Primary Teachers PD on Inquiry

On Friday, February 17th, the whole Primary School team met together to dive into Inquiry teaching and learning in the PYP.  The workshop was facilitated by the PYP coordinator – Ms. Maria Zialcita, and the Primary Principal – Ms. Marly Song.  Three objectives were given at the beginning of the session:

 

· Develop a practical understanding of inquiry processes

· Develop an awareness of strategies that support guided inquiry

· Reflect on and strengthen own classroom practices

 

The workshop was designed to follow the Inquiry Cycle developed by Kath Murdoch that we use during our Unit of Inquiry (UOI) in the classroom:

 

Tuning In

The morning began with our provocation for Tuning In.  All participants were given an image from our IB documents about the teacher’s role in inquiry.  They were given time to self-assess, to see where they feel they are in their development of inquiry teachers.  When we are in the Tuning In phase, it is important to bring forward prior knowledge of the subject and to provoke participants to start thinking about questions they may have moving forward.

 

Finding Out

During the Finding Out sessions, the team was led through a variety of activities that allowed them to discover, ask questions, discuss, and share.  The team watched a video and were challenged to think about ideas that resonated with them about teaching and learning. The video was effective in reminding everyone the essential elements of inquiry-based learning such as allowing students opportunities to discover and make mistakes and guiding them to be self-regulated learners.

 

A highlight of this session was a “walkthrough”, where the team was led through three different classrooms at the Early Years, Lower Primary, and Upper Primary levels.  Participants recorded their observations and then met together again in their groups in the gym to share what they saw.  In the primary school, teachers often take their students on these kinds of “discovery walks” where they learn from the environment around them and co-construct their understanding together.

 

A second session for Finding Out was to share with one another a variety of teaching strategies that could be used with students throughout the inquiry process.  When each participant can share one or two strategies, then suddenly we have a pool of twenty or more!  It’s really incredible watching knowledge be transferred between people through group work.  This is why we have collaboration and communication skills as part of our ATL’s!  Students also learn so much from one another during this phase of the inquiry cycle.

 

Sorting Out and Taking Action

Leading into this session, participants had gathered a lot of inspirational ideas and knowledge about the inquiry process and strategies for the classroom.  In this last session, grade-level teams got together to brainstorm ideas for their current unit and how to implement a new strategy they have learned.  There was much excitement in the room as plans were made to take action on the learning from the day.

 

Professional Development is essential for our staff to deepen their pedagogical knowledge and to create the best learning experiences for our students.  We are happy to share our learning journey with the XLIS community!

 

Click here for more details.

Author:

Marly Song (Primary Principal)