An ongoing, interwoven, emerging inquiry for teachers and students…

What?

What if, during every unit of inquiry, learners had opportunities to develop their thinking and understanding by expressing themselves in ‘100 languages’?

What if we made that into an explicit ongoing unit of inquiry, for teachers as much as learners, interwoven through all the other units?

What if every unit had these two additional lines of inquiry?

• How we might express our learning through ‘100 languages’.
• How expressing ourselves in different ways deepens our understanding.

What if learners asked themselves…

What theories and ideas do I have?

What might I make to show my understanding?

How might I communicate my ideas?

How is my thinking changing?

Which questions and ideas would I like to explore further?

How might I learn from my failures?

What if teacher research questions included…

How might the ‘100 languages’ inspire curiosity and inquiry?

How might we select intelligent materials that help develop ideas?

How will we observe and listen to what is revealed by the children?

How might we make the ideas and wonderings visible?

How might we decide which student examples will drive the inquiry?

How will we encourage and honour children’s theories?

How will we  ensure there is time for conversation that helps move the inquiry along?

so what?

Might this support us in slowing down to make time and space for deeper learning?

Might this encourage planning and teaching that responds to emerging inquiries?

Might this foster learner agency and enhance opportunities for learners to drive the learning?

Might this create opportunities for every learner to shine?

Might this support our current focus on cultivating action, both in students and teachers?

Might this be an expression of every single one of our learning principles?

• We learn in different ways, depending on abilities, preferences and interests.
• Learning takes place through inquiry: questioning, exploring, experimenting and problem solving.
• Learning occurs by acquiring skills and knowledge, constructing meaning and transfer to other contexts.
• Learning is active and social and can be enhanced by collaboration and interaction.
• Learning takes place when we feel secure, valued and are able to take risks.
• Learning needs to be challenging, meaningful, purposeful and engaging.
• Learning includes metacognition and reflection, and requires learners to take ownership of their learning.

Now what?

Let’s see how it goes!