Diane Parker has 26 years of full-time teaching experience in grades K-6, all in public school, multicultural settings. In addition, Diane spent two years as a curriculum coordinator, providing mentoring and teaching professional development courses for school faculty. She has also worked as a part-time faculty member of the University of Hawai`i College of Education, working in the preservice teacher education program in various capacities: as a field supervisor; as a mentor teacher; as a lecturer, teaching language arts methods courses; and as an onsite liaison between school and university faculty. Diane has worked with students, faculty, and administration at both school and university levels. Her research interests focus on inquiry-based learning, inquiry-based curriculum planning, integrated curriculum, differentiation through inquiry, and classroom discourse as a means of fostering inquiry.
View Diane Parker's Resume/Vita, Publications and Workshops.
To request NCTE Professional Development Services, complete the Online Request Form, call 800-369-6283 or email us today!
Level: K-6
- Inquiry-based Learning
- Inquiry-based Curriculum Planning
- Integrated Curriculum
- Differentiation through Inquiry
- Critical Literacy
- Classroom Discourse as a Means of Fostering Inquiry
Listen to Diane as she discusses the book, Planning for Inquiry
Let us help you take the guess-work out of planning effective professional development for your teachers!
Purchase a comprehensive professional development package that includes a one-day workshop with Diane Parker on Inquiry-Based Learning (or another topic of your choice) AND 20 copies of Planning for Inquiry: It's Not an Oxymoron!.
Cost: $2,850 plus travel costs.
Contact profdev@ncte.org to book this package!
*Other packages/quantities are available. Contact us to learn more!
Inquiry-based Learning and Curriculum Planning
What is inquiry? What does it look like in the classroom, and why is it especially important in today’s educational climate of one-size-fits-all instruction? How can we provide meaningful, integrated learning experiences based on students’ questions and authentic classroom events? Diane will work with teachers to examine the curriculum currently in place at their schools and to explore the use of a practical yet non-prescriptive framework for planning and teaching even mandated content through an approach that is open-ended and inquiry-based yet still accountable to required standards and programs.
Differentiation Through Inquiry
Teachers hear a lot nowadays about the need to differentiate instruction, but inquiry differentiates naturally. In this workshop, we will look at the key elements of differentiation and examine the organizational structures and strategies of an inquiry-based curriculum that support those elements and benefit students and teachers alike. Participants will learn specific, practical strategies for differentiating through inquiry and for monitoring and assessing student learning within such an approach.
Classroom Talk, Inquiry, and Critical Thinking
The questions we ask our students, and the way we guide discussions and learning engagements in response to their questions, are the keys to fostering inquiry and critical thinking. This workshop will focus on classroom talk and on the crucial role of teachers in shaping the discourse of their classrooms. We’ll examine and analyze dialogue excerpts to uncover the elements that make them powerful. Participants will learn and practice general principles and specific strategies for facilitating discussions and creating thoughtful, reflective learning communities.
Conference and Workshop Presentations
National Council of Teachers of English: San Antonio, TX, 11/21/08; San Francisco, Ca, 11/21/03; Denver, CO, 11/23/99; Albuquerque, NM, 11/20/98
Whole Language Umbrella: Bellevue, WA, 7/26/97
Hawaii Council of Teachers of English: Honolulu, HI, 9/20/08, 9/ /07
University of Hawai’i-Kaua’i, Kaua’i Community College, Hawai’i School-University Partnership: Lihue, HI, 5/9/98
Aloha State Council, International Reading Association: Hilo, HI, 9/26/98; Kona, HI, 9/27/98
Hawai’i State Department of Education: Various O`ahu school sites, 3/13-14,03, 12/3-4/02, 9/26/02, 9/5/02, 9/23/98, 4/3/96, 7/28/95, 4/22/95, 8/5/94, 5/9/94, 3/30/94, 12/16/92, 2/22/92
Hawai’i Association for the Education of Young Children: Honolulu, HI, 3/29/96
University of Hawai’i-Manoa: Honolulu, HI, fall 2008, spring 2007, 5/9/98, 3/16/98, 10/9/96, 1/27/96, 4/93
Hawai’i Educational Research Association: Honolulu, HI, 2/25/95
Literacy Hui (Hawai`i literacy coalition): Honolulu, HI, 11/1/97, 10/22/94
Ka Hui Heluhelu (Hawai`i state reading association): Honolulu, HI, 5/21/94, 3/6/93, 4/21/90, 4/7/90
Hawai’i Council of Teachers of Mathematics: Honolulu, HI, 11/13/93, 2/13/93
Kamehameha Schools: Honolulu, HI, 8/28/90