Wonderings

Tanya Vaughan - Head of Primary

Recently, an advertisement on television caught my attention. As soon as I heard the opening lines and saw the children running and playing on the screen, I thought to myself, “they’re speaking my language!” The dialogue was…

Wonder is imagination

Wonder is play

Wonder is our wildest dreams when we are awake each day

Wonder is whatever we want it to be

Wonder is potential, set free.

My immediate thought was “how wonderful that wonder is being promoted so creatively on free-to-air TV!”, that was up until I heard the tag line promoting Wonder White Bread! Obviously, this was not what I had hoped the advertisement would celebrate, but the words continued to resonate with me as I reflected on the message of wonder.

In every Primary classroom, it is our desire to inspire our students with a deep sense of wonder, curiosity and awe about the goodness of God, his creation and the way God’s purposes and plans are understood. We take time to think deeply and make meaning through learning experiences and relationships.

The text, Transformational Education, a Framework for Christian Teaching, explores the idea of Christian schools being places where adventurous methodologies are explored. It states that learning:

“should stimulate a rich range of learning responses; from the ‘aha’ experience of discovery, curiosity and discernment; to the ‘ah’ experience of awe, wonder, delight, admiration and praise; and the ‘haha’ experience of playfulness, laughter, celebration, fun and aesthetic delight; to the ‘ha’ experience of action, enterprise and service, and industry.”

The inquiry process begins with activities that promote student questions, wonderings and understandings. These can include a one-off activity, an immersion day, a guest speaker, a visual prompt, an incursion / excursion experience or a series of lessons that spark curiosity.

From here, students begin to find information, sort it out as they research, gather relevant data and discuss new ideas together. The goal of inquiry learning is for transformational learning to take place, and for our students to respond to their new understanding by taking action and making a difference in their homes, at school, in their community or in the global context. It is a Big Goal, that’s for sure; however we believe in the potential of every child, from the youngest to the eldest in our primary classrooms, knowing that 'Rome was not built in a day'!

As our Primary students and staff continue to engage and explore the inquiry process together, taking time to explore and wonder about God's world together - through imagination, play, dreaming, creating and realising potential, the ‘aha, ah, haha and ha’ responses are what we hope to foster.