Inquiry Mindset & Inquiry Live
Last week I listened to a fantastic Inquiry Live conversation on Instagram between Rebecca (@inquiryteacher) and Laurie (@mrsmacskinders). I had to quickly grab the nearest pen and paper (which happened to be my gratitude journal from Dr. Jody Carrington that I was so fortunate to win along with a ticket to RELIT! 2020) to jot down these notes.
One of the powerful strategies that was mentioned in the Instagram conversation was showcasing learners’ DNA (Dreams, Needs & Abilities) and keeping these in mind as we are planning. Laurie discusses DNA on this great blog post. Rebecca wrote this lovely post on getting to know your learners.
Rebecca & Trevor’s book, Inquiry Mindset, is full of great inspiration and ideas around how to find out and explore students’ curiosities. Some of my favourite ideas included:
- Celebrations of learning (making museums, galleries, movies, etc.)
- Using dramatic play to explore interests
- Having a Wonder Wall to feature questions – here’s an example from my classroom
- Using picturebooks as provocations
I really encourage you to check out Rebecca’s Instagram page (@inquiryteacher) for a lot of great ideas and inspiration around provocations and more!
More Resources & Ideas
- Laurie’s latest blog post “Do You Have Any Farm Toys?” shares a powerful story about why encouraging students’ passions is so important to learners and their families.
- Play First Summit 2020 Sketchnotes – Play is a powerful way to explore student interests.
- Dive Into Inquiry by Trevor MacKenzie
- Mariah of A Playful Purpose shared this great idea for co-created documentation books
- Inquiry-based colour experiments by French-Tastic
- I found these experiments to be a very helpful addition to our learning about colours at the beginning of grade 1 this past year. My students LOVED the experiments and they led to so many great questions.
- Collaborative culture tree that I learned about from Holly Yuzikapi’s workshop at NCTCA 2019
What resources or ideas have you discovered to explore student interests?
Madame I Am 