Trevor Mackenzie came to our online class this week to talk to us about Inquiry Based Learning and Technology. Trevor’s passion for Inquiry Based Learning was palpable and it ended up being a question and answer session that combined with the pre-class work was very enlightening.
I know Trevor and heard a few years ago about his first book when it was being published. I was interested to look more into the whole concept of inquiry based learning but my interest sat ideal until I applied for the PDPP program. Now, I thought, is was a perfect time to buy what was now his two books and start reading them as it seemed like a great fit for my thoughts about education and teaching. Alas, I had the books but when the program started I still hadn’t read them. When I found out that we would have a number of inquiry projects in our program, I imagined these experiential education experiences (learning through doing) would teach me what inquiry based learning is all about. Due to the approach taken I started to think that inquiry based learning was inquiry projects. But in reviewing the pre-work for Trevor’s class and listening to him speak I started to understand that it is not about projects it is about a pedagogy, a way of being in the classroom, an approach to education as a whole. Thinking about what Jeff Hopkins – the founder and principal of the Pacific School of Innovation and Inquiry (PSII) – told us about his school and now seeing what Trevor was doing in SD61 high schools light bulbs starting to turn on. Things that were obvious but that I did not see are becoming evident.
If I had taken the time to read Trevor’s first book, Inquiry Mindset, I would have understood that Inquiry based learning is A MINDSET and as the title of the book says “nurturing the dream, wonders and curiosities of our youngest learners”. It feels like a great fit for what I see eduction could and should be. I’m looking forward to reading “Inquiry Mindset” and “Dive Into Inquiry” over the break.
If you want to get excited about Inquiry learning, watch a few of these videos from Trevor’s website and see what can happen when a person engages their passion. Imagine what our students could do if we help them to tap in to their passion like Caine in the video tapped in to his!!!!
