Introduction - Philosophy [Community of Inquiry CoI] and the Question Quadrant
Process
Example of CoI: The Little Refugee by Anh Do
Examples of CoI throughout On the Job website

Higher Order Thinking Skills: Self Evaluation [to be used in conjunction with Community of Inquiry] so students can see if they are developing these skills.

A Cooperative Learning Strategy

Introduction

Philosophy [Community of Inquiry] and the Question Quadrant

This is a cooperative learning process that calls for creative thinking and critical reflection. It involves both interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligence. It can be used for all students

Primary Middle  Secondary

A Community of Inquiry can be described as:

'a group of people – students, teachers, colleagues – who use discussion to engage in deep thinking, explore big ideas, and grapple with the challenges and possibilities in a puzzling concept, idea or circumstance’ (Museum Victoria n.d.)

This form of community of inquiry was developed by Matthew Lipman and is a part of the Philosophy for Children approach to education. Lipman (2003) argued that a community of inquiry is characterised by; ‘non adversarial deliberations, shared cognitions, the cultivation of literacy and philosophical imagination and the encouragement of deep reading, and the enjoyment of dialogical texts’ (Lipman 2003). Moreover, Lipman’s account of a community of inquiry includes the following features: inclusiveness, participation, shared cognition, face-to face relationships, the quest for meaning, feelings of social solidarity, deliberation, impartiality, modelling, thinking for oneself, challenging as a procedure, reasonableness, the reading, the questioning and the discussion (Lipman 2003). The core business of Philosophy for Children for Lipman, was to promote the improvement of three aspects of thinking: critical, creative and caring (Lipman 2003).

Typically, a community of inquiry involves a group of students sitting together in a circle facing one another, the teacher amongst them as both facilitator and co-inquirer.

YouTube: Philosophy for Kids
https://youtu.be/YDEtozgixbs

Process of CoI

After reading or listening to the stimulus material - newspaper article, big picture book, an audio clip, a chaper of a book

In groups of two:

• Students are to write a question or questions about the stimulus material from each of the four question quadrants
• Students share the thinking questions with the class by writing up on a whiteboard
• Select the most common question to discuss.
• In a circle, conduct a discussion on this common question
• Hold to the class discussion rules of:
  • one person speaks at a time
  • listen carefully to the speaker: listen for understanding; listen charitably
  • the speaker selects the next speaker
  • speakers are respectful and build on the previous speaker's point of view or questions that view logically
  • be prepared to think and take time to think
• Keep a record of the other student questions to come back to them if needed
• Provide closure - see example below

An example within this website: The Little Refugee by Anh Do

Primary Middle Secondary

Australian Curriculum General Capability: Literacy
Australian Curriculum General Capability: Critical and creative thinking
Australian Curriculum General Capability: Personal and social capability
Australian Curriculum Cross Curriculum Priorities: Asian Priority

Philosophy

 Teacher Process:

1. Get the students to form a circle with their chairs or directly on the floor. Everyone is to be in the circle including the Teacher.

2. Using stimulus material, read the story or text by asking the students to take turns to read out loud each paragraph.  

3. Set up a Question Quadrant on the floor or on a whiteboard:

OR

4. Get the students, in pairs, to come up with 8 questions - two for each quadrant about the stimulus material.

The Questions for Thinking are the hardest to come up with – but that is what we are aiming for.

Let's look at the stimulus material example: The Little Refugee by Anh Do and Suzanne Do... Read the book or look at the video

https://youtu.be/yShmK_PhE0s

the Question for Thinking might be "What is Hope?"

5. List all the questions on the board from this 4th Quadrant "Questions for Thinking" and put the students' names next to their question.

6. Ask the students to think about grouping the questions - the ones that are the same or similar - together.

7. Start the discussion with the most asked question.

8. Make sure the students follow the rules of Philosophy in Schools:

• Only one person speaks at a time
• Pay attention to the person who is speaking
• Give other people a chance to speak
• Build upon other people's ideas
• No put-downs
  (Source: Associate Prof. Phil Cam)

9. Discussion should involve students in critical, creative and caring thinking:

10. Provide Closure:

For example from "The Little Refugee" - Get the students to reflect in their journals a time when they felt lonely.

11. Leave the questions on the board or copy them so that the other unanswered questions can be used in the next lessons.

There are many other examples of the Community of Inquiry [CoI] Strategy throughout this On the Job website. You will notice that I have used The Conversation articles most of the time as the stimulus material. The reason for this choice is:

"The Conversation Australia and New Zealand is a unique collaboration between academics and journalists that in just 10 years has become the world’s leading publisher of research-based news and analysis. Everything you read here is created by academics and journalists working together, supported by a team of digital technology experts. Our professional editors turn knowledge and insights from academics into easy-to-read articles, and make them accessible to readers like you. All our work is free to read and free to republish under Creative Commons. We do this as a not-for-profit company guided by a clear purpose: to provide access to quality explanatory journalism essential for healthy democracy." (Source: The Conversation)

Where "On the Job" are Jobs & CoI Activities?	Stimulus Material sourced from:
Agricultural Consultant Australia has a heritage conservation problem. Can farming and Aboriginal heritage protection co-exist? A Community of Inquiry.
Aviation Manager Is net-zero aviation more or less a flight of fantasy?
Beautician Girls' Life, Boys' Life: What are the marketing messages to each? Should they be different? Community of Inquiry
Botanical Illustrator What makes a good scientific illustration?
Child Care Centre Manager Are women "outsourcing" parenting by sending their children to child care?
Chinese Medicine Practitioner Does traditional Chinese medicine have a place in the health system?
Conveyancer The Ethics of Buying or Selling on Flood Plains
Counsellor The Fire Wombat A Community of Inquiry
Domestic Animal Scientist What the Duck?! The Politics of being a cow
ENT Specialist The secret world of the human ear - Professor Kelvin Kong, Conversations with Richard Fidler
Hazardous Materials Labourer Visually striking science experiments at school can be fun, inspiring and safe – banning is not the answer!?
Horse Trainer Racehorses & the Knackery: a Community of Inquiry
Intelligence Analyst The Annual Threat Assessment for 2024 by Mike Burgess - ASIO boss 28 February 2024: What questions still need answering? A Community of Inquiry
Jockey "Should there be a ban on whips in Australian horse racing?"
Lawyer Policing and Informants in Victoria - What are the ramifications?
Librarian Banning Books - Is this Ethical?
Naval Marine Architect Australian Submarines of the future: A Community of Inquiry	The Conversation articles
Outdoor Adventure Guide Adventure, Risk, Uncertainty, Consequence: A Community of Inquiry
Patents Examiner How Russia is using intellectual property as a war tactic: Community of Inquiry
Pathologist Money, COVID tests and Pathology Companies: The Ethics!
Plastic Surgeon "We are all wonders"
Researcher Can Australia Save a Rare Reptile by Moving it to a Cooler Place?	An article from the NY Times
Sports Administrator Sports, Doping and Ethics!	8 Articles from The Conversation
Steward (of Racing) Jiggers, Whips & Stewards: A Community of Inquiry
Toy Maker The Magic Toy Shop	An old Christmas Story
Valuer What should buyers of a house be told about it? A Community of Inquiry
Wind Turbine Technician Wind Turbines & Birds: A Community of Inquiry
LOTJ: Anh Do The Little Refugee - by Anh Do   Entertainer
LOTJ: Toni Alexandrow The Ethics of Fire Fighter Contamination Firefigher	A story from Landline about the Williamstown, NSW contamination
LOTJ: Ruby Lindsay Graphic Designer
LOTJ: Prof. Naline Joshi Labels and Assumptions of Women in STEM: A Community of Inquiry Mathematician
LOTJ: Prof. Barry Marshall Scientific Proof: A Community of Inquiry Medical Laboratory Scientist	Online Article in "Medium"
LOTJ: Navy Officer Tweets and Government Employees: Why is it not allowed? Navy Officer	Online Article from The Daily Telegraph
LOTJ: Sergeant Lillian Armfield Issues of Gender: A Community of Inquiry Police Officer	Excerpt from Leigh Straw's Lillian Armfield: How Australia's First Female Detective Took on Tilly Devine and the Razor Gangs and Changed the Face of the Force (2018)
LOTJ: Lowitja O'Donoghue "As a young woman, Lowitja O'Donoghue was told she'd amount to nothing" Public Servant	Online Article from the Sydney Morning Herald by Prof. Robert Manne 9 October 2020
LOTJ: Prof. Marie Curie "Radioactive": a new Marie Curie biopic inspires, but resonates uneasily for women in Science: A Community of Inquiry Scientist
LOTJ: Ashleigh Barty The Science of Grunting in Tennis: A Community of Inquiry Sportsperson	The Conversation 18 January 2018
LOTJ: Jane Tost Provenance & Respect Taxidermist	The Conversation 1 December 2014
LOTJ: Winemaker Ripped from the Headlines? A Community of Inquiry Winemaker	Article from TV Tonight

Material sourced from

Assoc. Prof. Phil Cam - personal communication
RRR - Collaborative Classrooms
A-Z Learning Strategies - KWeb - Brisbane CE [PDF]