u2019s alignment with idea-centered learning and Next Generation Science and Engineering practices, particularly the framework of \u201casking questions, constructing explanations, and planning and carrying out investigations.\u201d He posed a question that guided collaborative research: How do we design learning environments where [the] kind of thinking [encouraged by NGSS] can take place?<\/em><\/p>\r\n

Water Inquiry student researchers design learning environments and classroom resources informed by inquiry-based learning, knowledge-building discourse, and teaching as story-telling. In 2017, Water Inquiry launched the first in a series of interactive stories: Inquiry, Inc. and the<\/em> Case of the Missing Ducklings<\/em><\/a>. The illustrated picture book integrates these methodologies through the characterization of plucky protagonists who embody guiding principles:\u00a0taking the lead when solving real-world problems, engaging in lively discourse, and modeling inquiry strategies.<\/span>\u00a0Their work, like the work of Water Inquiry students, makes a difference beyond book-pages, and even classroom walls. Learning alongside these characters, children become confident that their ideas matter. This mindset is captured by one first grader who displayed her innovative storm-drain model to classmates:\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0\u201cI think people could really make a drain like ours with a scooper. So maybe we can share our ideas and they will build it. Cause we know a lot about drains now. And ducklings!\u201d (<\/em>January 2017<\/a>).<\/em>\u00a0Her exclamation reveals the importance of integrating direct experience with conscious reflections on the learning process, and demonstrates the possibility of “reengineering” not only water infrastructure, but also how we think<\/em> about water and our relationship to it.<\/p>\r\n

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Who can participate, and how?<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

Water Inquiry welcomes all forms of interest and collaboration; as the character Silvia says at the end of our Missing Ducklings<\/em> story, \u201cAnyone who helps is part of Inquiry, Inc.\u201d Teachers and researchers view themselves as co-learners, communicating through classroom pilots, teacher workshops, and the Water Inquiry website.\u00a0A good way to start engaging with Water Inquiry is to test-drive some of the resources on our website. On the next rainy day, take your students out in your schoolyard and invite them to explore: \u201cWhere does water come from? Where does water go?\u201d<\/p>\r\n

If you would like to subscribe to the Water Inquiry blog, or are interested in finding out more about our work, please contact Carol Berner at cberner@smith.edu<\/a>.<\/u><\/p>\r\n

Meet the Team<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

Current team (2020)
<\/strong>Emily Buck
Camille Butterfield
Emily Buxengaard
Brit Collins
Allison Wray<\/p>\r\n

Project Alumnae:<\/strong>
Katy Butler (’17)
Allyson Ciccarone (’17)
Zoe Dong (’18)
Pinn Janvatanavit (’18)
Meghan Johnson (’19)
Abigail Moon (’20)
Ruth Neils (’19)
Hannah Searles (’18)
Kat Van Green\u00a0
Anna Wysocki\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

Smith faculty: Carol Berner<\/p>\r\n

Special thanks to participating K-6 teachers from:<\/p>\r\n

Anne T. Dunphy School, Williamsburg; Hilltown Cooperative Charter Public School, Easthampton; Jackson Street School, Northampton; Leeds Elementary School, Leeds; Maple Street School, Easthampton; and Smith Campus School, Northampton.<\/p>\r\n

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Written by Carol Berner & Brittany Collins on behalf of the Water Inquiry project (August, 2017)<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Why Water? Insights from Educators \u201cI wish every subject were like water. Kids like everything about it, and it\u2019s probably the most ubiquitous and magical substance around us,\u201d reflected art teacher Bob Hepner in a July 2015 Water Inquiry teacher workshop. Educators continually add to the list of reasons for studying water: \u201cIt\u2019s everywhere. It … Continue reading About the Water Inquiry Project<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":735,"featured_media":68,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/waterinquiry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/waterinquiry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/waterinquiry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/waterinquiry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/735"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/waterinquiry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/waterinquiry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1842,"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/waterinquiry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2\/revisions\/1842"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/waterinquiry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/68"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/waterinquiry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}