The past few lectures we have had the pleasure of learning from 2 inspiring educators both currently teaching in Victoria. Jeff Hopkins is the principal of the Pacific School of Innovation and Inquiry (PSII) and Trevor Mackenzie is an inquiry based high school teacher in SD61 who shares his dedication to inquiry based teaching with educators around the world.
It was so refreshing to speak to educators that are currently in the classroom and so passionate about their teaching practice. I have always leaned towards an inquiry approach when working with youth, and while I may have dipped by toes in the pool, there is so far to go and I am excited to deepen my understanding of the inquiry process.
Jeff Hopkins stressed the importance of “process over product”, and the importance of self-regulation in agency in student learning and to think about the intention of the curriculum. If we teach to the intention, we can’t go wrong. Inquiry based learning has a process, and most students are not ready to leap right into the deep end. As pre-service teachers, we need to learn to watch for readiness followed by opportunities to introduce students to the inquiry cycle. Jeff also introduced the idea of multi-year planning when it comes to curricular content and the amazing opportunities that can be created for students when teachers come together to plan as a staff.
Trevor Mackenzie suggested that as new teachers, we may have a lot of “unlearning” to do around our own education and any biases we may hold before we can dive into inquiry. His presentation was full of ideas, values, and strategies to put into practice all stemming from a constructivist approach. Trevor challenged us to think about what our values are and do they seem to line up with the ideals of an inquiry based classroom? Trevor’s website is overflowing with any resource you could possibly want to create an inquiry based classroom.
The underlying theme for both speakers was the importance of relationships. If you don’t know your students, you will have no idea what they are passionate about, where the talents lie, or what they truly wonder about. There is a certain level of risk involved with inquiry, and if students do not feel like they are in a psychologically safe environment, they won’t be willing to take that deep dive with you.
I walked away from both of these presentations full of energy and ideas, and perhaps more importantly, confirmation for me that inquiry based learning will be the grounding of my teaching philosophy. I have a lot of learning ahead of me. I started by ordering both of Trevor’s books and can’t wait to dive into the inquiry pool.
Photo by Marija Zaric on Unsplash