I've had the privilege of working with Kath Murdoch on inquiry learning for over eight years. In that time she has challenged, stretched and influenced my practice in so many ways I can't even begin to count them. It's had a profound in every aspect of my teaching: practice, pedagogy and philosophy.
Needless to say, no matter how many times I've spent time learning from her, every single time I walk away filled with inspiration and able take away practical ideas to create meaningful and powerful learning for students. Standing on the shoulder of a giant indeed!
These are my notes, reflections and next actions from what Kath shared with us today.
Creating an inquiring classroom
Emotions as drivers or blockers for learning.
It's important to help children learn how to go from a negative emotion that may be a blocker for learning and shift themselves towards one that is a driver for learning. The only way to do this is for students to become cognisant of their feelings and how these may affect their readiness to learn. Ideas ranged from wall chart where children self-assess to digital ones. Here is a great discussion started that Kath shared with us.
The four rooms of change for learning that affect our disposition for learning: These can help students to identify how their feelings affect their readiness to learn and create strategies to help them move to the most appropriate room.
Contentment: Relaxed, calm. Good to be in at times but not conductive to learning.
Renewal: Excited, energized. Good but can exhausting if in it for too long.
Confusion: Ready to learn, unsure. Useful- being in The Pit of learning- but can be demotivating if in it too long.
Denial: Removed, disagreeing, reluctant. Not always negative if used with purpose- devil's advocate- but can become an obstruction if it destroys motivation.
An inquiry needs to...
- Connect on a personal level and connect individuals between each other and the real world.
- Answer questions and create more questions.
These can be small inquiries, such as inquiring into each other's names. What questions could we ask? How would you find out? (Googable and un-googable information).
An inquiry classroom needs to have emotional and intellectual care. The community of learners needs to be and feel valued and connected.
Quote from John Hattie: "It is teachers who have created positive teacher student relationships that are more likely to have the above average effects on student achievement."
It is important to build a learning community. Teachers need to create the opportunity to grow a relaxed positive environment where children work well together, they are respectful and are connected to each other is a huge investment that pays off as it creates social capital that supports learning in all areas.
This can be achieved by playing games and briefly reflecting on skills and connections made:
- Games
- Shared singing, chants, clapping games.
- Shared reading
- Personal stories
- Class rituals
- Regular reflection time
- 1:1 interactions
- Learning about each student's passions, interests and goals.
Inquiry flourishes in learner and learning-focussed classrooms
A learning-focussed classroom is one where learners are able to learn about 'learning' while they learn. This grows intentionality and dialogue about learning as a set of developing skills and dispositions that need attention.
What can you DO or be to help yourself learn today? How do we connect with our learners so that they are able to grow agency for learning?
Idea to try: This could be a lovely Discovery Time idea by helping children identify a personal intention to enhance their learning, e.g. "I am going to take risks/ notice when I'm drifting off and refocus myself." We could co-construct indicators and they can place their names or faces in an intention that will help them to be better learners. I need to think about how this could be evidenced.
"Please don't do it for me, help me to learn how to do it myself." Maria Montessori.
Teachers are nurturers but also control freaks. These have positive and negative flip-sides. We need to work to nurture independence and release control in a controlled and positive way. This uses our inmate skills to support our learners to help them be self-managers. When would you step in to help Toto?Tuning into our inquiry thinking about the concept of 'inquiry TEACHING.' What do great 'inquiry teachers' DO... how do we help develop strong inquiry learners?
Activities:
1. Think-make-link routine: Create a visual representation of your ideas and explain it to three people. Make connections with the shapes of others. This koru represents my idea into inquiry teaching. The koru represents the potential of learning and the unfurling leaves are the teacher bringing in their expertise or the students bringing in their own prior knowledge. This activity allows everyone to create- there is no right/ wrong answer.
2. Speed-dating teaching concept cards- Get a card, learn it ("you are going to become an expert about") and then explain/ teach it to someone else using clear examples. After a few turns it gets easier to talk about the content, one can make connections more easily and the conversations become more detailed and precise.
As a teacher, this allows the teacher to notice and listen to the conversations as touch stones of learning. The learners have an expectation to 'teach' and then have to become engaged.
We did this as an exercise into Kath's 9 practices that power up inquiry learning © Kath Murdoch 2016. These practices are the keystones to inquiry learning.
Cultivate Curiosity: provoke, model and value curiosity. Curate an environment that intrigue and provide experiences that grow curiosity. Use things like Visible Thinking Routines such as See-Think-Wonder. (Also see Susan Engles "The Hungry Mind").
Create provocations that bring the big idea to life. For example, creating a provocation of getting to know the unfamiliar or the unknown (first contact between colonialists and indigenous peoples) by asking children to eat purple porridge and gather their reactions. Then reflect: How does it feel like? Why did you feel like that when coming to contact into something unknown?
Question: are the heart of the inquiry classroom. Create questions that matter and collect them in different and creative ways, e.g. create wonder boxes to use as possible discussions and or writing prompts. Use questions to inquire into students’ thinking. Don’t be afraid to ask questions to which you don’t know the answer. Help students learn to ask great questions. Use questions to drive your lessons. Return to your big questions and dig deeper. Question yourself. Invite students to share their questions and use them to inform planning.
Build learning assets: Change LI into questions (invites problem solving and engagement to find the answer). Use the split screen curriculum
Content driver/ Micro skill or disposition to focus on (from Kath Murdoch@twitter)
The next picture is from when I used this for introducing the use of Puppet Pals app to explain Day and Night with animations. The skills focus was on generating questions to help us learn.
We first brainstormed the questions then the content success criteria using images to show what we'd need on the animation. Afterwards we were able to reflect on whether our activity had answered the questions and what new wonderings we had. These were placed on sticky notes on our wondering wall.
Release: Inquiry teachers expect the unexpected. Thoughtful planning allows spontaneity. While keeping the picture in mind, they are prepared to allow the learner to lead. The key is to stay open to possibilities. Let go of your safe ways of working.
'When you figure something out for yourself, there is a certain thrill in the figuring.' (Matt Glover, from "The Teacher You Want to Be.")
Notice: Take time to notice what is happening (as distinct from what you would like to be happening. Pause to observe and to listen. Help students notice themselves as they are learning. Share feelings, emotions, reactions, challenges, surprises. Use reflective moments to help you decide where to next. Listen more than talk. Help your students listen to themselves and others.
Keep it real:Learning is situated in real issues/ problems/ contexts. Blur the lines between the classroom and the world. Hands on, minds on, hearts on.
Collaborate: Co-create. Co-construct. Stay open and interested–keep talking with each other. Invite students to help design for their learning. Use the expertise in your community: your class, your school, your wider community. Build understanding together, learn how to exchange and build on each other’s thinking.
Get Personal: Know your students. provide opportunities for them to investigate the things that intrigue them. Help them inquire into themselves as a person and as a learner. Personal inquiry (Passion Project, iTime, Genius Hour, Discovery) is driven by a co-constructed agreements and criteria on what is worth learning that will stretch them and is linked to a learning disposition.
Where to from here?
Developing an inquiring classroom means that all areas of learning become inquiry learning opportunities. In particular, I'd like to grow is using more real-life contexts in areas such as math, and focus with greater acuity on bringing real life meaning to learning for my students using questioning and learning assets.
Another area that I'd like to grow is using our Discovery Time as a space for personal inquiry that is specific and frames 21st Century Skills and disposition with it.
References:
Murdoch, K. (2015) The Power of Inquiry, Seastar Education
Murdoch, K. (2015) The Power of Inquiry, Seastar Education
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