Welcome to our final session of our club for Getting Personal with Inquiry Learning by Kath Murdoch.  This session leads out with a bang by looking at resources that make personal inquiry manageable. 

A big thanks to Bhavna Mathew for being our moderator.  As usual, she posed some deep questions for us to ponder and we used a visible thinking routine to synthesize our ideas.  What a great way to end our book club!

​Most authors leave the back of the book for the bibliography, endless templates, and genuinely a menagerie of goodies that seem overwhelming.  Not Kath, she provided us with some purpose and reminders when curating our material. 

​The library can be a valuable tool when getting learners to engage with personal inquiries.  The space is no longer a stagnant place of informational retrieval.  Now, library spaces have morphed into communal spaces that are dynamic and often driven by collaboration.  

Teacher librarians have morphed their roles to meet the demands of the learning space design.  Kath reminds us, “School librarians can assist enormously with ensuring that physical, digital, and human resources are available to all learners and the library or resource center is seen not just as a place for knowledge consumption but also knowledge creation.  Like the art and music studio or tech lab in a school, the library might be made available during personal inquiry workshops, meaning learners have more access to diverse spaces in which to work on their projects and can tap into the expertise of the librarian.” Don’t be afraid to partner with your librarian, because they are passionate and knowledgeable about texts that will support personal inquiries. 

​When we have our learners begin their personal inquiry, Kath warns that many educators feel the need to get everyone on a divide to conduct “research”.  The internet is just one form of research that we can conduct.  Yes, there are a lot of YouTube videos that are useful, but we want our learners to create on their own.  Kath warns, “Different kinds of inquiries require different resources: physical, digital, local, and human.”  How are we preparing our units with this in mind? 

Here is a suggestion that Kath provides that I think might take the pressure off in finding authentic research.  “Many personal inquiries we have undertaken in my partner schools have involved learners in conducting surveys and interviews - the data from which became their main source of information.  For creative (making) projects, it can be helpful to make learners aware of the material resources available in the learning spaces, so they can pitch their ideas accordingly.”  Let’s not make it more complicated than it has to be. 

Out of all of her suggestions, this resource resonated with me the most.  “Within our communities, we can build a resource bank of experts to contact for personal inquiries - creating what is often referred to as a human library…a way of bringing people’s stories to the public in a safe and supported way, the emphasis being to challenge stereotypes and champion diversity.  Human libraries are held as events around the world where ‘people are the books’.”  Who can be part of your human library?”  We might include: parents, grandparents, aunts/uncles, educators, leadership, staff, and older students.  

When we are curating our human library, Kath presents some talking stems that will spark the conversations and help to dig deeper into a human story:
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• I know quite a lot about…
• I have a passion for…
• I would be happy for you to ask me about…
• Some skills I have that I could show or share are…
• I could help you to learn to…
• I could help you learn about…
• I can show you how to…
• I have had a lot of experience with…
• I know how to…

As always, Kath has left us with a lot of resources that we can explore on our own to deepen our practice.  Be sure to take a look.

• Pgs 164-65: a thoughtfully curated list of digital resources to inspire and model personal inquiry, provoke curiosity and wonder, to teach research skills, and tools to support searching for topics with our younger learners. 

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• Pg 166: an extensive list of literature to stimulate wonder and inspire personal interests and passions within our lessons.

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• Pg 167-70:  a reference guide of books, documents, and webpages, for further reading and development

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• Pg 171-72:  a personal reflection from Kath on her personal inquiry process for writing this book and final thoughts. 

As I was talking with my peers in a break out room, I shared that even the resources section of the book had a purpose and inspired inquiry.  This speaks to Kath’s passion for her work and helping us to improve our own.  

Be sure to join for the next episode as I try to make meaningful action with the enhanced PYP.

Welcome to Week 7 of our Getting Personal with Inquiry Learning book club.  This fabulous book by Kath Murdoch has stretched our capability of thinking about personal inquiry learning.  This episode, we will explore how to document, reflect, assess, and share our process, so we are able to take meaningful action, which are sections 3.6 - 3.7 of the book. 

We have to give a big thank to Ragini who moderated our session this week and helped us to dive into this section.  She is a true delight and we are so grateful that she shared her insight and talents with us. She was the ultimate risk-taker this week by moderating, when she usually enjoys observing and discussing ideas.  Ragini, we couldn’t have done this week without you!

Also, a big thanks to Kath for joining our book club after a full day of teaching and travel.  She contributed to our conversations and we appreciate her dedication to our club.

As an inquiry educator, I am always seeking ways where I can give a learning engagement that is a reflection and a piece of assessment.  I like more bang for my buck, since time is so short in the school day.  Kath suggests, “The three elements of documenting, reflecting and assessing are intertwined.  In the act of documenting learning, for example, we come to understand more about the learner's thinking which prompts us to reflect and subsequently consider new possibilities and pathways for their learning.”  How is it that she takes the ideas in my mind and captures them so beautifully in print? This is half of my joy in reading this book!

There are many possibilities of documenting the personal inquiry.  Kath reminds us to make sure, “Recording the learning should never compromise the learning itself; ideally the documentation contributes to and is part of the process.”  Sometimes, I think we feel the overwhelming need to monitor and document everything that is being produced.  This can be quite taxing on your brain, your body, and your learners.  Remember, documentation can be in the forms of “photos, videos, handwritten notes, shared digital documents, drawings, diagrams, artworks, and voice recordings.  This documentation is about making the learning visible.”

One of my favorite examples of how to document data is the triple-entry journal.  Kath provides an example on page 138.  Quite simply, it’s a running reflection that answers these categories.


Recount

• What did I do today?

Reflect

• What did I learn?
• What worked well?
• What was challenging?
• How do I feel?

Plan

• What is my next step?

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​Can I just tell you, I love this so much!  It scaffolds back to the main idea in the last episode that the power remains with the learner.  They are doing all of the thinking and planning.  Love this!  Here are some tools that Kath has put together to guide this process. 

• Pg 139:  sentence starters for reflection that go beyond retell and comprehension

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• Pgs 140-141:  visual organizers to scaffold reflection and help organize thinking throughout an inquiry

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• Pg 142:  visible thinking routines and other tools for reflection

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• Pg 143: a choice board to assess independent thinking

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• Pg 145:  Dylan Wiliam’s strategies for formative assessment

When we are guiding our learners, we need to collaborate with our peers to calibrate what we are looking for as we document, reflect, and assess.  Kath suggests, “Having a shared understanding of what we are looking and listening for, alongside an attitude of openness to the unexpected, makes for authentic, transparent assessment.”  By having a shared understanding, it shapes what we are looking for as we engage with our learners.  It guides what we will document and bring back to our colleagues to assess. On page 150, Kath provides a protocol for collaborative inquiry into learner progress, which outlines each step of the calibration.  Genius!

One idea that I’ve not used is paired interviews.  Kath states, “At the end of a personal inquiry, before or after learners have shared their learning with others, learners can team up to interview each other about the experience.”  I really like this idea of hosting the interview before the sharing, so they aren’t focused on the product, but the process they have gone through.  This will make it easier to share those ideas with the rest of class or small group later.  On pages 148-49, there are some reflection sheets for early years and elementary age.

​“Enabling even our youngest learners with the belief that they can take action to bring about change is surely one of the most significant purposes of schooling in the twenty-first century.”  While reading this quote, my mind reeled through different children that have inspired me by their actions.  Here are some young people who have taken action that you may know while others you may not. 

• Malala Yousafzai - the youngest Nobel Peace Prize laureate for standing up for the educational rights of girls in Pakistan.  At 15 years old, she was advocating for these rights shot at while engaged with a mob.

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• Greta Thunberg - climate and environmental activist.  At 16 years old, she addressed the United Nations about the seriousness of climate change. 

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• Thomas Suarez - app creator and innovator.  At 12 years old, he created apps founded a school club for fellow peers

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• Jasmine Roberts - for a science fair project, she tested ice from major fast food chains.  She found that 70% of her ice specimens were dirtier than the toilet water in the restaurant.  At 12 years old, she shared her journey on Oprah. 

These are everyday learners who saw a need and filled it.  How did they do it?  They have parents, educators, and community members that saw their passion and set the conditions for it to turn into action.  To create those conditions, we can begin by asking “so what” questions.  Kath reminds, “The implications of this deceptively simple question can leave us feelings both inspired and decidedly uncomfortable.”  Here are some of her “so what” questions that can be found on page 151.: 

• ‘So, what has this all been for?’
• ‘So what does this all mean?’
• ‘So, what might you do with this that would be helpful to others?’

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Kath quotes Michele Martin, which sums up our purpose in taking action beautifully.  She says, “It’s about giving kids a say, a choice.  Letting them delve into something that they’re really deeply passionate about for their own selves, in their own lives or for the greater good of the community or even their family.  It’s about what they really want to do in their heart.  So they need to see that we’re invested in it as they are.  And then they want to do it.  They want to act.  It’s not ‘I want to do it for this teacher’ - ‘I want to do it for myself but they (the adults) have got my back’.”

What can we do to support action daily?  Kath has many suggestions that you can read more in-depth about on pages 153-154; 158.  My favorite is an entire page of ways to make a contribution.  It’s almost like a Wordle of big ideas and the most relevant are bolded.  

To share with our peers and provide feedback, Kath has given many examples on pages 154-157.  No surprise, she has some amazing questions and exit tickets that spark the reflection while sharing feedback.  

Well, that’s it for this episode.  Be sure to join us for section 4. 

I woke up this morning telling myself, "Today will be the day you will be inspired."  

After getting this blog up to speed and curating presentations, my energy level and creativity plummeted.  It happens to all of us.

I've had a long-term goal to write a book series.  The ideas are mapped out, but I have been struggling for days to put the ideas together.  Then, I proceeded to speak out loud what I needed for that to happen.  Next thing you know, I have two articles that clarify my thinking and provide a foundation for my argument.  Where did I get my inspiration?  I found it in a LinkedIn post. 

I'm a big believer of asking for what you want in this world.  What is something that you need to move forward with your goals?

Welcome back for another session of our book club on Getting Personal with Inquiry Learning by Kath Murdoch. We are focusing on sections 3.4 - 3.5 in this episode to learn how to confer and sustain the inquiry process.
 
Before we begin, we need to give a big shout to Nisha Vahi, our moderator for this session.  Nisha helped us to explore new reflection tools: Root, Bark, Branch from Shifting Schools and Triangle-Square-Circle from Harry & Rosemary Wong in The Classroom Instruction Book.  Now, we have new tools to help our learners stretch their thinking! 

​Once we have launched the personal inquiry process, we need to continuously follow-up in order to sustain the process.  As a teacher, this was an opportunity for growth in my practice.  I regularly captured the data and evidence of learner growth, but I was not consistent in relaying it with my learners.  This section reminded me of the importance of consistency, because we all can do better. 
 
Kath states, “Conference is a deliberate, usually scheduled opportunity to check in and provide feedback and support that allows both the educator and learner to consider next steps.  Skilled conferring means we must be fully present to the learner’s offerings and simultaneously notice what they are revealing and the implications for next steps.”  
 
The part that resonated with me in this passage is “revealing”.  How well do we listen to all aspects of what our learners are revealing to us about their process?  How can we manage this in our context?  Kath suggests, “The power needs to remain with the learner…where the learner realizes what they need to do next because of deft questioning, probing, and what Matt Glover describes as ‘nudging’.”  
 
The part that sits in my heart right now is that the power remains with the learner.  It’s made me think about the processes and systems I need to put into place for this to happen.  How about you?  What do you need to add into your practice, so the power remains with your learners? 

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​When conferring with early learners, Kath suggests using a play-based workshop that is less formal and brief.  “Confer with two or three children per session.  These ‘focus learners’ are given particular attention during the workshop, with notes made about their learning, dialogue recorded, and photographs taken.”  This makes sense to me as our early learners will need more tangible pieces of evidence in order for the power to remain with them. 
 
There are some salient points of what to do while conferring.  We need to listen, ask clarifying questions, and document our interaction in a variety of ways.  I believe most of us engage in this practice, but Kath provides some amazing question prompts and sentence stems to spark the dialogue on pages 120-121.  There are prompts for suggesting, sharing, and goal setting too.  If you’ve read a book by Kath, you know that she never suggests anything without providing practical examples.  
 
One thing that really shouted out at me off the page was ‘mind your language.’  What does Kath mean by this?  “The words and tone we choose to use as we confer with learners have a strong influence on the way they see their learning and their sense of agency.”  She gives some practical examples on page 121. Here’s one.
 
Instead of…

• Why have you done this?

 
Try something like…

• I’ve noticed…
• I am wondering…
• Can you help me understand more about..

 
The language changes it from being judgmental and punitive to naturally inquiring about the thinking process.  Transformative in my opinion.  There are equally amazing talking prompts on page 122 to support your process.

​As we know, for anything to be sustainable in our practice, we need systems in place to support it.  Learners need to know how to wield each of the parts and manipulate them for their own use.  Kath remarks, “As learners work through their inquiries, we need to be clear about our roles and develop systems that ensure there is some routine and predictability within this dynamic and varied learning environment.”  
 
Kath suggests using a simple inquiry cycle as a possible scaffold for the process of sustainability.  On page 125, there is a sample inquiry cycle for learners seven and older that has sample questions and each component of the inquiry cycle to answer those questions.  Just a reminder the inquiry cycle is comprised of these components: 

• tuning in - activating prior knowledge
• finding out - asking questions and gathering information
• sorting out - organizing the information so it’s meaningful
• documenting  capturing the evidence in varied ways
• sharing - planning how it will be shared with others
• acting - applying the learning through meaningful action

 
During this process, our learners will get side-tracked, because so many new ideas will be swirling in their minds at the same time.  On page 127-28, there are tools to help learners stay focused on meaning making, managing multiple inquiries, harnessing the talents of older learners and managing group sharing and reflecting on their personal inquiries.  
 
Once a week, consider hosting a personal inquiry workshop.  Here are some ideas found on page 129.  Kath provides some detailed ways for learners to: 

• Gather, focus, and plan
• Investigate, create, and do
• Confer
• Conduct mini-lessons or clinics
• Pause to reflect
• Reflect on process

Our early years teachers, we have not forgotten about you.  In fact, Kath has created an entire section dedicated to your processes on pages 130-133.  

Kath reminds us, “During the early years of primary school (generally 4-7 years) most personal inquiries originate through play and engagement with materials.  The role of play as a context for inquiry cannot be overemphasized…With the right mix of open-ended materials, time and trust, inquiry is as natural to play is a fish is at home in water.  Play involves experimentation, testing out ideas, imagination and risk-taking.”  

We know that an early years learner does not operate the same.  Their personal inquiries may last one lesson or be carried out over several days.  Remember that this is all about exploration and discovery.  

On page 131, there is a detailed discovery workshop template with certain considerations.  I will share one with you.


Curating the space

“Educators organize materials around the learning space (indoor and outdoor) to invite learners to experiment, investigate, problem solve, create and imagine.  Some of these materials may be permanent features of the space while others are deliberately designed as new or temporary provocations.  This may be set-up before the session and/or it may involve learners in selecting and organizing materials based on their interests.  Materials should be open ended and invite sensory engagement.  Materials may be deliberately designed around particular concepts.”

Some other considerations for a discovery workshop include:  gathering, focusing and planning; investigating, creating and doing; conferring; reflecting and sharing.

Just like upper grades, we need to consider how learning will be organized, documented, and the learning outcomes.  There are so many goodies in this section for you to read.

To conclude, Kath provides a list of roles an educator takes on in a personal inquiry workshop on page 134.  My favorite is this one:


​Set up systems
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Spontaneity and flow benefit from structure and organization.  Design systems that help hold space and freedom. 

I hope you were able to take away some nuggets from this section and we will see you in the next episode where we will unpack sections 3.6 - 3.7.

Our last session of #GPWIL was a memorable one with Kirti joining on her phone in a tuk tuk and Jake in a hotel lobby.  Dedicated educators joining in the discussion to enrich their practice from different time zones around the world.  We decided that this isn't the end and we will meet up again once a month to check on our practice and spur new ideas.  Don't you love when a plan comes together? 

This quote sums up how I feel about all of the amazing people I've met in #CITLreads  #GPWIL and #pypchat this past year.  You are my human library.  You help me to become a better educator and human being on this planet.​

I have struggled to be a true blogger throughout the year.  I have content now, but I had to really work at getting it current.  Is there anyone out there who is an expert that can provide some tips and tricks?  We are all newbies at something and I want to make it better.  

Thank you!

This was a wonderful affirmation to wake up to this morning.  When you are venturing into the wild unknown without a handbook, it helps when someone you respect validates that you are on the right track.  It's not for praise or likes on social media.  It's an internal check mark that your journey is resonating and to keep following your path.  

I hope you are taking the steps to mark out your own path.  It requires a lot of bravery to walk into the unknown, especially if others around you are used to the status quo.  Do something little everyday to bring you closer to what you want.​

This is the section we have been waiting for!  It’s at the heart of how to get started with a personal inquiry, how and what to document, and tons of reflection prompts.  If I were you, I would have my notebook ready to jot down some notes. 

This week would not have been as insightful without the help of our moderator Vidhya G.  She brought her passion for this work by guiding us through this section with thoughtful considerations and enough talk time to digest and reflect on the process.  We love you Vidhya for always supporting this work!

I think most people concur that life is a journey full of memorable moments, some overwhelmingly happy while some left us in tears.  These moments have defined who we are today and we will continuously evolve to become better tomorrow.  Kath connects this journey metaphor to learning about inquiry.  “Journeys suggest connection, flow, sequence, and continuity rather than scattered, one-off, fragmented activities.  While a journey may be a meandering one, it is still, for the most part, working towards a destination.  Some journeys are short, others long; some go according to plan while others are beset with unexpected challenges.  Most destinations have multiple pathways or routes to reach them so decisions must be made about the best route under the circumstances.”  I connect to the notion that our journey is not a one-off, rather sustainable over time, so we create a disposition of taking meaningful action. 

​Kath provides some amazing questions to consider before, during, and after our personal inquiries on page 85.  In my breakout room discussion, we all took this differently.  My partner looked at these questions to guide the planning of the shared inquiries and modeling for personal inquiries.  Meanwhile, I saw these question prompts to model with our learners, so they can answer them on their own.  You must check them out, because they really get you thinking.  Here are some questions from each section. 

Before

• Where do I want to go? Why? 
• What other journeys have I been on that are like this and what can I learn from them? 

During

• How am I feeling about this? 
• Is this what I was expecting? 

After

• What’s the best thing about where I have ‘arrived’?
• Is this what I expected? 

Kath reflects on our process as educators, “Challenging yourself to open up opportunities for personal inquiry is undoubtedly a professional learning journey for you…Going into the unknown means being courageous, trusting yourself, and harnessing a spirit of adventure.”  This is my new mantra that I’m going to print and post up on my vision board.  We are all facing an uphill battle with something in our practice.  Take one small step each day to walk around that obstacle, so we can get to the other side. ​

​By reading this book, you are lighting your own spark.  Don’t forget this as you progress through this school year.  There will be obstacles, this is the only thing we can count on.  Even still, remember this book club and how it has lit your love of personal inquiry.  

What about our learners?  For some of them, they might struggle to identify their passion and spark.  How can we help them?  Kath provides some invaluable suggestions, “There are numerous reasons why some learners might find it challenging to locate a focus for personal inquiry.  The important thing to remind ourselves i s that learners may well have interests even when they are unable or choose not to articulate them.  It is our job to gently provoke, nurture, and question, and to observe, listen, and trust that we will find a way to help each learner get in touch with their own curiosity.  Or, should I say, to get back in touch with their curiosity.”

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​If we spark our learners, why do many learners fail to move forward with their personal inquiry?  It probably has to do with the systems you have or have not established for them to be independent.  Kath reminds us, “ Simply opening the door to personal inquiry ang expecting all learners to confidently walk through is both naïve and ineffective.”  If you are learning in a traditional setting for most of the day, learners will greatly struggle to pivot towards agentic thinking.  Yet, many of us do this throughout the week and wonder why learners act out during personal inquiry time. 

The shared inquiry or unit of inquiry can be a wonderful time to spark personal inquiries.  This is a highly collaborative time where peers and educators can engage to share ideas that may spark curiosities and wonderings.  Kath suggests, “Whether planned or spontaneous, shared inquiries are designed to build the knowledge bank for our learners and help them develop conceptual understandings about the way the world works…As educators bring big questions to learners in the form of a shared inquiry, they are also broadening the scope of possibility for personal inquiries to follow.”  

As a result of the shared inquiry, we can prompt learners to spark their thinking.  Here are some suggested by the text: 

• “That could be a great thing to inquire into”
• “Sounds like something that would work really well for a personal inquiry”
• “Maybe you could look into that in our discovery workshop”

This section has many ideas on how to spark the curiosity on pages 88-89, including a heart map and a museum of us.  They are wonderful, but it comes from a place of authenticity as you guide the process.  Kath states, “One of the most powerful ways to light the spark in learners is to provide authentic, living examples of what personal inquiry looks like.”  How can we be authentic? We share our personal inquiry that we are exploring at the moment and our process. 

As we have previously discussed, the learning space design greatly supports personal inquiry.  On pages 92-93, Kath provides some learning spaces that will set the stage for discovery workshop.  She has a list of materials that we use each time to transition learners towards the workshop experience.  This reminds me of a conversation with a colleague in my break out room.  In her early years room, they eat their meals, so they set the stage for the experience by putting out wipeable placemats.  This helps her learners to switch gears from learning to eating.  Similarly, we can set the stage for discovery workshop.  Check out the different ideas and concepts that can be explored and the ways to arrange materials.  So amazing!

​Now that we have sparked curiosity, what do we do next?  We need to make a strong proposition, pitch, and plan.  But, this process is going to look differently for each learner.  What will you put in plan, so there are multiple entry points for your learners?  Kath points out, “Personal inquiry is just that -- personal!  So when it comes to ways to organize and plan, we need to acknowledge there is no single or right way to go about it.”  What does this mean for us?  We need to brainstorm with our learners how they might find out and ways they might share and represent their learning to contribute to the community.  An example of this process can be found on page 103.  

The rest of this section focuses on more helpful feedback, initial planning of ideas, preparing a pitch that includes all elements of personal inquiry that we’ve previously unpacked, planning the investigation, reflecting on the process, and questioning tools.  All of this can be found on pages 105-118.  Kath has really curated some amazing resources for us, so the process is well scaffolded while offering learners some agency.  Ack, this stuff is too good. That’s my opinion and I’m sticking by it. 

Well my friends, that’s just a bit to think about as we get into the nitty gritty of planning personal inquiry with our learners.  I need a nap now!

I was so excited to see copies of Pop-Up Studio: Responsive Teaching for Today's Learners at Creation Village.  They are adopting so many best practices and this will only add to their toolkit.  Here's how Gemma, the coordinator, feels about her copy. 

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The teachers at Creation Village had fun using the CME Model by Misty Paterson to create a representation of change and/or consequences.  We unpacked the concepts and they used loose parts to create their model. 

The key to this experience is agency.  You can assign some materials, but I chose to allow the learners drive the process. I have found it's more fluid this way and it sparks creativity. 
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I'm using the CME model to help teachers to better understand how to use concepts in their practice and make deeper connections.  How does my model represent change or consequence?   What is it? 

I just registered for Crafting Inquiry with these amazing educators.  I can't wait to learn, be inspired, and apply new ideas to my practice.  Who will join me?
​Click here for more information. 

This morning, I woke up to my neighbors sharing that my car, along with several others, were broken into over night.  I felt helpless, because I was a cross the country leading a workshop.  As we do, I felt sorry for myself and explained my situation to the school principal and his young daughter. 

I went on my way to prepare for my workshop.  The principal's wife, a workshop participant, brought me this bag.  At first, I was very confused and then it dawned on me that it was from her young daughter.  She had given me her coin collection to help me pay for my car repairs.  Doesn't this melt your heart? 

This made me think about action as a disposition.  This young girl's reaction to my situation was a lifetime centered on service and action.  This is the type of behavior we want to see in our future leaders and decision-makers. 
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​Supporting conceptual thinking and reflective practice at Creation Village World School in Celebration, Florida.  This team of teachers are on fire about supporting concept-driven learners. 

One year after leaving Houston ISD, I had an amazing experience working with early years teachers from across the district to better understand the program.  We dismantled central ideas, lines of inquiry, agency, play, learning environments, inquiry, and more.  It was a fun filled time sharing ideas and showing our creativity as we enter this new school year. 

We are extending our creativity with loose parts to create an engagement that will transfer of one to one correspondence. 

​I know these teachers will make an impactful difference this school year and for many to come. 

​This week, we are going to look at various scaffolds that will support and assess our use of inquiry within our practice.  For newer teachers, we will explore some systems that may help you get started.  For others, we will examine ways to deepen our practice so learners take more agency. 
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​A big thanks to our guest host, Katie Poulsen, for leading our book club this week.  She had to battle break out room issues, expiring Zoom links, and time constraints.  We were able to really unpack this section and I know it was due to her passion for this work.

From the beginning, Kath Murdoch makes a compelling statement that made me stop, reflect, and connect.  “How we teach matters…How we teach not only influences learner achievement, it also shapes the way learners think about themselves as learners and the way they think about the nature of learning itself.”  Take a moment to pause about this quote.  How we teach sets up a child’s learning identity.  I think this is why we educators look at our profession as a “calling”, because we know the mantle that rests upon our shoulders.  I still remember things that educators said in passing while I was growing up that have imprinted my identity as a learner.  

Kath continues, “The metaphor of artistry has long resonated with me as an inquiry educator.  Viewing pedagogy as an art takes it beyond the mechanistic, technical, formulaic, and recognizes that teaching is a responsive act.  It requires a willingness to receive as well as give, to be spontaneous as well as planned, and to always be open to new ways of thinking and being in response to what we observe and hear.”

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One of my favorite items in this section is a self-assessment tool to measure our current pedagogy and identify areas for our own personal inquiry.  It can be found on pages 58-59.  As you know, I am a big fan of success criteria, because they scaffold goal setting so well.  Through our group discussion, my viewpoint of this self-assessment turned towards using it as a whole-school success criteria. 

From a teacher perspective, I would complete the self-assessment tool and identify my growth areas to create a goal.  Next, we need to identify the point when we feel we have met our goal.   For me, it’s “proficient” on this tool, because it means I have a strong grasp and the necessary skills to move towards mastery.   Afterwards, I need to re-read the goal descriptor and highlight the areas that are still a struggle, so I can construct a solid plan on how I might achieve it. 

From a school leader perspective.  I would have teachers and school leadership identify areas of strength and growth for each indicator and highlight the parts of the descriptor that summarizes their experience.  In the shared spaces within the office area, I would have the descriptors posted with pictures of teachers that are “leading” in that area, but provide specific examples from the descriptor.  This will highlight them as experts.  This provides peers who are still developing in the same area a person they can go to ask for strategies, clarification, and support.  What a wonderful way to build school culture and relationships. 

Can you tell that this is my favorite new tool? 

​You know inquiry is happening in a classroom when learners are able to speak of it freely without teacher support.  In a recent school visit, Kath engaged with learners who were just learning how to inquire on their own.  One of the learners' reflections was priceless.  “Well, you have to start by thinking about what you already know, that’s kind of like tuning into what’s in your brain already.  Then you might have more questions and then you need to do some finding out and you can find out in lots of different ways.  It depends on what you are investigating.  You have to think about it all and kind of sort it out in your head and show what you are thinking because your thinking changes.  You take action when you do something with what you have learned.”

This is the language that we want from our learners as they develop into their roles of inquirers.  They should grapple with the process, since inquiry is messy, fluid, and multifaceted.  We can begin this process through shared inquiries, such as a PYP unit of inquiry. “Shared inquiries that involve a class or cohort of learners inquiring together can be a helpful way to build this collective language and understanding - particularly beyond the early years.”  

To assist with shared and personal inquiries, Kath shares her revised inquiry cycle.  Now, it’s considered a journey where different entry points are flexible.  In our break out room, we had a discussion about moving away from inquiry cycles, since many of them are quite rigid in stages.  One of my teammates reminded me that for new teachers to the PYP, an inquiry cycle provides security until the teacher is able to wield it on their own.

Kath added to this idea, “There is an enormous variety in the way people go about investigating questions and issues of interest and significance  to them.  However, models and frameworks such as the one depicted here can help learners talk about the process they are using and can provide a useful common anchor for dialogue about the design of a personal project.”

​Manion and McAllister state, “As well as building subject knowledge, education is a process of self-actualization, helping every young person find their feet, find their voice, and work towards becoming the best version of themselves that they can be.”  This quote sums up why I became a teacher.  I wanted to help my learners to see their potential and provide them tangible skills that they can re-use in the future.  

In the PYP, we call these skills Approaches to Learning or AtLs.  They are skills that learners take on themselves to become independent thinkers and inquirers.  We have five categories of AtL skills: thinking, research, communication, self-management, and social.  In her book, Kath adds a sixth category called  contributor.  Listen to this description!

“I am a Contributor.  I am courageous and responsible.  I try to use my learning to make a positive difference to my life and the lives of others.  I am aware of these skills, talents, and perspectives I have and how I can bring these to a group.  I think about how I can be helpful to others both in my local and global contexts and take action where I can.  I try to make ethically responsible decisions.”

When I read this for the first time, my heart melted a little more.  This is my mission as an educator.  I want to support my young learners to develop into even better humans.  Can you imagine if all learners knew their talents and were able to contribute them to the world?  This is why we work as hard as we do to make it happen in our corner of the world.  This is the pay off when the work becomes insurmountable. 

As an adult, I am still growing my learning assets.  At times, I doubt my capabilities and my touch in the world.  I want to do so many things, but wonder if I’m doing it right or good enough.  When I listen to descriptors above, it helps me to reset and know that I’m on the right pathway.  

As my friend Joe Amabile says, “Teaching is a 30 year journey of self-discovery.”  Every time I read, engage with others, and reflect, I am continuing on the journey that was outlined for me.  The same is for you.  Keep it up!  You are creating an impact by listening to this podcast and engaging with Kath’s work. 

​In March 2021, I was going through a lot of change within myself.  I had worked very hard to get my school to the point of our authorization visit.  Meanwhile, I had been offered my dream job at my school district to support PYP and MYP coordinators.  Yet, nothing felt right.  I knew I was doing something to hold myself back.  Then, I came a cross this image and everything became clear. 

Within a very short time, I turned down the new job, completed my contract with the district, and I ventured on my own.  Was it scary?  Yep.  Was I scared?  No.  As my momma used to tell me, when something is right, there is no confusion.  Everything feels calm and there are minimal obstacles in your way. 

As I trained through the summer, the fear began to creep in about my decision.  Then, I squared my shoulders and reminded myself that I had certain gifts that were meant to help other people.  If I stayed at a safe job, I would not be able to support as many teachers as I wanted.  This has been my booster in uncertain times. 

Thankfully, I have been continuously busy this past year. I've been truly blessed in my endeavor to create content, lead workshops, podcast, blog, and so much more.  I hope to continue on my journey this year in learning how to make impactful TikTok videos and online workshops. 

We all have our pathway. There is no right way, just the right one for us.  Keep doing what you love and remember that happy money is what you are striving to obtain. ​