This year has been crazy busy already!
We have developed an action plan and have hit it full on.
This term is our first trial of the new model, we have made it our goal to ensure the language is common throughout the school as are the thinking strategies we a focussing on.
We are having a meeting shortly, once everyone has completed the 'organise' stage, to discuss successed and troubles and to ensure everyone knows exactly where they are and what to do for the next stage.
This trial has really opened up the lines of communication, and we are constantly discussing our own learning and the skill development of the children.
We have already discovered that the use of the thinking tool 'question map' has made the inquiry more focussed than before, children are learning how to ask quality questions, learning how to ask questions that will support their inquiry, really thinking about how they have to structure their questioning to make their inquiry a success. We have yet to develop rubrics but already the children are seeing their own development and are support eachothers learning journey.
Children discuss their inquiry in the playground, with the common language throughout the school, this has ensured that children from various levels in the school can make valuable contributions to these discussions, it also opens the pathway for leadership and peer support.
One of the ideas that I saw a Jan-Marie Kellows workshop, the visual tracking of the childrens journey has been used in my class. The children created it, and get a buzz when they can manipulate their little person along the road - a really simple idea - but I guess it just promotes ownership of the inquiry process - I do believe it has achieved this. Although we are on our first tiral I can already see the excitement and forward thinking developing in some of the children.
It is really exciting to hear this in and out of the classrooms, we are showing more unity on our journey and really creating a leanring community.
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