A Seminar for Classroom Teachers 1-7

Inquiry as an approach to teaching and learning has long been regarded as an effective way not only to engage students in their learning but to challenge them to think deeply and apply skills and understandings to new contexts. Many of us like the idea of an inquiry approach but feel less confident with how to actually use it effectively in the classroom. This workshop is designed for teachers who are newer to inquiry or those who wish to refresh their understanding of the approach and update their pedagogy.

This highly practical, interactive day will explore the following questions:

• Why use an inquiry based approach?

• How can we adopt an inquiry ‘stance’ in our teaching across the day?

• What is the role of the teacher in the inquiry classroom? Where does ‘explicit teaching’ fit into the picture?

• What does inquiry learning ‘look like’ in the classroom?

• How is the inquiry classroom organised? How to we curate the space?

• How can we use an inquiry approach while remaining accountable to the curriculum?

• What does an inquiry based lesson entail?

• How do we collaboratively plan/design extended journeys (units) for inquiry learning?

• How can an inquiry approach help us make connections across the curriculum?

• What strategies can we add to our repertoire to strengthen our inquiry based teaching?