Investigation - Initial Post

My Interest in Inquiry:

My interest in inquiry began 17 years ago when I was offered two jobs on the same day, one to teach in a textbook driven school in China, and one to teach in an inquiry based school in Tokyo. Whilst at the time, inquiry was a relatively new concept to me, the notion of working in this way was intriguing, and so my journey with inquiry based teaching began. Since this moment in time, I have chosen to only ever worked in schools who base their pedagogy on a 'constructivist', 'inquiry based' approach. Whilst the last 17 years have helped me deepen my understanding of inquiry and what it means for teaching and learning,  I cannot claim to be an expert, as I continue to wrestle with big questions that have significance for myself as a classroom teacher, and as a teacher leader who supports others in their work. Metaphorically I have titled this blog, into the 'i' of inquiry, with the idea of inquiry being like a storm, that can take many turns and in some case cause disruption, but when worked through, can bring about a sense of clarity.

I believe that inquiry is a tremendously powerful approach to teaching as it has the capacity to engage students imagination and intrigue, and also, if carefully scaffolded, it has the capacity to assist students in developing the competencies needed to become independent learners. However for this to happen, I believe that inquiry needs to be a carefully guided process where teachers provide models and scaffolds to help children in curating resources and constructing theories.

I currently use a model of inquiry that moves in and out of the following stages. Of course, this doesn't happen in a linear fashion but rather moving in and out of these stages as the inquiry develops.

The phases/stage evident in the model that I use include the following and are based on the Common Ground Curriculum.

Tapping Into Current Understanding:

• To access and engage with what we currently understand and our past experiences so we know broadly where we need to go 
• To create a sense of wonder that makes students want to understand 
• To become familiar with the ‘problem space’ 

Finding Questions:

• To identify big questions and/or problems important enough for sustained investigation 
• To plan a pathway of questions to guide the inquiry 

Exploring The Evidence: 

• To explore new information/experiences that include varied perspectives 
• To evaluate information and perspectives for bias, relevance, credibility, validity and reliability
• To rehearse and record information in ways that help us remember it 
• To practice skills in ways that lead to mastery 
• To interpret and represent information in ways that begin to make meaning from it 
• To rethink current understanding in the light of new information 

Constructing Theories:

• To organize information in ways that will help us see patterns and make connections 
• To use patterns and connections to generate our own theories and make predictions 

Testing Theories:

• To test our theories and predictions in new and different contexts 
• To discover when, where and how our theories are applicable 

Demonstrating Understanding:

• To demonstrate and deepen our current understanding by explaining, interpreting or applying it in a task with empathy, perspective and self-knowledge 

Reflecting and Acting:

• To reflect on what we learned and how we learned it 
• To feel empowered to take relevant action in future learning and in the world 

For me, inquiry has to well beyond the notion of simply asking questions. The 'i' of inquiry has to be about developing understanding and inquiry skills. I continue to work on refining my understanding of inquiry in order to ensure that the model of inquiry that I offer my students ensures that have the opportunity to develop deepening understanding, to construct theories,  to transfer their thinking to new contexts, and to develop inquiry skills that allow them to become independent inquirers. As part of this search I continue to investigate the following questions:

1. How do we support students in constructing theories through inquiry?

2. What competencies are essential for students to develop in order to be effective inquirers?

3. How do we effectively tap into students initial understanding as part of the inquiry process?