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Classroom Examples

Working alongside Galileo professional developers, teachers have created a number of inquiry-based studies.

When designing and developing these studies, teachers work collaboratively through the design process with their mentor and colleagues. As teachers design tasks for and with their students, teachers are asked to consider how what they are creating is:

  • situated in a larger context of a discipline and body of knowledge
  • allowing the students to see themselves as designers
  • allowing the students to engage in work that is personally important and meaningful

“The scientific mind does not so much provide the answers as ask the right questions.” – Claude Levis Strauss

Classroom ExampleDescriptionGrade LevelSubjectLanguagece_grade_level_hfilterce_subject_hfilterce_language_hfilter
Accessible Learning for All
Accessible Learning for All

The diversity in today’s classrooms is enormous. Students represent a wide array of prior experience and knowledge, with a wide spectrum of learning needs and abilities, cultures, and languages.

, , , , primary-school middle-school highhumanities science mathenglish
All My Relations
All My Relations

This is an inquiry into the historical and contemporary relationship between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples in Canada, designed by a humanities teacher from Calgary Connect Charter School.

, middle-school highhumanitiesenglish
An Accessible Math Classroom
An Accessible Math Classroom

Is it possible to design learning that engages the vast majority of students in mathematics?

middle-schoolmathenglish
Artistry of the Land: Ancient Stories and Art of Our First Nations People
Artistry of the Land: Ancient Stories and Art of Our First Nations People

Through this project the children gained an understanding of the First Nations People of their area learning the importance of respect and harmony.

primary-schoolhumanitiesenglish
Becoming Authors
Becoming Authors

In this discipline-based task, students were challenged to think and behave like authors. Using a similar process to what an author would use, these students were tasked with writing a compelling ending to an unfamiliar story.

primary-schoolhumanitiesenglish
Big Valley: Then and Now
Big Valley: Then and Now

In this study students looked at the cultural aspects of Big Valley at the height of the railway boom, 1910-20’s and at present day.

, primary-school middle-schoolhumanitiesenglish
Boat Design
Boat Design

Through this inquiry students came to understand the engineering principles that underpin boat design, as well as the scientific concepts associated with buoyancy, including balance, density, displacement, stability, and waterproofing.

primary-schoolscienceenglish
Body Systems
Body Systems

In this inquiry, Grade 8 French-Immersion students were charged with becoming medical experts on a particular body system.

Dans cette enquête, les élèves de 8e année en immersion française ont été accusés de devenir des experts médicaux sur un système corporel particulier.

, middle-schoolscienceenglish french
Building Early Learners Understanding of Number
Building Early Learners Understanding of Number

Building understanding of number through the introduction of the number line

primary-schoolmathenglish
Calgary Stampede and Treaty 7 First Nations: A Historical Perspective
Calgary Stampede and Treaty 7 First Nations: A Historical Perspective

A Grade 1/2 class and a Grade 4 class worked together at the Stampede School classroom on an inquiry study into this historical relationship.

primary-schoolhumanitiesenglish
Can Bears and Humans Coexist?
Can Bears and Humans Coexist?

Grade 6 students from the small town in Cardston in Southern Alberta, 50 km East of Waterton Lakes National Park, studied if bears and humans might coexist.

, primary-school middle-schoolscienceenglish
Canadian Identity
Canadian Identity

Bringing history to life and making it personally relevant for students were essential components of this grade 11 social study’s inquiry.

highhumanitiesenglish
Catapult Engineering
Catapult Engineering

In this task, students were challenged with designing and building a catapult that could launch a ball a minimum of 5 meters. From the onset, students were expected to behave and think like engineers

middle-schoolscienceenglish
Chemistry: Discipline-Based Task Design
Chemistry: Discipline-Based Task Design

Through careful and intentional task design, Grade 8 students were given the opportunity to engage in an authentic approach to Science that closely mirrored the work of a Chemist.

middle-schoolscienceenglish
Chemistry: Making Learning Visible in High School
Chemistry: Making Learning Visible in High School

In this Chemistry 20 class, students were given Stoichiometry problems in order to solve collaboratively on the class whiteboards. Through making student learning visible the teacher was able to respond to students’ needs while in the process of learning.

highscienceenglish
Coming To Answers in Different Ways
Coming To Answers in Different Ways

Students and teachers from 3 schools in the Foothills School Division posed problems for each other to solve.

primary-schoolmathenglish
Community Map Makers
Community Map Makers

Grade 1 students were tasked with creating a community map identifying and describing important features or landmarks.

primary-schoolscienceenglish
Comprehension numeraties et francais
Comprehension numeraties et francais

Questions de réflexion en regardant l’étude de cas: Comment l’enseignant a-t-il engagé les élèves dans …

primary-schoolmathfrench
Conception de tâches basée sur la discipline: chimie
Conception de tâches basée sur la discipline: chimie

Grâce à une conception attentive et intentionnelle des tâches, les élèves du programme d’immersion française …

middle-schoolsciencefrench
Counting Canadians
Counting Canadians

This is a collaborative project of Statistics Canada and Galileo created to facilitate Canadian’s understanding of the social, economic and cultural forces that shape our nation.

, , , primary-school middle-school highmathenglish french
Cycles of Matter in Living Systems
Cycles of Matter in Living Systems

How do grocery stores keep their vegetables fresh looking? This question intrigued and invited students to behave like scientists as they designed and conducted experiments, collected data, and reported on their findings.

highscienceenglish
Decomposition Lab
Decomposition Lab

After watching a video of a bowl of fruit decomposing, grade 4 students were challenged to design an authentic science experiment that would identify variables that have the greatest impact on the rate of decomposition.

primary-schoolscienceenglish
Designing as Engineers: Thermodynamics
Designing as Engineers: Thermodynamics

In order to engage students in developing a deep understanding the laws of thermodynamics, these grade 10s were given a challenge of building a thermos that would conserve the energy of hot water.

highscienceenglish
Developing Communicative Competence
Developing Communicative Competence

In this deaf and hard of hearing classroom, establishing communicative competency amongst students was imperative for their success.

, primary-schoolhumanitiesamerican-sign-language english
Ecological Field Study
Ecological Field Study

The study was designed so that students uncovered relationships between biomes, energy and climate.

highscienceenglish
Environmental Chemistry
Environmental Chemistry

In order to demonstrate that science is a part of their everyday world, students were asked to consider and explore how evidence-based science processes can help deepen out understanding of complex issues.

middle-schoolscienceenglish
Expanding Cube
Expanding Cube

Grade 10 math students were given an interesting problem to solve.

highmathenglish
Exploring Nature in the Early Learning Classroom
Exploring Nature in the Early Learning Classroom

This early learning teacher infused the natural world into her classroom through a series of engaging explorations.

, , primary-schoolhumanities science artenglish
Exploring Structures - Bridge Builders
Exploring Structures – Bridge Builders

In this Grade 7 Science unit, students were given the opportunity to explore the discipline of engineering.

middle-schoolscienceenglish
Financial Makeover
Financial Makeover

After completing this project, students understood that financial planning and success is dependent on understanding the mathematics of finance.

highmathenglish
Fish Story
Fish Story

The Kindergarten and Grade 1 scientists in Mrs. Boxma’s class are investigating fish. They have generated many questions and are busy searching for answers.

primary-schoolscienceenglish
Flight, Air & Aerodynamics
Flight, Air & Aerodynamics

Students became engineers who applied and tested new understandings to their designs and prototypes.

primary-schoolscienceenglish
History of Cowboy Culture
History of Cowboy Culture

Two grade 3 classes, a grade 2/3 class, and students in grade 6 & 8 worked together on an inquiry study into the culture, the challenges and the future of the cowboy.

, primary-school middle-schoolhumanitiesenglish
Kainai Stories and Spaces
Kainai Stories and Spaces

This site weaves these strong threads of connection. A web of children, elders, plants, landscape and the stories that bind them together. These stories provide a path for our children to the future.

, primary-schoolscienceblackfoot english
Kindergarten Alphabet Book
Kindergarten Alphabet Book

In this kindergarten task, students were invited to become experts on the alphabet by collaboratively creating a digital storybook.

primary-schoolhumanitiesenglish
Know The Bow
Know The Bow

This collaborative water study of the Bow River Watershed was conducted by students in six different schools across three school jurisdictions.

, , primary-school middle-school highscienceenglish
Math by Design
Math by Design

On the very first day of this teacher’s class, students are engaged in problem solving on whiteboards in small groups.

highmathenglish
Millarville Archaeology
Millarville Archaeology

Using on-line resources from Our Roots, interviews of local residents, scouring attics and basements for hints and clues, students uncovered some good evidence that there was more to the back-lot of their school than anyone suspected.

primary-schoolscienceenglish
Millarville: Our Story
Millarville: Our Story

This project started the teachers talking about what they could study with the students that would help them gain an understanding of the importance of celebrating the past and also, at the same time, looking at the present.

primary-schoolhumanitiesenglish
Mokakioyis-Meyopimatisiwin
Mokakioyis-Meyopimatisiwin

This project is an ethno-ecological inquiry that seeks to digitally preserve traditional Aboriginal knowledge in an interactive online environment.

, , , , middle-school highscienceblackfoot cree english french
Naming The West
Naming The West

This study connected 22 teachers and 450 grade 2, 5 and 9 students from 11 schools within Foothills School Division with education mentors from Galileo, archivists from the Okotoks Museum and the Museum of the Highwood.

, primary-school middle-schoolhumanitiesenglish
Our Farming Roots in Castor
Our Farming Roots in Castor

In this project students learned about life in rural Alberta by interviewing local residents and recording their stories on a website.

, , primary-school middle-schoolhumanities scienceenglish
Ranting: Persuasive Writing and Speaking
Ranting: Persuasive Writing and Speaking

Modelling Rick Mercer’s ranting style, grade 9 students were tasked with writing a short persuasive speech, ranging from 45-90 seconds, about a topic of their choosing.

middle-schoolhumanitiesenglish
Richness of Words: A Journey into the Past
Richness of Words: A Journey into the Past

Through using our senses are we able to make our own connections, viewpoints and opinions more important to ourselves and the people we know. As the grade 2 and 3 students explored the past, they made a movie of their findings.

primary-schoolhumanitiesenglish
Robotics
Robotics

Engaging students in science inquiry and engineering by enabling them to create, invent, and explore with digital technologies.

, , primary-school middle-school highscienceenglish
Rural Roots - Farming in the Palliser Triangle
Rural Roots – Farming in the Palliser Triangle

In our school there are 109 students between five and fifteen years of age. We are the grade nines and we are investigating our rural roots and we will be interviewing our farmers and taking pictures of our farms.

, middle-schoolhumanitiesenglish french
Sled Engineering
Sled Engineering

Through problem identification, research, blueprint creation, building, testing, troubleshooting, and tweaking students were tasked with building their own sleds that would travel effectively down a slope.

primary-schoolscienceenglish
Solving Ambiguous Linear Relations Problems
Solving Ambiguous Linear Relations Problems

Grade 9 students at Crossing Park School were challenged to solve an ambiguous linear relations problem.

middle-schoolmathenglish
Spoken Word
Spoken Word

Over the past several years, “Spoken Word” has become an increasingly popular means of expression.

middle-schoolhumanitiesenglish
The Arrival
The Arrival

Using pages from Shaun Tan’s “The Arrival” grade 9 students collaboratively created compelling narratives to accompany the spectacular images in the book.

middle-schoolhumanitiesenglish
The Arrival (en Français)
The Arrival (en Français)

En utilisant les pages du livre “The Arrival” de Shaun Tan, les éléves ont collaboré afin d’écrire un récit captivant pour accompagner les images du livre.

middle-schoolhumanitiesfrench
Top Speed
Top Speed

In this grade 9 math class, students were posed the following question – what is your top speed?

middle-schoolmathenglish
Trigonometric Functions Inquiry Using Real-World Models
Trigonometric Functions Inquiry Using Real-World Models

This teacher designed ten labs that highlighted the key concepts of trigonometry.

highmathenglish
Understanding Our Heritage Guides the Future
Understanding Our Heritage Guides the Future

This inquiry based project looked closely at the history of the community and people of Millarville from the perspective of the land. It was a full year focus for the grade 2 & 3 students.

primary-schoolhumanitiesenglish
Virtual Museum
Virtual Museum

Grade 7 students from Calgary Science School were invited to re-mix images and designs from historical documents to produce fresh interpretations of the stories that helped to shape Canada’s past and our current national identity.

middle-schoolhumanitiesenglish
Wetlands Study
Wetlands Study

Every year, Kathy took her Southern Alberta Grade 4 class to the local pond to observe, test and sample the water. Class data was meticulously recorded and saved.

primary-schoolscienceenglish
What Stories Do We Have To Tell?
What Stories Do We Have To Tell?

Grade 1/2 children are learning that everyone and everything has a story. All you need to do is ask a question.

primary-schoolhumanitiesenglish
Wild & Free
Wild & Free

Several schools participated in Wild and Free and students were involved in many aspects of this project including interviews, gathering information, discussing and presenting their findings. Students explored the complex issues around wild horses and build knowledge.

, , middle-schoolhumanities scienceenglish french
Writing and Drawing in Science with Early Learners
Writing and Drawing in Science with Early Learners

In this collaboratively designed task, grade 2 students became experts on the little Brown Bat…

primary-schoolscienceenglish
Writing Engaging Stories
Writing Engaging Stories

In this grade 6 discipline-based inquiry, students were tasked with taking under-circulated books from the school’s library and completely revamping them in order to encourage more students to choose these books to read.

, primary-school middle-schoolhumanitiesenglish
Writing With Purpose: Intellectual Engagement in Grade 2
Writing With Purpose: Intellectual Engagement in Grade 2

In this grade 2 task, students were invited to design and write a postcard from a place in and around their community.

primary-schoolhumanitiesenglish
Youth Criminal Justice Act
Youth Criminal Justice Act

Breaking down the barriers of the classroom and inviting outside experts in allowed this group of grade 9 students to develop a deeper understanding of Canada’s youth justice system.

, middle-school highhumanitiesenglish