Primary Years Programme: Inquiry learning
The questions young people ask remind us that the search for meaning is fundamental to what it is to be human. The urge to inquire activates thinking on many levels and in many forms. When we seek to make sense of the world around us, we wonder, we plan, we analyse, we create, we reflect. At its very heart, inquiry is all about thinking -thinking in order to make meaning. Kath Murdoch
As an IB PYP school we use a guided inquiry approach to learning and teaching. Inquiry-based units of work, referred to as units of inquiry, are the focus for learning. The boys experience what it is like to think and act like scientists, historians, mathematicians etc.
In our inquiry-based classrooms there is increased emphasis on real life situations, decision-making, problem solving, research and action.
Teachers across the Junior School collaboratively plan to ensure the boys are actively:
- exploring, wondering and questioning
- experimenting and playing with possibilities
- researching and seeking information
- collecting data and reporting findings
- clarifying existing ideas and reappraising events
- deepening understanding through the application of a concept or rule
- making and testing theories
- making predictions and acting purposefully to see what happens
- elaborating on solutions to problems.
We appreciate the input that comes from our parent community in enhancing our units of inquiry and we thank you for helping make the boys learning authentic and engaging. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you can offer your expertise in any of our units.
Ms Kathy Derrick
Deputy Head of Junior School - Curriculum
