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Teaching with Inquiry started when we integrated our curriculum and that was a long time ago and has been a long journey for us. Each year and term now it seems to change. We have made a lot of changes and have been down a lot of roads.
We started with action learning where we trained as a staff, we had some successful units and got excited and the children were all over the place researching. Then we stopped to reflect and thought what are the kids really learning here? What do we want them to learn? This coincided with the AtoL contract.
We picked up Gwen Gawith’s 3 doors, we liked her work and still use it but we have modified it to fit what we are inquiring about. We are at the stage now where we think inquiry changes as the topic changes; there are little inquiries within big inquiries.
Last term we did a music inquiry by looking at what good performance was. Although the children were investigating and inquiring the teachers had a lot to do with this, we were putting things in front of children for them to question and find answers but the focus was on new learning and how they were going to learn it.
This is how inquiry fits in with the learning dispositions, we are always reflecting and thinking about where we need to go next.
On our journey as teachers we’ve made mistakes and things haven’t worked but we haven’t been frightened to try something new again. I think you have to persevere and keep trying. We have had some disasters with some units but we have reflected on them and learnt from them and that’s what the children understand too.
Why we changed and haven’t used one inquiry process is we feel the children perhaps ask questions that they already know the answers to and it sort of focuses them on one little part of the inquiry where we want them to think deeper and wider and that is why we haven’t yet decided on a model of Inquiry. We think there are all different models of inquiry that different parts of different models suit different inquiry needs. Inquiry changes.
- Tags:
- inquiry
- integrated curriculum
Published on: 23 Oct 2009
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Teressa Pollock - Jun 02, 2010 at 4:04pm:
I was a pupil at Weber 20 years ago! I was inspired then to be a teacher and now I am a principal! Thank you Weber - it looks like you are still inspiring students to go far!!
Dave McEwan - Nov 22, 2009 at 7:56pm:
It sounds like a great school Chrissy,I must visit some time.
Lyn Ross - Nov 19, 2009 at 4:56pm:
Thanks for this interesting story about your Inquiry journey, Chrissie. I like your honestly! The reflection that you and your teachers have put into Inquiry Learning is evident. Getting it right does take time! The idea of small inquiries within bigger inquiries is something I talk about with the teachers I work alongside too. I agree that there is a real need for teacher direction until students have the skills and understanding of the inquiry process to work more independently. And following an inquiry process through to an outcome or action is more important than what you actually call the stages! This movie could make some school leaders think ... and re-evaluate what they have in place and why.
Janine Durno - Nov 16, 2009 at 6:47pm:
Congratulations Chrissie on your dedication to the inquiry learning process, you articulate it well, an advocate for CREATIVITY in the model itself, knowing that it will not be any one model or strategy that will get you there.
I was a new entrant teacher five years ago and learnt about inquiry learning, having been an early childhood teacher it sat well with my teaching pedagogy.
In early childhood we term this 'emergent planning' in that the 'planning story' begin from a seed of interest with an individual or group of children. Early Childhood has been working like this for decades, however at present, planned curriculum and structured teaching is an area where the sector is heading. Reasons for this that I see are that there is a lack of understanding by whaanau of the value of inquiry learning and its surfacing and strengthening of key competencies or what we term 'dispositions' because by its very nature it is child centered and powerful learning.
One example of misinterpretation was a woman I talked to recently who chose an early childhood centre because they sat her child down to learn the alphabet. This time would be better spent in verbal conversations which develop oral language fluency, the children who excelled in my NE classroom were those who could tell a good story already! My own six year old came home and asked "Why are we still singing the alphabet song Mummy when I already know it, I'm tired of singing that" to her I answered "Yes darling your teacher wants those two new children in your class to know it so keep singing, I know you sung it back to me when you were two though :)"
I really wish hope that you have started something grand with this story, the beginning of whaanau of Aotearoa talking about inquiry learning.
My question is, if I can be so bold as to ask is, how much of the school day is now 'inquiry learning' ='emergent curriculum'? and how much needs to remain 'planned curriculum'?.
I hope both ECE and schools find a balance that allows children to choose their own learning as much as possible.
Thank-you and well done Weber School and Weber children - may many more digital stories to inspire Aotearoa Kaiako follow.