amazeinquiry

Throughout this exploration, it did indeed feel like I was navigating a maze at times. Most particularly because there is so much innovative work being done on inquiry, it's tempting to want to try everything. I started this blog knowing a little about inquiry - namely through big names like Kath Murdoch - and being enthusiastic about the possibilities. I wanted to think about how to marry these with the MYP without engaging entirely with open  inquiry (Bell, Smetana, & Binns, 2005). I found new kinds of models here, like the Guided Inquiry Design model, and gained a more precise and distinct understanding of the differences between models. I particularly like guided inquiry (Bell, Smetana, & Binns, 2005; Martin-Hansen, 2002) for the junior years especially, as a way of scaffolding the process for the students in the hopes that it becomes internalised (Kulthau, Maniotes, & Caspari, 2012). I have practiced it in the past, but if I'm honest, not especially well an

'Black Snake'  - Was Ned Kelly a villain, victim, or hero? As mentioned in my previous post, I have (re)designed this unit from one I taught earlier this year. However, I altered a considerable amount thanks to my increasing knowledge of inquiry learning. In redesigning this unit, I primarily focused on: Reducing the amount of teacher-directed content in each week, opting instead for student-led literature circles. It is hoped this will allow students to "be on the inside" of understanding rather than observers to knowledge creation (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005, p. 122). In order to facilitate this change, I used Carol Kulthau's Guided Inquiry Design model to organise the stages of inquiry. I paired this with an instructional model, the  Gradual Release of Responsibility  (Fisher & Frey, 2014), which forms part of my schools pedagogical framework. I felt that this allowed for some direct instruction (for example modelling text annotation, character an

My inspiration & overview This year has been a steep learning curve (or a challenging maze, if you like!), as I have been teaching both the Middle Years Program (MYP) of the International Baccalaureate and Year 7 for the first time. These are not your average Year 7s however, as I teach in a select entry school where virtually every child in Year 7 is in the top two bands of NAPLAN for reading and numeracy. This presents a unique challenge: keeping students engaged through suitably pitched learning activities without neglecting foundational skills. They are wonderfully curious students who enjoy the opportunity to find things out for themselves – perfectly suited to both inquiry and the MYP. I team-taught this Ned Kelly unit myself for the first time this year and chose to redesign it following my journey into inquiry learning for two reasons: firstly, there was too much in the initial inquiry for a 10 weeks unit; and secondly, I felt that for a Language and Literature uni