Well my friends, we have now entered the second section of this dynamic book and there are so many considerations to laying the foundation of inquiry learning in our school. A big thank you to Kirti Kale for being a rock star and creating all of our book club PowerPoint presentations. All of this while moving from Japan to India and beginning a coordinator position at a new school. We love your passion and dedication in helping fellow educators. Are we ready for this?This question is the first thing we need to think about when preparing for personal inquiry. It’s not something we run into, but, “it is the result of thoughtful conversation, careful decisions and the creation of systems that give the approach solid moorage.” according to Kath Murdoch. She continues by stating, “With the right intention and the right culture, a degree of ‘diving into the deep end’ can reveal so much about what our learners are capable of, and the process of learning through personal inquiry becomes an inquiry in itself.” When I began inquiry teaching, it took a lot of time to figure out what it was, how it felt, and why it mattered. To be honest, I didn’t quite understand how the pieces came together for quite a long time. I remember a colleague of mine, Karen Roddis, would always talk about using inquiry-driven learning within my units and asking conceptual questions. As she was talking, I couldn’t put the pieces together, because she was speaking a foreign language to me. With time and a lot of practice, I was finally able to get there, but it takes time. In this book, Kath provides a lot of checklists and success criteria to consider when establishing each practice. This is exactly what I needed as a newbie inquiry teacher to guide my practice. If you are new to this philosophy, consider reading section 2.1, because it really made me reflect and pause on what schools need in order to move forward. Reflecting on whole-school cultureThe pandemic has highlighted even more the importance of strong school culture to shape the identity of all learners within the community. School culture does not develop overnight, so making changes will also take time. For existing cultures, it will take time to dismantle fears and misconceptions. More than ever, we need a culture that fosters creativity, individuality, and agency. As a teacher, I want to work in this type of environment where I can express my authentic self to the community. Kath provides some excellent points to consider when trying to establish a whole school culture. “Personal inquiry does not happen simply because we provide the time and opportunity for learners. It is not a set program nor a set of tips and tricks that can be quickly grafted onto a classroom schedule. Inserting In a personal inquiry workshop into an existing traditional environment in which learners are, for the rest of the week, positioned as passive learners with little choice is bound to fail.” If we are ready, you might want to consider the following:
When I read this list of criteria for school culture, I instantly picture a school full of confident learners of all ages. Everyone clearly embraces the vision, has the necessary tools to make it successful, and relationships guide the learning process. This is the type of school I want to be part of. Beliefs and assumptionsKath Murdoch reminds us, “Our beliefs shape our practice. How we perceive our role as teachers has a profound influence on the language we use with students, the way we organize for learning, the design of learning tasks and what we look and listen for as we assess.” Kath asks some provoking questions that made me reflect on my own beliefs about inquiry.
This really made me pause for a moment. Not only did I reflect on my practice, but I thought of educators that have shaped and challenged my beliefs and values about learning, Mondrea is my friend who is wise beyond her years. She is passionate about educational equity, particularly amongst children within at-risk communities. She is striving to create a school that offers inquiry-driven education to those who rarely have access. This warms my heart, because her passion for the PYP program is infectious. We can speak for hours about aspects of inquiry and how it applies to our real lives. The thing I appreciate the most is when she challenges my thinking to stretch beyond my current understanding. Vidhya is well-read. No book or professional development opportunity is safe from her grasp. She took time from teaching within a PYP setting to learn more about the program through her personalized inquiry learning. She engages in webinars, courses, personal reading and research, book clubs, and more. What fascinates me about her the most is her resiliency against the unknown. She has faced many uncertain situations in her professional and personal life, but she keeps shining. This is rooted in a deep belief that we are all inquirers and deserve the most out of our learning experiences. Being surrounded by people who share our similar beliefs about inquiry helps to strengthen our practice. This especially helps us when our school culture misunderstands the role of inquiry in our learning and teaching. Building community nurturing agencyThis section began with this idea, “The courage to take a risk and try something new is stronger when you know that others around you have ‘got your back’.”
We all want to work in a culture where the people around us have our backs. They don’t necessarily have to support our initiatives, but they support our right to take them. This is huge in setting the stage for innovation to bloom. Our students need to feel the same level of support in order to authentically pursue their personal inquiries. Kath suggests, “Take our young learner’s ideas seriously, and engaging in thoughtful and genuine dialogue where we show a true interest in their thinking, their ideas, and their views of the world, is a powerful force for relationship building and models the way we hope learners will relate to each other.” How many times do we elicit learner questions and post them on our wonder wall? Do we actually look at them? Hmm… On page 53, there is an amazing chart that speaks to growing a culture that values agency and small steps we can take that will make a big difference. It presents what we traditionally might do in various learning situations and presents an alternative.
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After so many years leading virtual workshops, it's been a pleasure to lead workshops for Texas IB Schools again. This summer, I will be at each of their events, which has been on my bucket list, since leading workshops in the IB Americas region. I'm so lucky! One sweet side of TIBS Austin is that we are always treated to some yummy eat to begin a week of meaningful learning. This year, we were given some delicious macarons. We all have people that we meet for the first time and it just clicks. Jess is one of those for me.
Our acquaintance began as I moderated her session for Toddle TIES 2022. She led a dynamic workshop on inquiry driven leadership that captivated the audience. Her ideas are simple, easy to follow, yet very compelling. While presenting workshops for Texas IB Schools in Austin, I was able to meet Jess in-person. It was like two college friends meeting up after a long time apart. It's amazing how that happens between two people who are equally minded in purpose and vision. I hope to continue to build a friendship over inquiry with a fellow Texan! When we think about making our learning spaces this year, how will we create safe spaces where learner well-being is safeguarded? This is one of the key principles of the IB workshop, Making Space for Learning. At TIBS Austin, I was able to work with educators over three days to examine the spaces that build an agentic environment. I was stretched to think differently about elements of learning space design. A big thanks to my friends Mondrea Mitchell and Vidhya Ganesan for all of their ideas and support with this creation process. I love having friends who inspire me to be better. This summer has been a roller coaster of travel and workshops. I had a brief respite at my sister's house when a return flight home was delayed by five hours. What can you do in a regional airport? You delve into Getting Personal with Inquiry Learning by Kath Murdoch. Magically, all of that time that you had melts away. I had a fun time writing some podcast episodes as a reflection tool of our workshop. So fun!
I remember being so nervous recording my first podcast episode. I must have deleted the recording 50+ times to get it "just right." The main reason, I didn't like the sound of my voice. It's amazing how hard we are on ourselves, especially when being recorded. We sound too loud, too husky, too squeaky, or too everything. With a deep breath, I launched it on May 24, 2020. I decided to podcast, because I saw a lot of teachers struggling to make sense of teaching with the onset of the pandemic. Being stuck home all of the time, I also used the podcast as a form of therapy. I got to speak the ideas on my mind that I was never allowed to share at any of my schools, because they were too radical. Two years later, the little podcast that could has 10,000 downloads with 92 recorded episodes. To say this was a journey is an understatement. More importantly, my heart warms when I engage with other PYP educators and they share their favorite moments or ideas that have been applied to their practice. This is why I became an educator, I wanted to help learners. Now, my learners are just a bit older. Here's to 10,000 more as we spread the love of the PYP! This week, I had the best time leading a workshop for teachers in Nashville, Tennessee. They were so open-minded to new ideas and ways of learning. This summer, more than ever, rebooted our thinking and our passion of education. Here I am enjoying the fruits of my labor with fellow IB educators around the United States at a Dolly Parton inspired rooftop bar and restaurant. I lived out my pink dreams at White Limozeen. Just a reminder my friends, this new series will take an intense dive into the book, “Getting Personal with Inquiry Learning” by Kath Murdoch. This episode will focus on sections 1.4 - 1.6 of the book, so stay tuned to be inspired by Kath! The ‘why not’: Lessons from dissenting voicesThere will always be a group of educators who resist best practice out of fear, uncertainty, and frustration. I totally understand their uncertainty about inquiry, because it requires a mindshift in how we look at our learner, our curriculum, and our end goal. Kath reminds us, “an inquiry stance means being intentionally open-minded. It means listening to alternative voices and avoiding the temptation to dwell inside one’s own echo chamber. It means being willing to listen to a range of perspectives and being prepared to acknowledge the pitfalls as well as the successes.” With this notion in mind, Kath addresses the most common arguments against inquiry-based learning. Here are some that resonated with me. Argument: “Inquiry is great in principle, but the reality is that it can’t possibly work with one educator and a large class of learners. It is just not practical.” Kath’s response: “Joyful as the experience can be, this is a sophisticated and demanding pedagogy that requires a strong repertoire of strategies and, ideally, a team and wider school culture to support it.” Having served in at-risk communities for the past few years. I often heard a similar argument that the PYP is only successful in affluent schools where there are additional resources, less teaching gaps, and more parental support. Although these elements do benefit children, it’s more about the mindset of the school community. If the community believes the program will thrive, then it will happen. If they decide the learners are “less”, they will be treated as such. Argument: “Following learners’ interests makes it too hard to meet curriculum standards.” Kath’s response: “Not only do I consider curricula quite compatible with inquiry, but I would also argue that educators do a far better job of inquiry teaching when they choose to really get to know their curriculum - to know it so well that they can let it go and see the opportunities for connection as they arise.” This reminds me of Kath’s video, “What it means to be an inquiry teacher.” She speaks about the misconceptions of the teacher being laissez-faire and quite hands-off. In fact, the opposite is quite true of an inquiry teacher. They know their curriculum so well that they are able to wield it, so learning is within the context of the learning, which leads to learning transfer. Pictures of practice: Approaches to personal inquiryThis section really made me pause and reflect on how I lead personal inquiry with learners. There are several strategies that I have employed over time that may have not been at the highest level. In our book club, it was stated, “You only know what you know.” We can’t feel bad about the past, but move forward by refining our practice. This quote stayed with me for quite some time, “If you leave it till grade 5 /6, and you haven’t developed the skills and the voice - if you haven’t actually done the groundwork with them, then it's very difficult for them to switch that on when they’ve been reliant on the teacher to do all the architecture and thinking around learning. All of a sudden the spotlight is on them. We need to give time to the development of student voice and the skills associated with personal inquiry throughout school. We can’t assume that because they are young it’s something that they can’t do, because that’s just not true in my experience.” Nadine Crane So, what is the best way to begin personal inquiry in our practice? Kath states, “the questions should be What might be the best way to incorporate this into our school? What might work best for our learners?” The remaining portion of this section reviews different types of personal inquiry models and their limitations, such as extended personal projects (passion projects), innovation days, genius hour, and discovery time and explorations. These all have finite times where inquiry is honored. Instead, the suggestion is to follow the iTime or studio time model, where learners are given 1.5-2 hours per week to explore their personal inquiries. For more information, be sure to read page 35 on how iTime is structured and its benefits. Also, be sure to check out the flow of personal inquiry on page 38. It really clarified how personal inquiry might look and feel from pre-kindergarten to upper primary/elementary level. The when and where: organizing time and making spaceThere will never be a perfect time to engage within inquiry. We have to make space for it to happen naturally and within the context of the learning. Argument: “Why was there such a gap between the way we would prefer to use our time and the way we do use our time?” Kath’s Response: “We have a curriculum we are required to attend to and so many educators felt that offering choice meant that the curriculum expectations would not be met.” “We need to reconsider our relationship with time as something we control rather than something that controls us…It is the educators who know their curriculum best that have the most confidence to let it go, knowing they will see the opportunities to connect with it as they observe and listen to their learners.” Book Club Role: The SummarizerThis week I focused on being The Summarizer as part of my book club role alongside my friend Ragini. It was a challenge to take on this role to succinctly summarize so many wonderful ideas.
We determined that people resist inquiry due to fear. This is common in schools where the culture is not defined. Some teachers dive into inquiry, others will dip their toes, while the remainder hide under their umbrella. All we can do is move closer to our goals and be a positive example of inquiry in action. We don’t know what we don’t know. Our inquiry journey is not the same year to year. In the beginning, we may have relied on scaffolded systems like Genius Hour, which is okay. If you are still using the system with your learners, it’s okay. Our goal is to free up the personal inquiry, so the learners are exploring regularly, instead of on Fun Fridays. We manage the time, not the other way around. We can maximize the experiences within our classrooms by knowing our curriculum well, so we can leverage it as a tool for deeper learning. I had the absolute pleasure to work with UWC-USA this year for the first time and lead the IB workshop, Creating a Curriculum for Transdisciplinary Learning. This online workshop experience pushed my capacity once again as I had to return to the digital space to learn and share. It's amazing how quickly we lose skills if they are not nurtured and reflected upon. One of the hallmarks of this workshop is its structure based on the Design Thinking Process. You can learn more here from Tim Brown, the design thinking guru. Educators took these principles and applied them to education. When I consider making big curricular changes in a school, I use the design thinking process to guide my way. If you are struggling with understanding how to make transdisciplinary connections, consider taking this workshop. I am excited to co-lead with Aga Chojnacka-Al Atat and Kirti Kale a book club for Kath Murdoch’s latest title, Getting Personal with Inquiry Learning. I am already several sections into the book and I’ve found a treasure trove of little gems that resonate deeply to my teaching philosophy. Each week, our book club will focus on two to three sections and apply them to our practice. This podcast will serve as a reflection tool and also tap into parts of the book that resonated with me. Let’s get started! For the first book club, I was delivering a workshop in the Colorado Rockies and I was a little bit unwell, so I didn’t get to join the book club. For this episode, I’m going to solely focus on what resonated with me. Going forward, I will merge the two experiences together. Who is this for? Besides educators, parents, leaders, and policymakers, this book has been written for our young people, so they can “experience a stronger personal connection between what they care about and what they are learning at school.” Wouldn’t it be magical if all educators thought through this lens? Imagine how dynamic school and life would be in the future. How do we create personal inquiry? First, we must understand what inquiry is and what it means to be personal in order to put them together to create something unique. Inquiry“An inquiry is generally driven by questions and these questions may arise from a need, a problem, a puzzle, or an interest.” How many of us are truly teaching this to our learners? “There are numerous contexts and approaches that lend themselves to learning through inquiry. While these may differ in emphasis, they all position learning as an act of exploration and construction.” Some of approaches are:
There are many more that Kath references, but they are equally fabulous in their own way. It’s about our intention and our focus on what and how students learn. PersonalWhen we make learning personal for our learners, what does that mean? Here is what Kath purports it is not. “While differentiation is important, it is not the same as making it personal.” I’m always thinking about ways to differentiate learning, so this made me pause. She continues, “The term ‘personalized’ is used in a range of ways. One definition suggests that pathways are designed for individuals by educators, and goals are set and tracked for each learner in one or more subject areas. Learners may be working at their own pace through a program designed by or negotiated with the educator.” “There is a difference between simply learning something that is pitched at the right ‘level’ for you and learning something that you are personally, genuinely invested in.” I don’t know about you, but this has made me really pause and think about how many times I’ve been well intentioned to support my learners, but it was not truly personalized to meet their needs. This explains why they did not truly understand the content, they weren’t invested in the process. It’s tough to admit, but it’s how we grow into better educators. Personal + Inquiry = Personal InquiryNow that we have strived to understand each component, what exactly is personal inquiry? “Personal inquiry is about the needs, interests, passions of each learner being met through opportunities for them to inquire. While personal, these opportunities do not preclude collaboration with others. In fact, the process of engaging in a personal inquiry inevitably involves collaboration with others in order, for example, to gather expert information, receive feedback, or share learning.” Think about your own personal learning journey. There were probably plenty of times where you collaborated with friends and colleagues to make sure your ideas made sense or resonated with others. These interactions probably made all of the difference, because they verified that you were on the right track. This is why we need others while delving into our personal inquiries. “Having agency in your learning and being part of the decision-making about what, how, when, where, and with whom you will learn is not a treat or a reward, it is a right.” How many times have we told students, if you complete this task, you get to work with this person? Yikes? It’s not a reward, but a right. The ‘Why’ of Personal InquiryThere are so many reasons why we should honor personal inquiry in our practice. Here are some ideas that Kath presented that really stood out at me.
“Curiosity is at the heart of the inquiry classroom. Inquiry both activates and is activated by curiosity.” “Inquiry strengthens transferable skills and dispositions needed throughout our lives.” “The most powerful inquiry is concept-based.” “When learners are engaged in learning with real purpose and real audiences, and are taking real action, they see the relevance and meaning in their learning.” All of these ideas resonated with me, because it reminded me of my learning journey. I can remember a handful of teachers, ironically all strong, independent women, who shaped my identity as a learner. The commonality between all of them is that they asked more than they told, they saw my potential and shared their observations with me, and they gave me time and space to figure things out on my own. All of the other educators labeled me as an English language learner, shy, Asian, and compliant. They didn't see “me” as a learner, but as a label. Thus, they didn’t see my potential. The last paragraph in this section touched me the most, because you can feel Kath’s heart come onto the page. It’s what I will leave you with as we close this episode. “When I sit with a young learner engaged in an exploration of something they really care about and when I can show them that I am there to support that passion, that I am truly with them, listening and learning with them - I feel I am my most authentic self as an educator. These are the moments when I feel my head and heart are working together and when my teaching ‘soul’ is nurtured. It is an incredibly powerful experience.” |
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