Red Zone - Making Inquiry Learning an Integral Part of the Everyday Classroom

Bianca, Nathan and I decided to explore how we could integrate Inquiry learning into all curriculum areas rather than one stand alone subject area. We began by surveying our children on their attitudes and understanding of Inquiry learning and this gave us solid building blocks to begin to adapt our practice. We have trialled flipped classrooms, mini Inquiries in both Writing and Maths and a Wonderings Wall. New concepts and genres in Writing and Maths are often explored by the children rather than it being a teacher directed approach. Children have created their own success criteria, planning templates, applications, workshops and ways of publishing with a range of ICT tools before the direct teaching has even begun. This has allowed us to gauge their prior knowledge as well as making learning meaningful for the children. It has hugely increased their engagement as they have taken ownership for the learning. They have enjoyed discovering and experimenting with a range of tools. A post survey has revealed a huge shift in the children's thinking. They now see Inquiry as part of their normal learning throughout all curriculum areas and that it isn't confined to just one afternoon a week. Yay!