the sweet spot between safety and adventure - and how picture books can help you find it.

‘But Rogers knew that without familiarity – and, by extension, the trust that familiarity fosters, children’s curiosity can wither. It sounds counterintuitive, but children’s sense of adventurousness is paradoxically tied to their sense of safety. Kids need both to feel confident enough to explore the world around them.’ (Behr and Rydzewski, 2021:29)

One of the persistent myths about inquiry-based classrooms is that they are chaotic, and unstable environments where anything goes. A commitment to listening to children and planning in responsive ways suggests to some a lack of routine, order, or predictability. I am currently reading Behr and Rydzewski’s delightful book: “When you Wonder, you’re Learning” which draws on the beautiful work of Fred Rogers (a mainstay of children’s television in America from 1968 – 2001) and offers important lessons and reminders for today’s parents and educators. (I highly recommend it and have Linda Kaser and Judy Halbert to thank for recommending it to me!)  Not only did the television show itself become a reliable, routine aspect of so many children’s lives – something to look forward to each day/week – the format of the show was similarly predictable. But within the show, were countless moments designed to spark wonder, to invite the young learner to venture into the unknown, to ask questions, to make connections, and to explore.   For me, this mirrors the ‘sweet spot’ in the inquiry classroom. In order to effectively move with the unexpected moment, to be open to the question you do not know is coming, to be responsive and agile and take risks – we need a secure home base. We need rhythm and routine – boundaries that allow us to experiment in safety. Inquiry classrooms can and should be calmly energetic, a safe space in which learners are relaxed AND alert and where predictability and routine help support the spontaneity and adventure. 

Here in Australia, we are beginning the school year. More than ever before, as children in many states return to the learning on site after months of lockdown last year, we are acutely aware of the need to nurture relationships, establish routines and create a space that helps kids feel confident enough to explore. These first few weeks are vital in creating a learning culture – a culture which can either enhance or diminish children’s willingness to explore, take risks, make mistakes, reflect, collaborate and so on. 

Of all the routines I value as a primary school teacher, there is none more precious than gathering as a class to share in a really good book. When I taught full time, this was a sacred time – usually straight after lunch EVERY day and one of my great joys was in choosing what to read. Oh the anticipation of the book!  The conversations we had! As readers of this blog and my newsletter will know, I am a devotee of high-quality children’s literature - real books written by real authors and of the simple, powerful joy of reading to and with children. So if you are going to create any kind of routine in your classroom this year – make sure reading to your children is one of them. Do it every day.  The routine has the added bonus of connecting the group through the invisible thread of the shared experience of listening to and connecting with a powerful story. Serial reading is so important but reading a full picture book, start to finish, is a unique experience. 

 Last year, I shared a post about the way Oliver Jeffers’ book “What we’ll Build” could be used to create a class learning agreement.  This year, I am casting my net a little wider and sharing a few more of my favourite books (so hard to choose! So many!)  to use early in the year together with a few questions or prompts that might be helpful in shaping dialogue about shared expectations, goals and roles, ways of relating, agreements, etc. 

All the Ways to be Smart by Davina Bell and Allison Colpoys

What is smart? What does it mean to be smart? What kind of smart do you think you are? What makes you say that? Can you get smarter? Are we born smart, or do we become that way? This book is such a lovely way to open up the idea that being ‘smart’ can take all sorts of forms. The examples are numerous, and the rhythm and rhyme of the text is beautiful. I would begin by asking children to share their ideas about ‘smart’ before reading and then reflect on new thinking at the end possibly inviting them to write a letter sharing their view of their own strengths as learners.  Great one for parents too! 

The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi 

This is an old favourite and one of many books I own about names and identity.  This is a really lovely way to introduce an inquiry into the story of our names. It is often surprising what kids don’t know about their names and fantastic way to build intercultural understanding as well as honouring identity. After reading invite children to share what they DO know about their names and brainstorm some questions together that they can go home and ask to find out more. Have them teach tell the story of their names through the week.

My Heart by Corinna Luyken

This really is a most beautiful book. Simply reading it to your kids and inviting their reflections and connections may be enough.  A gentle way into conversations about the degree to which we can manage or control our emotions and responses to experiences. The last line: ‘Closed, or open – I get to decide’ is the kicker! What a wonderfully provocative statement. Do we get to decide? How much control DO we have over ourselves?  This book is also a lovely way to introduce the idea of a heart map – where children write or draw, in the shape of a heart, their interests and passions so you can get to know them better. 

The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires

Another perennial favourite, I come back to this book again and again as a way into conversations about managing expectations, making mistakes and coping with disappointments.  This is the perfect book to include early in the year when we should be having open conversations about the nature of learning and the value of mistake making. 

The Tree in Me by Corinna Luyken

Another Luyken book - I am a big fan!  This is a book about connection, and I just adore it. Even the title ‘The Tree in Me’ is enough to spark wonderful speculation: What might this mean? Can you really have a tree inside you? Why this title?  On reading the book, I encourage children to think not only about their connection with nature but also about what feels so special, so connected to them that it almost feels ‘inside’ them.  I would love to share this book while seated beneath a tree – have children spend time really feeling and exploring that connection with nature and ask: how might we keep connected to the earth as we learn together this year? How might we stay connected to each other? 

 My teacher is a Monster by Peter Brown 

We talk a lot about the “image of the child” in inquiry circles – and equally important is the image of the teacher held by children (and parents) and indeed by ourselves! This story is about perspective – the way we see each other and the judgements we make and how shared experiences and a willingness to see each other in new ways can redefine our relationships. Early in the year, we should be explicit and transparent about roles and invite children to share their thinking about what they think a good teacher says/does/feels/thinks? Always fascinating and a great way into inquiring into learning. 

 How to Heal a Broken Wing by Bob Graham

 It is almost impossible to choose which Bob Graham book to feature – I want to share them ALL. I am not even sure why this one comes to mind as a good early-in-the-year book. All I know is that when I read this book to a group of children a reverent hush always descends on the group. It is a story about noticing, empathy, kindness and being a good citizen in the most unassuming of ways. I think it can lead to gentle conversations about looking out for one another, about taking time to support and help others about how kindness can find a home in your classroom. 

 Wonder Walkers by Micha Archer 

My collection of books about wonder grows every year. This one is a great way to invite children to share the things that THEY are curious about. After reading it, ask them to share their own wonderings. – “what would you like to explore this year?”  The best way to use this book is as an invitation to conduct your OWN wonder walk. Even if the kids are really familiar with school – try a wonder walk where they deliberately approach the buildings and grounds with curiosity. Can we notice things we have not noticed before? 

Nine things to Remember (and one to forget) by Alison Binks

 A beautiful book to read aloud. I like the idea of innovating on this text and asking children what they think THEY should remember about being a learner? If you…remember to …. Another way to use the text is as a stimulus for them to imagine themselves at the end of the year. What memories would they like to have? 

What do you do with a problem? By Kobi Yamada 

All Yamada’s books are fabulous for the beginning of the year but this one is especially good for igniting a conversation around behaviour and generating ideas to form a class agreement. Most children are well aware of some of the typical issues/problems that come up in a classroom. Discussing what they are, why they occur and what the response might be can help build collective ownership of the norms and expectations in your learning community 

 Going Places by Peter Reynolds

 Like Bob Graham, Oliver Jeffers and Kobi Yamada, I could choose ANY one of Peter Reynolds books to use in the process of building a community early in the year. Going Places is an ideal text to introduce the idea of being imaginative, creative, and unafraid to ‘do it your way’. This is a book to prompt innovative, agentic thinking. It is also a beautiful way to explore the power of collaboration and what can happen when we put our heads together.  You might follow this book with a rich, open-ended task and encourage your children to do it THEIR way, to celebrate thinking outside the box and be less concerned about what others are doing. 

The Wonder of Winsome by Kath Murdoch

I just can’t leave her out!!   I wrote this book with the beginning of the year in mind (especially the prep/kinder year).  I would encourage you to share it at a parent night – a reminder to parents that adults have such incredible power when it comes to curiosity and agency. How would I use it in the classroom? I’d set up some wonder boxes or wonder journals (one for me too) and invite children to add to these whenever they have a wonder. Another routine can be the weekly sharing of wonders and selecting one to explore together. 

 

Oh my goodness! This has been such a LONG post and yet I finish it feeling dissatisfied. Why? Because there are SO many more! (You should see the pile I began with… )I would love to hear about your favourite books to use early in the year as you collaboratively create your learning community with your children.  Please do share!  And I also encourage you to consider the kinds of routines and rituals that you will introduce into your classroom this year to help create the calm, secure space we need for adventurous learning.

What routines do you like to establish? 

What are your favourite books to use early in the year?

Do you read to your children every day? Do you have a ritual associated with it? 

 Just wondering …

 

What will we build?  An inquiry into culture building inspired by Oliver Jeffers. 

AS I write, teachers around my home country of Australia are preparing to begin the school year. Others are returning after their winter break or perhaps after a prolonged period of remote learning. Regardless of the reason, returning to school is an opportunity to ‘reboot’ and refresh - to ask ourselves and our students important questions about the kind of learners we want to be and the kind of learning community we want to build. 

 ‘Building’, ‘constructing’, ‘growing’, ‘creating’ … these are all words that align beautifully with the ethos of inquiry.   As inquirers, we value the process as much as the content or product we might be working towards. As inquiry teachers we see learning as a process of construction, building on prior learning through investigation, analysis and reflection  And we relish that building process in collaboration with our students.  

 So, as we begin the new school year or return after a break, we might ask ourselves and our students ‘What will we build together?’ 

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 When I came across Oliver Jeffer’s new book ”What We’ll Build” late last year, I was immediately captivated by it as an allegory for the collaborative journeys of inquiry we take with our students.  It is a book about parenting – a loving letter to Jeffer’s daughter and has all of his wonderful hallmarks – gentle prose, symbolism, glorious illustrations, humour and big ideas.  

As a full-time classroom teacher, I ALWAYS made sure that on our first day together, we connected through at least one really sensational book.  I know of no better way than to commune with children than through powerful literature. If I were starting the year now, I think this is the book I would choose.  Revisiting it yesterday, I imagined the questions it might prompt me to ask myself, my team and my kids. I imagined how it might help us “make plans for our future together”. I imagined , perhaps returning to the book each day. Page by page, question by question. 

 Because that is the way classroom culture is built. Word by word, action by action, minute by minute , day by day.  As teachers, we are culture builders. And this culture determines the way our children come to see themselves as learners and how they see learning itself. If we truly want to build a culture that nurtures curiosity, agency, courage and compassion – we have some important questions to explore from day one. And this beautiful book might help you get the ball rolling. Here are the questions I played with, in response to the text… 

What shall we build, you and I? 

 Take time to ask your learners what they hope and indeed IMAGINE their classroom community will look and feel like. How might the physical space be arranged? What kind of space will support learning? What kind of relationships do students hope to have with each other? With their teachers? What is your vision for your team?  How will you build a wonderful, collaborative team this year? 

Let’s gather all our tools for a start

 What skills and disposition will help us learn together?  What is already in our toolkit as learners? Do we have the tools to manage ourselves, communicate, collaborate, think and be awesome researchers?  What do effective learners DO? What dispositions or attitudes can we cultivate? Do we have the language to talk about these tools for learning? 

 For putting together – and taking apart

How will we help ourselves stay resilient and strong?  How will we view mistakes and failures?  Are we willing to take things apart and start again?  What might we want to ‘take apart’ from the past and put back together in new ways? What might we let go of this year? What needs to change? 

Let’s build a door where there was none
We’ll build a house to be our home

 How might we create a safe and supportive community where we ALL feel we belong?  This is more than a classroom or a school – this is a community. How can we make this a truly inclusive place where each person feels seen? 

I’ll build your future and you will build mine

 What can we offer each other? What are your goals as learners? What are my goals as a teacher? What gifts can we give each other? How can we help each other grow? 

We’ll build a watch to keep our time

 What might our days look like? How can we co construct a routine or timetable to allow for flexibility as well as predictability and routine?  How will we document our journey together? 

We’ll build some love to set aside 
And build a hole where we can hide

 And what about those times when we need to be alone? Is there a space in our classroom that we can go to when we need time with ourselves? What might that look like?  How can we ensure we all get that time out when we need it? 

A fortress to keep our enemies out
And higher walls for when they shout
But you don’t always lose and you don’t always win
So we’ll build a gate to late them in
We’ll build a table to drink our tea and say
“I’m sorry,” “me two”, “me three”

 Conflict is an inevitable part of living and learning with others. We need to be OK with our differences and we know that will help us learn and grow. How might we manage conflict? What do we consider to be our rights and our responsibilities in this learning space? What agreements can we draft to help us learn together? How might this extend to our teaching teams? We need vigorous debate and different perspectives? How will we both ensure and manage that? How can we stay open to new ideas?  Different voices? 

We’ll build a tower to watch the sky
And other worlds to pass us by

 How will we stay connected with what is going on in the world? How can we connect with people and ;places beyond our school? Can we make more use of the outdoors this year?  How will we record and share our wonderings and be relentlessly curious about the world? Let’s make this a place where curiosity is welcome!

Let’s build a tunnel to anywhere
Let’s build a road up to the moon

Let’s imagine where we want to be at the end of this week, this term, this year. What are our goals? How might we help ourselves get there?  How will we stretch and challenge ourselves as learners? 

Let’s build a comfy place to rest
For we’ll be tired soon.

 Rushed, frantic classrooms do not make good learning environments. How will we help ourselves slow down and take more time to notice ourselves and our learning? How will we pay more attention to what’s going on and be more present in our day? What routines will we create to ensure we regularly reflect on what we are learning, doing and feeling? 

Let’s build a boat that can’t be broken
That will not sink, or be cracked open?

 What do we really believe about learning? What do we understand about how we learn?  What are the foundations of this classroom community? What are the things we can all agree are important? What do we value? 

A place to stay when all is lost
To keep the things we love the most
We’ll put these favourite things beside
The earlier love we set aside

 How will we ensure that school is a place where our true passions (as teachers and learners)  and interests are nurtured?  How will we introduce new possibilities and ensure we widen our horizons? What do we want to learn more about? What do we want to learn to make, do and be? 

I think that we might want them later 
When times are hard and needs are greater
 And will the learning that happens this year be the kind of learning that travels with us for life?  What do our students think is important for them to learn? How can we close the gap between school and the world beyond school? 
But first things first, let’s build a fire
For we’ve planned a lot and now we’re tired
It’ll keep us warm like when we’re born
Then we’ll say good night , as all’s all right

 Where will our ‘campfire’ be? Do we have a gathering place? Would rituals and routines might we develop as a class to bring a gentle, connecting rhythm to our days? 

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These are the things we will build, you and I

What does it mean to be in true partnership with each other, with learners and with families? 

What will we build? 

Beyond the power of this text to stimulate thinking about building classroom community, this text is about hope and about agency. The agency we all have to  onsciously and thoughtfully build our future together. 

“What We’ll Build” is available here

A trailer for the story is here

You can find out more about the inspiration for this book here

 So….

 What (and how) will YOU build with your students as you create a culture of and for inquiry?

Just wondering…

 

Staying awake to the world: taking time to inquire into and build our own "background knowledge"

We’ve just passed the winter solstice here in my part of the world. In Victoria, teachers are in their final week of what feels like the longest term in history. Many colleagues  are visibly exhausted from months of remote teaching and adjusting to new ways of working back at school. My overseas colleagues are also now counting the days down until the school year comes to an end in the northern hemisphere.  This past weekend was the first one for almost four months in which I had not worked in some capacity – either delivering online workshops, writing or planning.  We are all, undoubtedly in need of some time out.  Immersing ourselves in things that take us away from the world of teaching is vital for rejuvenation: for our physical, mental and emotional wellbeing. This past week, I have also been reminded of how important our engagement with the world beyond teaching is for, ironically, nurturing the quality of our teaching.

 One of the most profoundly important elements in designing for inquiry learning is the dialogue we have around the ‘planning table’ about the concepts and big ideas that lie at the heart of any inquiry journey. If the journey is exploring the ‘way living things adapt to changing environments’ it is not enough simply to find a few resources and develop some activities – we need to interrogate our own thinking about this big idea.  What do we really understand about adaptation? What background  knowledge do we bring to this?  If our inquiry is into the ‘role that the arts can play in changing the world’, we must ask ourselves how we feel about this statement? What lived experience do we have of this phenomenon? What examples have we heard about? Read about?  If we are supporting children to inquire into the ‘relationship between sustainability and materials’, what decisions have we made recently about choices of materials in our own lives? What do we really understand about the science of materials? If we are designing a journey of inquiry to examine the concept of exploration, how far have we come since our own impoverished education about our history? How many of us might have made the same mistake as our Australian Prime Minister did recently when he claimed we 'did not have slavery in Australia?  

 

When we engage learners in a process of inquiry, we most often begin by spending time tuning in to their prior knowledge. We identify their ‘first thinking’, theories and ways of seeing the ideas they are inquiring into.  But do we do this sufficiently for ourselves?  How often do we give ourselves time, as a team, to discuss our own experiences, positions, perspectives and understandings of the very things we are inviting our learners to inquire into?    And how often do we take the time to inform ourselves when we feel less secure in our understandings of the issues that sit at the core of the conceptual understandings we have designed for learners?   In my experience, the stronger inquiry teachers – the ones who question with most dexterity and bring a more intentional disposition to their observations, are the teachers who have the better grasp of both the concepts and the ‘content’ the learners are exploring.   I have always been wary of the glib phrase: “Inquiry teachers can learn alongside the children”.  While there is certainly truth in that (I have learned SO much simply being part of an inquiry journey with groups and individuals) it doesn’t mean we are ‘off the hook’.  Our ignorance can prevent us from asking better questions, helping learners make connections or pointing the way to critical information that can help struggling learners make meaning.  In fact I have often observed in my own teaching that the deeper my understanding of something is, the better I am at listening, waiting, questioning and holding back to support the learner.   Even when we might be assisting learners in a personal inquiry that goes well beyond our own field of interest and expertise, we need to know enough about how to connect to and locate others with the expertise … and that, in itself, requires us to stay awake to the world around us. 

 At the very least, taking time to inquire into our own understanding and experience of the conceptual landscape into which we are taking our children can help fuel our own curiosity. True inquiry teachers have what Susan Engel (2015) so beautifully calls “hungry minds’. They become fascinated by the questions children are raising, they are curious about their own ways of thinking about and seeing the material they are sharing with the class. They are voracious learners with open minds and open hearts Spending time connecting with our own experiences and understanding of and questions about the field our learners are inquiring into is time well spent.  It doesn’t mean we need to be experts on every discipline. Primary classroom teachers are generalists by nature. But that doesn’t excuse us from being informed.   So what might this look like? How can we stay more awake in the world and keep our minds hungry?

 Some ideas…

  • Prior to a planning meeting, ask each person in the team to locate a clip and/or reading to share with others. These might not be resources you use with students but may fuel your own thinking about the issues.

  •  If you design inquiries under a compelling question (broad/open ended/conceptual and non-googleable) go round the table sharing each of YOUR initial responses to the question.  How have your individual life experiences shaped your view of this big idea? How might that impact on your dialogue with learners? 

  •  Consider having staff book/movie clubs using texts that are not directly about teaching. Imagine a whole staff here in Australia reading and discussing Bruce Pascoe’s “Dark Emu” or collectively viewing the documentary “The Australian Dream” about Adam Goodes.  What a fantastic way to bring the spirit of inquiry and powerful dialogue into the staffroom! 

  • Share your favourite podcasts with each other - the ones that help you really grow your brain. Watch some Ted talks together.

  •  If as a team, you are feeling less confident in your background knowledge, invite someone with expertise to come and spend time with you or ‘zoom them in’ to your planning meeting. Be inquirers. Most people with expertise in an area are delighted to have an opportunity to share their passion. 

  • If there are places you might take your students as part of the inquiry (gallery/zoo/museum/parkland/historical site) why not have your team meeting at the site after school or on the weekend? 

  • Read. Or watch some clips. Or listen to some podcasts.  Or talk to people that have passion and expertise in this area. Come to your planning meeting ready to share some case studies or examples of the big ideas that will drive the inquiry.

  •  When planning, as yourselves: What is it that we hope our students will come to understand as a result of this inquiry?  And commit to documenting these as full statements (students will understand ….) not dot points/questions/phrases.  It is easy to generate questions like “What is sustainability?” or “How do people express their culture through the arts?” or “What does it mean to be healthy” and never actually discuss the conceptual understandings that might be developed through those questions.  

  • Most importantly, give this work time.  I would argue that these conversations are just as important as the design of learning tasks.  They help us connect to the why. They help us get clarity about our own thinking. They help reveal our biases, our blind spots and our confusions which can pave the way for poor questioning and missed opportunities when we are engaging with children. 

While there is a strong emphasis on learning processes in inquiry, it remains the case that powerful inquiry is fuelled by content of significance.  We can’t get to those conceptual understandings without exploring case studies and examples that gradually help us see patterns and make connections.  As inquiry teachers, we need to remain awake to the world around us. We need to have hungry minds that stay relentlessly curious about the way the world works and the way we understand the world. We need to keep pushing ourselves out of our “comfortable knowledge bubbles” and be prepared to be the geographers, historians, scientists, authors, mathematicians and artists we hope our students will be. And when we don’t know, we need to experience the thrill of the hunt – to yearn to know more. 

So my wish for you – as so many of you take a much deserved break, is that you can spend time revelling in the joy of your own learning about things that go beyond teaching.  So go find those podcasts, visit that museum (even if online), talk to your engineering/landscape gardener/pharmacist/builder friend about their job, listen to some music you have never listened to before, go look at some art, read some long form articles, take a walk in the forest and ask yourself what you know about the ecosystem around you, catch up on some documentaries…and enjoy cultivating your own curiosity.   You’ll be a better inquiry teacher for it. 

How do you ‘stay awake to the world’ amidst your busy life as a teacher? 

 Just wondering

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Relinquish, restore and renew: three questions to take on your journey

It has been an intense few weeks here in Australia – indeed all around the world.  As I said in my previous post, I have found myself steeped in the very practice I have spent my professional life researching advocating – inquiry.  When I am asked what inquiry might “look like” in a remote teaching and learning context, my first response is that it looks like what it IS right now!   We are all asking questions. going into the unknown, exploring, gathering data, figuring out what is working, what isn’t, changing our thinking, asking more questions…at a ‘meta’ level, we are undertaking a huge, collaborative inquiry.  And I would argue that we are also each moving through a very personal inquiry too – as individuals within our personal communities - beyond our role as teachers.

A lot of people are talking about the opportunity for reflection as our lives are forced inward - both literally and figuratively. As someone who has long championed the vital role that reflective thinking plays in the classroom, I couldn’t agree more. Somewhat paradoxically, for these past 3 weeks, I have found some of my own reflective practices falling away.  I routinely write a journal entry each night – I have done for years. But for the last 3 weeks my journal pages are empty. I only just picked it up again yesterday. Maybe it was the shock of it all, maybe the fact that I have spent most of my days writing (rather than teaching/facilitating) or maybe my routine is just out of whack.  Regardless, the call to reflect might be too soon for many of us who are currently scrambling to “pivot” (word of the month) our lives from what they were to what they are now. 

Here in my home state of Victoria, teachers had just 3 days prior to their holidays to pull something together in preparation for school closures.  Hardly time for thoughtful, reflective, deep engagement.  But now, on the eve of my local schools beginning term 2 (with a strange mix of schools being open but families urged to keep kids at home) -  I am wondering about where our inevitable reflections might lead us? 

The weekend before we moved into a level 3 shutdown, I watched a fascinating clip by the scientist Jem Bendell whose work focusses on the concept of deep adaptation particularly in response to Climate Change (remember that global crisis?).  Watching this clip through the lens of the current pandemic made it even more fascinating. So many of the points he raised about our response to climate change were just as relevant to this crisis. 

 “We are not in control anymore  - and we will act without knowing whether we will be successful in this very uncertain time” 

 In the quest for deep adaptation Bendell poses three questions. 

  •  What is it that we most value – what do we want to keep?

  • What is it that we must let go of ?

  • What is it that we could restore? 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAZJtFZZYmM&vl=en

 There is much more to these questions and his framing of them than I will do justice to here - but I urge you to watch the clip.  It certainly gave me food for thought. Bendell’s questions made me wonder. What questions am I noticing myself asking as I am suddenly forced to live a VERY different existence? What questions might help me make meaning as I ponder the possibility of returning to schools at some stage in the future? What questions might we ask ourselves as we move through to the ‘other side’ of this (we need to start asking them now – regardless of how far away that time might be.)

So, here are my 3R’s, as questions they may be of help to you too – in your thinking about teaching or even in your life aside from teaching. 

Relinquish

What might I let go/give up? What is this teaching me to do without or release? 

In my persona l life,  I am challenging myself to reconsider my insanely busy schedule. Can I relinquish the busy-ness that dominates my life as an educator?  As an inquiry educator I wonder if this experience will help teachers relinquish control? Will it help them see the power of really trusting learners? Can we relinquish our need to make all the decisions FOR learners that they can make for themselves?    

 Restore

What might I restore that has been lost, forgotten or compromised?

In my personal life, I feel like my commitment to my own health and wellbeing is undergoing a kind of ‘restoration’  - I am walking regularly again and I am practicing yoga for the first time in many years.   What could be restored in the service of inquiry learning?  I would love to see the restoration of the permission to be spontaneous. Veteran teachers often become a little ‘misty eyed’ when I speak of seizing the moment. It would be lovely to see it restored.  AS authors share clips of themselves reading aloud to kids around the world, I long for the central role that reading beautiful literature aloud in classrooms once had. Is it my imagination or are we doing less of that these days?  Restoration is not about harking back to the past…(thank goodness we have moved on from so much of what was NOT good inquiry). It is about ensuring that things of VALUE are not lost.

Revolutionise

What might I change? 

People all around the world are revolutionising their practice in response to his emergency. I wonder – what might look different when we return?  What is already different? This is a time for restoration but it is also a time for renewal. My family has had to completely revolutionize the way we use and share our house. We now have a recording and a dance studio in what was once a bedroom and a spare room. And it has been an amazing creative opportunity. We may never change it back!   What might be revolutionalized in your classroom? What is already new and more effective in the way you are working remotely? I am already hearing teachers noticing the power of kids being able to have more control over their days and their timetables. Perhaps you might revolutionize your approach to timetabling to ensure greater learner agency.

 Some people have started to refer to this moment in our history as ‘the great pause’. I love that metaphor. A ‘pause manifesto’ was recently posted on the ‘dolectures’ website:

 “Do you give yourself permission to pause? And if not, why not? That is a big question, but if you can create small pauses, you might be able to start to get some perspective on that and grow the sense of space and the feeling of agency you have over your own life.”

 https://www.thedolectures.com/blog/the-pause-manifesto

 Pressing the pause button may mean we stop to ask ourselves some beautiful questions  - and have the time to listen to the answers.  So thanks to the inspiration from Jem Bendall, these are mine:

What will I relinquish?

What will I restore?

What will I revolutionise? 

For those teachers embarking on this strange, new journey (my heart is with you fellow Victorian teachers!!) would these question be helpful to take with you?

Just wondering  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7 Lessons from deep in the inquiry trenches...

Who else is flexing their inquiry muscles right now? As we all rapidly transition to teaching online or trying to support our learners at a distance (not all kids around the world have access to internet and devices #justsaying) teachers everywhere are immersed in personal inquiry. I am no exception. In this post, I am sharing some of the things I am noticing as I inquire - and how they are serving to remind me of some essential ingredients of this beautiful, messy process. It can be easy to reduce inquiry to a shallow set of strategies or an easy cycle to spin through or a bunch of characteristics and platitudes…I’ve been guilty of that myself at times. But the reality- when you are IN it, is complex, nuanced, layered and rich. And frustrating too. Some thoughts from my own internal ‘trenches’ this week!

  1. I’m noticing: I have a real need to inquire – I am motivated by purpose. 

 In just two weeks my 2020 work schedule went from having a long wait-list to a few tentative, online workshops and what feels like the vain hope of a resumption of work later in the year. As the family ‘breadwinner’ this unexpected situation prompted a sense of real urgency for me to be creative, adaptive, agile and most of all to INQUIRE.  My driving question was easy to formulate “How might I effectively transition the work I do face-to-face to a distance learning context?”  I sure am curious and motivated (panicked?).  I NEED to find out about this – I have a purpose that is not only for me but, more importantly, my purpose is about supporting my family.  Would I have a sustained interest and desire to learn about online facilitation had there been no real purpose for me? Probably not. Would I have fully engaged with this inquiry if some well-meaning ‘teacher’ told me I had to?  I doubt it. I am doing this because I can see the value and purpose in it. 

Reminder:  Powerful inquiry is driven by real purpose and the learner’s desire to make a difference to their lives and the lives of others.

2. I’m noticing: My learning journey is messy – but I am moving through a process. 

I certainly did not map out a step by step sequence of tasks to support myself on this journey so far (oh to have time to plan!) BUT when I reflect on what I have been doing, I can see how I have engaged in the elements I so often share with teachers and kids.  Of course, I have had to tune in to what I already know. I have spent time assessing what I CAN do (I have used ZOOM and padlet before, I am OK with social media, etc.etc.) This prior experience is so important in giving me a starting point for my inquiry.  I have found out in so many different ways – trial and error, viewing clips, reading posts and articles, asking experts (thank you Dr Jennifer Wathall, Becky Carlson and Karen Boyes ) crowd sourcing (thank you twitter and facebook). I have needed to use a diverse range of research skills but there is no WAY my inquiry would have been successful if I simply googled everything. I really needed to ask questions of people that know about this. Primary data sources have been the most helpful so far.  Time to sort out, process, reflect and meaning make has been essential.  I have done this mostly through talking with others. My husband does a little facilitation work on line so he and I have been reflecting on and talking through our respective discoveries. I have also found myself making lists, diagrams, notes, charts….I have had to STOP every so often, slow down and really make sense of what I am learning alone and with others.  I’ve had to let go of some ideas and embrace new thinking.   One of my most helpful moments this week was an ‘unhurried conversation’ facilitated by Johnnie Moore that allowed fellow facilitators to reflect and share in a really lovely, spacious way. Reflection like this helps deepen my learning. And I am certainly needing to take action – sooner rather than later.  I’ve already conducted a half day workshop.  My action has been as much a part of my ‘finding out’ as it has been application (the cycle is two-way). I have needed to jump in and test out what I am learning in order to feel like my inquiry is worth sticking with. So far so good.  

Reminder: Powerful inquiry is not linear but there is a process. Recognising that we are ultimately moving forward, making meaning and applying our learning is vital in order to feel success.

3. I’m noticing: Skills and dispositions are my most important assets right now!

I am so acutely aware that sustaining this inquiry depends on my capacity to manage myself, collaborate with others, communicate well, think critically, creatively and reflectively and, of course research.  I have needed to be curious, courageous, persistent, resourceful, patient and compassionate (towards myself and others).  My learning skills and dispositions have been the greatest assets I could have right now. And I can feel those “learning muscles” getting a real workout too. When we are on a true journey of inquiry we both depend on AND grow the skills and dispositions we need for all learning. I will be a better learner as a result of this (and a better teacher I hope) 

 Reminder: Powerful inquiry is not just about WHAT we learn but HOW we learn.

4. I’m noticing: I don’t know what I don’t know

Sure – I had some basic prior knowledge and a ‘big question’ to begin with – but as to what I really needed to find out?  Well that was all pretty foggy at the beginning. (And I still consider myself in the fog ..it’s just a little clearer now).  The thing is, the questions driving my inquiry are coming up AS I inquire.  This is something I often notice with kids too, especially when they are engaged in personal inquiry projects.  Somewhat paradoxically, it is not until they start finding out that they know what they need to find out.  Well – that’s been me this week.  I have more questions after I watch a tutorial or read a post than I did before. Inquiry begets inquiry. If I was posting my questions on a wonder wall – it would have started off pretty empty and be really full by now! 

Reminder: Powerful inquiry is driven by questions… but those questions keep emerging throughout the process. We can’t expect kids to define all their questions up front.

5. I’m noticing: I really wrestle with feeling incompetent and uncertain

 Inquiry is all about going into the unknown.  My journeys into the unknown this week have been exhilarating at times – and also really challenging at other times. Last night, during a 3 hour online workshop with a bunch of fabulous educators, there was a point where we were toggling between our zoom screen and another online document. My zoom screen disappeared altogether and I had NO idea how to retrieve it. Meantime, the conversation raced on … as I struggled with my technology, I stopped listening and fell behind really quickly. What an awful feeling! I could feel the motivation draining out of me.  I finally fessed up and admitted I was lost  - but even that was hard.  Inquiry learning is full of moments when the learner is inevitably thrown off course, feeling lost and confused.  Creating a safe space in which learners can say “Hey – I’m lost, I don’t get this, help me out” and slowing down to accommodate those moments is so important.  The inner critic we all have can be very loud at times like these  - I am learning to be kinder to myself.  

Reminder: Powerful inquiry inevitably involves some failure, wrong turns and the need to re-route.  Sustained failure is demotivating.

6. I’m noticing: I don’t want to be talked at for too long. I want to be able to find things out for myself and THEN ask for help!

I have had a few moments over the last week where things have been explained to me … at some length. Like a distracted child, I have found myself doing the online version of rolling around at the back of the mat or daydreaming about something while I ‘listened’.  Lengthy, webinar monologues have not worked for me.  Too much teacher talk.  It has made me think about the oft- used excuse for too much teacher talk/direct instruction early in an inquiry (“We front-load the kids so they have background knowledge and then we let them inquire”). What I have benefited from most is information at the point of need.  I needed people to allow me to ask questions, to check that I understood, to let me play and try and figure things out – THEN explain things that I couldn’t figure out for myself. I loved the moments in Jennie’s workshop yesterday where she would say “Let’s have a play with this – see what you can figure out, help each other out….” Gradually we would work it out together but we did NOT need her to give a lengthy, detailed direct-instruction style monologue – we needed to get in there and play. 

Reminder: Powerful inquiry is something the learner does – not something done to the learner. 

7. I’m noticing: I have welcomed being able to manage my time and learn at my own pace.

It has been so interesting to notice the way I have (and haven’t) managed my time over the last week.  I have gone from being someone who has weeks chock full of scheduled meetings, workshops, flights, collaborative planning sessions. – all mapped out ahead, all organised and timetabled. Suddenly, I have the rare experience of a lot to do BUT, more or less, control over when (and where) I will do those things.  Don’t get me wrong - deadlines have been important.  I will be facilitating workshops on iTime online tomorrow afternoon which in turn has helped me structure my day today. That is keeping me on track to a degree. Bit sometimes I have been able to stay focussed for hours on end and other times I have closed the computer, unable to stick with it …and made myself a cup of tea, hung out with my dog …( or washed my hands …again) before being ready to get back to my learning.    Self pacing is hard- even for me as an adult but it is also welcome. I can’t imagine engaging in this inquiry with a tightly imposed timetable. 

Reminder: While check points/deadlines are helpful, powerful inquiry journeys flow at different paces for different learners.  

 I am hesitant to join the (slightly annoying) chorus of those that champion the benefits the COVID-!9 pandemic is gifting us.  I am far too aware of the tragedy unfolding, the dire circumstances of so many people and the loss from which so many will struggle to recover. I know I am incredibly privileged to even be in the position to write this and to have a moment to reflect.  But while I acknowledge the devastation, I can also acknowledge the lessons I am still learning. The things I need to remind myself.   I can feel myself learning and becoming a better inquiry teacher –  and a better learner.

As teachers, we are all inquiring right now. Let’s notice what’s happening within us as we do.  I’ll keep reflecting and I’ll keep sharing because- as everyone keeps so rightly pointing out – we are all in this together.

 Stay safe….care for yourselves and please - keep wondering. And if you have the energy to share - what lessons are YOU learning about inquiry right now….?

Just wondering…