WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.190 This past weekend, I attended The Inquiry Educators Summit hosted by Toddle. 00:00:05.609 --> 00:00:10.230 It was totally free and totally worthwhile with a lineup of the best international 00:00:10.230 --> 00:00:12.180 speakers in the inquiry space. 00:00:12.900 --> 00:00:16.349 Today I want to pick out some of the most pertinent points from the summit 00:00:16.379 --> 00:00:17.970 to share with you in this episode. 00:00:18.510 --> 00:00:21.300 In fact today, I'm just going to focus on what Trevor 00:00:21.300 --> 00:00:23.490 Mackenzie shared in his session. 00:00:23.790 --> 00:00:27.720 And in next week's episode, I'll unpack Kath Murdoch session, so 00:00:27.720 --> 00:00:30.930 make sure you subscribe and follow so that you'll be reminded when 00:00:30.930 --> 00:00:32.670 next week's episode is published. 00:00:33.660 --> 00:00:37.090 Trevor MacKenzie's session was around his new book, The Inquiry 00:00:37.150 --> 00:00:39.160 Mindset Questions edition. 00:00:39.790 --> 00:00:43.450 And it really went to the heart of how we plan for curiosity. 00:00:44.200 --> 00:00:49.240 If you've been following this podcast or you're a subscriber to my newsletter, Get 00:00:49.240 --> 00:00:55.120 Curious, you'll know that asking questions really is the basis for curiosity. 00:00:55.690 --> 00:00:59.740 And if you want to get on my mailing list and Get Curious, then I'll leave 00:00:59.740 --> 00:01:02.680 a link for you in the show notes so that you can just sign up there. 00:01:04.060 --> 00:01:08.020 I've spoken at length about how children's curiosity is waning over time. 00:01:08.050 --> 00:01:11.920 And with that, unfortunately comes fewer and fewer questions being asked. 00:01:12.700 --> 00:01:16.240 And if children, or we as adults aren't asking questions. 00:01:16.720 --> 00:01:21.280 Well, then unfortunately it's an indication that their, and our 00:01:21.310 --> 00:01:23.680 curiosity is not particularly healthy. 00:01:24.520 --> 00:01:29.440 Trevor highlighted the fact that our values shape our teaching. 00:01:30.010 --> 00:01:31.720 And in fact, everything we do. 00:01:32.290 --> 00:01:39.370 The common set of values that inquiry educators share are, curiosity, agency, 00:01:39.700 --> 00:01:42.610 independence, skills, and relevance. 00:01:43.150 --> 00:01:48.039 And these are the values that I've been talking about in just about every episode. 00:01:48.639 --> 00:01:50.979 Curiosity drives everything we do. 00:01:51.520 --> 00:01:55.680 Without curiosity, life is just plain dull and boring. 00:01:55.680 --> 00:01:57.759 And if there's no curiosity, 00:01:57.759 --> 00:01:59.169 there's no interest in learning. 00:01:59.229 --> 00:02:00.130 And I've said it before. 00:02:00.130 --> 00:02:01.090 And I'll say it again. 00:02:01.090 --> 00:02:04.090 If you aren't curious than the children you teach, aren't 00:02:04.090 --> 00:02:05.710 going to be curious either. 00:02:06.370 --> 00:02:08.410 Curiosity is infectious. 00:02:08.889 --> 00:02:14.410 The way we get children more curious, is through modeling our own curiosity. 00:02:14.800 --> 00:02:18.580 And the way we trigger children's curiosity apart from modeling it, 00:02:19.090 --> 00:02:24.310 is not just by asking questions, but getting children to ask questions and 00:02:24.310 --> 00:02:26.410 to wonder about the world around them. 00:02:27.310 --> 00:02:32.410 And when we think about those other values: Agency, independence, the 00:02:32.410 --> 00:02:36.760 learning of skills, and relevance to our lives today, these are all 00:02:36.760 --> 00:02:40.420 values that every good educator should be bringing into the classroom. 00:02:41.320 --> 00:02:46.090 If children don't feel they have agency, that what they 00:02:46.090 --> 00:02:48.400 think or value doesn't matter. 00:02:49.330 --> 00:02:51.220 That they've never given a choice. 00:02:51.820 --> 00:02:53.500 They are not going to be engaged 00:02:53.500 --> 00:02:54.040 are they? 00:02:54.820 --> 00:02:58.450 If someone were to walk into your classroom or teaching space 00:02:58.450 --> 00:03:03.070 today, would they clearly see that agency and independence and 00:03:03.070 --> 00:03:05.590 relevance is something you value? 00:03:06.280 --> 00:03:12.460 Because our spaces, our environment, the third teacher, reflects our values. 00:03:12.460 --> 00:03:17.440 So perhaps as you sit down today, I look around your space with curiosity, 00:03:17.800 --> 00:03:22.180 and take a moment to reflect and ask yourself what you value about teaching 00:03:22.180 --> 00:03:26.260 and learning and what does your space and the children's work that is up 00:03:26.260 --> 00:03:29.260 there, reflect about your values. 00:03:29.920 --> 00:03:31.690 Are you being true to your values? 00:03:32.320 --> 00:03:36.310 Or perhaps by looking at your space, you realize that it doesn't reflect 00:03:36.340 --> 00:03:39.850 agency or curiosity or independence. 00:03:40.570 --> 00:03:43.030 And what a wonderful realization opportunity 00:03:43.030 --> 00:03:47.200 this is then to make changes to the way you approach your teaching. 00:03:47.950 --> 00:03:50.410 These are the moments to celebrate. 00:03:50.800 --> 00:03:55.930 These breakthrough moments that reflect our own curiosity and thinking. 00:03:56.500 --> 00:04:00.490 And imagine sharing these light bulb moments with students so 00:04:00.490 --> 00:04:04.870 that they too can reflect on and apply it to their own learning. 00:04:05.350 --> 00:04:10.540 Now that's real learning and that's also a little bit of metacognition going on. 00:04:11.380 --> 00:04:16.300 As educators, our whole mission should be around how to keep 00:04:16.330 --> 00:04:18.040 the children in our care 00:04:18.160 --> 00:04:18.910 curious. 00:04:19.510 --> 00:04:23.560 And I actually have a little free resource about how we naturally keep 00:04:23.590 --> 00:04:27.490 children curious when we're doing simple things, like just going for a walk. 00:04:27.910 --> 00:04:29.890 I'll leave a link to it in the show notes. 00:04:31.310 --> 00:04:34.400 I also have another free resource for you, which I'm going to 00:04:34.400 --> 00:04:36.200 mention at the end of this episode. 00:04:36.200 --> 00:04:38.150 So you've got to keep listening because it's a biggie. 00:04:38.850 --> 00:04:43.950 Trevor, furthermore simplified the inquiry cycle, where basically 00:04:44.340 --> 00:04:50.010 the way we spark that curiosity is through the provocations we set up. 00:04:50.430 --> 00:04:54.120 And this is exactly what I discussed with Victoria Crossan in episode 00:04:54.120 --> 00:04:58.560 42, where we unpacked the difference between provocations and invitations. 00:04:59.010 --> 00:05:03.750 And also in episode 33, where I chatted to April Zajko about provocations. 00:05:04.080 --> 00:05:08.140 Go and listen to those episodes after this one, I leave a link in the show 00:05:08.140 --> 00:05:09.660 notes so that you can be reminded. 00:05:10.440 --> 00:05:15.030 It's our provocations that spark questions and wondering. 00:05:16.110 --> 00:05:21.810 Of course, it all starts with knowing our curriculum first because our provocations 00:05:21.960 --> 00:05:23.790 should be linked to the curriculum. 00:05:24.930 --> 00:05:30.030 Trevor's book gives us 10 questioning routines that we can use to 00:05:30.030 --> 00:05:31.920 get students to ask questions. 00:05:32.460 --> 00:05:36.150 And of course, as he says, the stronger, our provocations are 00:05:36.540 --> 00:05:39.870 the better the questions are that we're going to get from kids. 00:05:40.590 --> 00:05:45.240 The questions that the children ask are basically our formative evidence. 00:05:45.510 --> 00:05:48.570 We base our next steps and our planning on the types of 00:05:48.570 --> 00:05:50.340 questions that the children ask. 00:05:50.860 --> 00:05:53.790 Their questions will tell us what they need. 00:05:54.510 --> 00:05:59.760 I wrote a blog post, titled How Questions Lead to Curiosity and Knowledge, which 00:05:59.760 --> 00:06:02.730 I'll link for you in the show notes, you might want to have a read of that. 00:06:03.600 --> 00:06:08.460 Trevor spoke about the importance of co-designing open and closed questions 00:06:08.490 --> 00:06:12.870 with our students, using word banks so that the students can use that 00:06:12.900 --> 00:06:17.490 vocabulary, which of course is linked to your curriculum in their questions, 00:06:17.730 --> 00:06:20.070 and also adding in our own questions. 00:06:20.460 --> 00:06:23.040 So you can see that inquiry, isn't a separate thing. 00:06:23.340 --> 00:06:25.410 It's actually linked to our curriculum. 00:06:25.440 --> 00:06:27.510 So it doesn't take up any extra time. 00:06:27.930 --> 00:06:30.090 It's part of what you're already doing. 00:06:31.320 --> 00:06:36.030 And he reminded us that that an important part of inquiry is to 00:06:36.030 --> 00:06:41.340 plan for movement collaboration and give kids time for thinking. 00:06:41.940 --> 00:06:44.610 That means the children need to get out of their seats. 00:06:44.670 --> 00:06:44.970 Yep. 00:06:45.000 --> 00:06:46.530 They do need to get out of their seats. 00:06:47.190 --> 00:06:50.850 Using strategies where they have to move. 00:06:50.850 --> 00:06:55.680 For example, to put a sticky note up on a chart, or perhaps if you're using 00:06:55.680 --> 00:06:59.640 a technique, like four corners where children have to move to a corner where 00:06:59.640 --> 00:07:01.290 there's a statement, I agree with. 00:07:02.010 --> 00:07:07.230 Basically, not just being glued to a chair, but having opportunities 00:07:07.470 --> 00:07:09.750 that allow our students to move. 00:07:10.460 --> 00:07:14.479 Collaborative learning is also really big in an inquiry classroom. 00:07:14.960 --> 00:07:17.840 And actually this technique prepares children for the future, 00:07:17.840 --> 00:07:22.940 where everything we do now is in teams, even university assignments. 00:07:23.419 --> 00:07:25.760 We have to learn to work with others. 00:07:26.000 --> 00:07:28.820 And it's a soft skill that employers really look for now. 00:07:29.270 --> 00:07:32.949 And then giving children that space to think. 00:07:33.280 --> 00:07:35.559 He spoke about the power of the pause. 00:07:35.859 --> 00:07:39.340 For us to be quiet because, you know, teachers love talking and 00:07:39.340 --> 00:07:40.539 listening to their own voices. 00:07:40.590 --> 00:07:45.120 That's why perhaps some of us have become teachers because we just love to talk. 00:07:45.659 --> 00:07:50.430 But we have to give children a moment so that they can think. 00:07:51.240 --> 00:07:56.040 And then provide for them an opportunity perhaps to turn and talk 00:07:56.040 --> 00:08:00.600 or stop and jot, or do a four corners where they can show their thinking. 00:08:01.610 --> 00:08:05.490 Trevor then also gave us some examples of questioning routines from his book. 00:08:05.820 --> 00:08:10.860 These examples are all practical, they're all doable, and not only do they align 00:08:10.860 --> 00:08:15.570 with the values of inquiry, but they also value collaboration, movement, 00:08:15.720 --> 00:08:17.640 and giving children that thinking time. 00:08:18.179 --> 00:08:21.450 I'd really recommend you get the book, if you haven't already got it. 00:08:21.870 --> 00:08:23.400 I'll make it super easy for you. 00:08:23.400 --> 00:08:25.140 Just click on the link in the show notes. 00:08:25.230 --> 00:08:27.960 It is an Amazon affiliate link, which means that I'll get a few 00:08:27.960 --> 00:08:30.240 pennies at no extra cost to you. 00:08:30.480 --> 00:08:33.929 So go ahead and click the link and start implementing those question 00:08:33.929 --> 00:08:35.370 routines in your classroom. 00:08:35.460 --> 00:08:41.039 A S A P. I mentioned earlier that I have a free resource for you. 00:08:42.049 --> 00:08:45.439 You know, we all stand on the shoulders of giants before us. 00:08:45.950 --> 00:08:49.040 When I started teaching early childhood, I was actually 00:08:49.040 --> 00:08:51.050 teaching through an inquiry lens. 00:08:51.560 --> 00:08:55.370 It was something so natural to me, but I didn't know that it had a name. 00:08:56.210 --> 00:08:59.260 I then started reading Kath Murdoch's books and I went on Claire 00:08:59.260 --> 00:09:02.720 Warden's course, and I started noticing that my implementation 00:09:03.050 --> 00:09:06.980 was actually quite structured, even though it's always been very fluid. 00:09:08.150 --> 00:09:10.939 When other teachers started visiting my room to check out 00:09:10.939 --> 00:09:12.740 how I was implementing inquiry, 00:09:12.740 --> 00:09:15.530 I started realizing that perhaps I was onto something. 00:09:15.980 --> 00:09:19.700 Which of course has led me to Blooming Curious and starting this podcast. 00:09:20.270 --> 00:09:23.960 And I've come to realize that so many of you actually really want to 00:09:23.960 --> 00:09:28.220 implement inquiry based learning, but you just don't know how. 00:09:28.610 --> 00:09:32.780 Or you're afraid it's going to add to your already overwhelming workload. 00:09:33.320 --> 00:09:35.689 Or you're worried that it's going to be chaotic. 00:09:36.560 --> 00:09:41.870 So, what I've done is I've created an e-guide to help educators, just 00:09:41.870 --> 00:09:44.600 like you get started with inquiry. 00:09:45.110 --> 00:09:48.500 It takes you through the steps that you need to consider to get started. 00:09:48.530 --> 00:09:52.189 And funnily enough, it's exactly the steps that Trevor talked about. 00:09:53.240 --> 00:09:55.670 The e-guide is called inquiry 1 0 1. 00:09:56.180 --> 00:10:00.830 It used to be for sale on my website, but I've decided to give it away to you for 00:10:00.830 --> 00:10:03.890 free so that you can just get started. 00:10:04.460 --> 00:10:08.780 Because ultimately we're educators, because we want the best for children. 00:10:09.050 --> 00:10:12.230 And I truly believe inquiry is what's best for children. 00:10:12.770 --> 00:10:14.750 I've seen a time and time again. 00:10:15.439 --> 00:10:19.070 It will change the way you teach and the way your students learn. 00:10:19.400 --> 00:10:23.210 It will be the very best and most exciting thing you can 00:10:23.210 --> 00:10:25.070 do for your teaching practice. 00:10:25.820 --> 00:10:31.730 So to download inquiry 1 0 1, and get it delivered right into your 00:10:31.730 --> 00:10:38.880 inbox for free you just go to resources.bloomingcurious.com/inquiry-1 00:10:38.900 --> 00:10:39.380 0 1. 00:10:39.750 --> 00:10:41.750 I'll leave a link in the show notes for you. 00:10:42.560 --> 00:10:46.460 And if you have this guide and you have Trevor's book, you'll be 00:10:46.490 --> 00:10:48.470 onto a winning recipe for success. 00:10:49.040 --> 00:10:51.530 I really appreciate you sticking around. 00:10:51.530 --> 00:10:54.920 And can I just ask that if you enjoyed this episode, you click 00:10:54.950 --> 00:10:57.950 that share button and share it with a fellow teacher or parent. 00:10:58.370 --> 00:11:00.620 That's the only way this podcast can grow. 00:11:00.980 --> 00:11:02.660 So please share it. 00:11:02.960 --> 00:11:06.590 And if you could also leave a review, that would be amazing. 00:11:07.130 --> 00:11:10.610 Reviews really help push podcasts higher up the rankings, where 00:11:10.610 --> 00:11:12.200 more people will see them. 00:11:12.590 --> 00:11:15.950 And that's really something the world needs to see, a podcast 00:11:15.950 --> 00:11:17.480 about keeping kids curious. 00:11:17.480 --> 00:11:18.230 Don't you think? 00:11:18.710 --> 00:11:22.400 So until next week when I'll be sharing what Kath Murdoch shared at 00:11:22.400 --> 00:11:25.010 the summit stay blooming curious.