Council of Associated Primary Educators

Inquiry: Going Beyond ScienceFebruary 22, 2017 4:00 – 5:30pmcouncilassociatedprimeducators@gmail.com

Q1 Building a Community of Learners: “Being told is the opposite of finding out.” James Britton, author of LANGUAGE AND LEARNING (1972) and who also coined the phrase, “Reading and Writing Float on a Sea of Talk” Cited from http://www.literacytoday.ca/talk/classroom-contexts/inquiry-based-

learning/

Share Your thoughts about what this quote means for Early and Primary Learning

Q2 Getting the Conversation Started: Consider this quote in the context of the short video SOAR. https://player.vimeo.com/video/148198462

Did you see evidence of an inquiry stance?What higher purpose can an inquiry stance serve for our learners?

http://cosmicjungle.weebly.com/blog/elon-musk-says-theres-a-pretty-good-chance-universal-basic-income-will-become-reality

https://worldgovernmentsummit.org/knowledge-hub/knowledge-hub/elon-musk-warns-global-governments-about-the-future

Q3 Learning Together:Compare the Inquiry Process introduced in the Kindergarten years with the Creative Process at the centre of the Grade 1-8 Arts curriculum.

What implications can you see for a child’s transition from the Kindergarten years to Grade One and beyond?

Ontario Curriculum Grades 1-8: The Arts 2009 Pg 20

The Kindergarten Program 2016, Pg 23

Q4 Learning Together Consider the passage pertaining to Indigenous learners in the context of the block play story.

What can an Indigenous perspective add to our understanding and response to the tension in learning between being told and finding out?

“Indigenous teachings provide that every child, whether Aboriginal or not, is unique in his or her learning capacities, learning styles, and knowledge bases. Knowledge is not what some possess and others do not; it is a resourceful capacity of being the creates the context and texture of life. Thus, knowledge is not a commodity that can be possessed or controlled by educational institutions, but is a living process to be absorbed and understood.

The first principle of Aboriginal learning is a preference for experiential knowledge. Indigenous pedagogy values a person’s ability to learn independently by observing, listening, and participating with a minimum of intervention or instruction. This pattern of direct learning by seeing and doing, without questions, makes Aboriginal children diverse learners.”

Indigenous Knowledge and Pedagogy in First Nations Education: A Literature Review with Recommendations. Prepared for the National Working Group on Education and the Minister of Indian Affairs, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC), Ottawa, ON by Dr. Marie Battiste, Director, Apamuwek Institute, October 31, 2002.

Q5 Deepening Our Understanding

Consider the Capacity Building Series quote in relation to the Colour Inquiry story:In helping students move in their inquiry, it is important to recognize that not all learning opportunities call for an inquiry approach. …In an effort to help students stay focused on their line of inquiry and avoid getting sidetracked, educators must be prepared and comfortable with teaching on a need-to-know basis. Inquiry-Based Learning CBS, 2013

Where do we find the most explicit examples of the tension in Primary learning between “being told and finding out”?How can we negotiate the tension?

Q6 Reflection on Practice

“Whoever does the work does the learning.”

How is this statement reflected in your current practice?

Additional ResourcesOSIE M4YC Early Math project: https://wordpress.oise.utoronto.ca/robertson/ Ontario School Libraries Association: http://togetherforlearning.ca/discovery-and- guided-inquiry/ English Language Arts Quebec: http://www.literacytoday.ca/talk/classroom-contexts/inquiry-based-learning/ John Hattie on the Effect Size of Inquiry-Based Learning: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUooOYbgSUg