IB - PYP News

The Why of Inquiry

Kath Murdoch is a leading educator in Inquiry Learning.  She is based in Melbourne but works around the world in schools helping teachers to understand and implement the ‘Power of Inquiry’ for students to become lifelong learners and global citizens.  This is the heart and soul of IB-PYP.  As a staff we have decided to undertake a study of Kath’s thinking around inquiry learning and what it means for us as a St Patrick’s community of learners. At each staff meeting we will use Kath’s study guide to focus on excerpts from Kath’s book ‘The Power of Inquiry’ - Teaching and learning with curiosity, creativity and purpose in the contemporary classroom. At our staff meeting this week we discussed the 9 reasons to justify the use of an inquiry based approach to learning.

Why Inquiry? (pg 15 Power of Inquiry by Kath Murdoch)

• It is widely acknowledged that we are more motivated to learn when we are genuinely interested in or curious about the subject or when we have a problem we need to solve.
• Inquiry requires and strengthens ‘whole of life’ transferable skills including critical thinking, planning, self management, organisation and communication.
• Inquiry teachers focus their attention on student learning - and because planning is responsive and recursive, they inquire into their students, constantly asking ‘ what is this student revealing to me and what do I need to do next? Because inquiry demands an approach to planning that is ongoing, there is a stronger connection between the plans teachers make and the needs of students as they are assessed.
• In an increasingly globalised and digital world, we are inundated by huge quantities of information which is available to us almost any time and anywhere. This is vastly different from the context many teachers grew up in and demands different skills.  Students need to learn how to effectively and safely locate, access, evaluate, use and contribute to this ever-evolving global information bank, and that’s what inquiry is all about.
• At a time when system-level curricula around the world are still criticised for being over-crowded, an approach to learning that encourages integrative, connected thinking is vital.
• Inquiry involves students in locating, gathering and critiquing infor4mation using an increasing number of digital tools, therefore sharpening digital literacy skills.
• Contemporary inquiry practices seek to engage students in tackling real world questions and problems through authentic contexts at both local and global levels.
• Inquiry helps develop students’ agency.  Through quality questioning and involving students in actively gathering and analysing information, the student gradually develops a sense of control over and responsibility for themselves as a learner.  They learn to learn. Teachers nurture independence by gradually releasing responsibility and encouraging students to ‘make meaning’ using high-level thinking skills.
• The act of inquiry itself has become more and more mainstream. We are now more inclined to research and manage our own travel arrangements, or decide on the next car we will buy by reading all we can on various dedicated websites.  We owe it to our students to equip them with the skills they need for what now has become such a central part of how we live and work.

Jennifer Smith

Learning & Teaching Leader