1.
Building a Culture of Inquiry
in Your Learning Community
Julie Coiro, Ph.D.
School of Education
University of Rhode Island
jcoiro@uri.edu
Unconference, CT Association of School Librarians – March 2019

2.
Agenda
• Why focus on culture?
• Think, Talk, & Share: What is culture?
• PDI Planning Triangle
• PDI Reflection Tool – Your reactions?
• Linking to Leadership
• Think, Talk, & Share: In your context?

3.
Acknowledgements
Beth Dobler
Emporia State University
Emporia, KS
Karen Pelekis
Grade 1 Teacher
Scarsdale, NY
Coiro, Dobler, & Pelekis (July, 2019). From Curiosity to Deep Learning:
Personal Digital Inquiry in Grades K-5. Stenhouse.

4.
Ritchhart, R. (2015). Creating
cultures of thinking: The 8
forces we must master to
truly transform our schools.
John Wiley & Sons.
Acknowledgements

5.
Why focus on culture?
• Teacher beliefs, social dynamics, and institutional
culture play a critical role in shaping how teachers
integrate technology into their classroom practices
(Windshitl & Sahl, 2002; Cuban, 2018)
• Valued qualities and dispositions (e.g., curiosity,
collaboration, creativity, critical and reflective
thinking) are learned through immersion in a culture
that creates a “story of learning” (Ritchhart, 2015)

6.
Think,
Talk,
Share What general elements make up
any culture (in our case, in the
context of a school or library)?

7.
What is CULTURE?
Eight Forces for Transforming Classroom Culture
Ron Ritchhart (2015)

8.
What “story of learning” do I want to convey?
• This a place that inspires curiosity, promotes
relationship building, and engages learners in
inquiry-based experiences that foster rigor,
relevance, and agency.

9.
Culture of Personal Digital Inquiry
Coiro, Dobler, & Pelekis (2019)

10.
Quick Check In….
I believe librarians and library media specialists are teachers…
…and literacy partners who work in schools, homes, and libraries.

11.
PDI Planning Triangle
Three questions can guide efforts
to intentionally teach toward a
culture that values all four sets of
personal digital inquiry practices
while paving the way for
self-directed learners
of any age to have
voice, choice, and
agency in their
learning.

12.
PDI Triangle: Classroom Culture
• How does my use of time, language, and modeling communicate expectations
that students will grow to be curious, thoughtful, and self-directed learners?
• How do I orchestrate the space, routines, and interactions in my classroom in
ways that provide opportunities for students to wonder & discover, collaborate
& discussion, create & take action, and analyze & reflect?

13.
PDI Triangle: Teaching with Intent
• What engaging activities do I use to build foundational understanding and deepen
learning?
• What questions are posed to foster curiosity, discussion, critical thinking ,and
reflection?
• What feedback do students receive about their in-process thinking and work
products?

14.
PDI Triangle: Learning with Intent
• How are learners actively building new
knowledge and deepening their
understanding of themselves and the world
around them?
• How are learners putting their knowledge
into action?

15.
PDI Planning Triangle
As teaching practices continue to evolve, the ultimate goal is to build a strong
culture of inquiry and intentionally work toward cultivating PDI practices
that develop individuals’ knowledge and facilitate their learning with intent.

16.
• How does my use of time, language, and modeling communicate expectations that students
will grow to be curious, thoughtful, and self-directed learners?
• How do I orchestrate the space, routines, and interactions in my classroom in ways that
provide opportunities for students to wonder & discover, collaborate & discussion, create &
take action, and analyze & reflect?
• How are learners actively
building new knowledge and
deepening their understanding
of themselves and the world
around them?
• How are learners putting their
knowledge into action?
Developing A Culture of Personal Digital Inquiry In My Classroom
• What engaging activities
do I use to build
foundational
understanding and deepen
learning?
• What questions are posed
to foster curiosity,
discussion, critical thinking
,and reflection?
• What feedback do
students receive about
their in-process thinking
and work products?
Julie Coiro, Ph.D. jcoiro@uri.edu

17.
Imagine one of these learning
environments…
• What does it look like or sound like?
• How does it make you feel?
• What is valued and how do you know?
• What are students doing and how do they interact with
peers and adults?
• What do students and visitors remember most when they
step out of this space into the real world?
As teaching practices continue to evolve, the ultimate goal is to build a strong
culture of inquiry and intentionally work toward cultivating PDI practices
that develop individuals’ knowledge and facilitate their learning with intent.

18.
PDI Self-Assessment & Reflection Tool
https://tinyurl.com/y3eldov7
• Closely analyze the details of these
eight forces and how they interact in
your learning environment
• Reflect on your own values and actions
– Acknowledge your accomplishments
– Identity points of challenge
– Connect/compare/reflect with peers
– Decide where to focus your energy next
and why

19.
Analyze & Reflect: What does the
culture of PDI look like in your classroom
or learning environment?
Proud of…
Not likely to be
noticed...
Focus on next…

20.
Teacher generates Student(s) generate Student(s) generate
question or problem with more or less teacher guidance question or problem
Who generates
the question or
problem?
Who selects or
designs
resources &
tools?
Who selects or
designs
procedures &
products?
Is the answer
or solution
known in
advance?
Teacher selects Student(s) select and/or Student(s) design
and/or designs design resources & tools resources & tools
resources & tools with more or less teacher guidance
Teacher selects Student(s) select and/or Student(s) design
and/or designs design procedures & products procedures & products
procedures & products with more or less teacher guidance
Answer or solution Answer or solution Answer or solution
is usually known may or may not be known is not usually known
In advance in advance in advance
Typical patterns and options for weaving learner agency (voice, choice, ownership,
engagement, self-efficacy, engagement, purpose) into levels of inquiry that vary flexibly with
an eye toward open inquiry where students have meaningful, age-appropriate opportunities
to generate, design, and act on new knowledge
Modeled Structured Guided Open
Inquiry Inquiry Inquiry Inquiry

21.
Five Practices of
Exemplary
Leadership
(Kouses & Posner, 2012)
• Model the Way
• Inspire Shared Vision
• Challenge the Process
• Enable Others to Act
• Encourage the Heart
What does the culture of PDI look like at
your school or district level? ….
• Area(s) of Strength?
• Area(s) of Desired Growth?

22.
As you
move
through
the
day…
1. How might ideas about culture be
useful in your context?
2. What’s missing that you value?
3. How do these ideas align with
the AASL standards?
4. What story of learning do you want
to tell with these elements of
culture?

23.
Questions…Comments…
Ideas…Next Steps?