Over the past year teachers at Burnie Primary School have been developing their knowledge of an Inquiry pedagogy (method of teaching). Inquiry is not a subject, it is however a way of teaching. Burnie Primary School want students to develop knowledge, learn skills and develop deep understandings that they can transfer from one context to another.
“In preparing students to be active students for the 21st century we must do more than provide students with information. Knowledge is insufficient. It is the skills and dispositions that students learn that will transfer across learning domains and into the future. The greatest assets we can help build in young learners are the ability to think deeply and creatively to communicate effectively in a wide range of ways, to research critically and efficiently, to collaborate with others and to manage all this with initiative, confidence and independence’
Kath Murdoch 2012
Kath Murdoch is a well renowned expert in Inquiry and works with many schools worldwide.
Our focus at Burnie Primary School has been on;
- Learning Assets – Explicitly teaching the skills of; Researcher, Thinker, Self-Manager, Collaborator and Communicator
- Learning Intentions and Success Criteria – Learning Intentions let the student know the intention of the lesson, so they are clear on the focus of their learning and Success Criteria lets the students know if they have achieved the Learning Intention
- Concepts – Conceptual understanding where students can understand ideas in a transferrable way can help students take what they learn in class and apply it across a number of different contexts
- Inquiry Model – is a guide teachers can use when introducing a new topic;
- Tuning In – Provoking curiosity and checking on students’ prior knowledge
- Finding Out – Gathering Information and critically assessing the validity of this information
- Sorting Out – Analysing, organising, comparing and reflecting upon the information
- Going Further – Working on our inquiries to find out more about specific areas of interest.
- Reflecting and Acting – Evaluating our learning and taking action.
Grades will be providing examples of Inquiry in action in the newsletter throughout the remainder of Term 2 and Term 3 starting with the Kinders in week 5.