Inquiry Learning

- February 25, 2019
So I've been planning and planning for reading and writing and yesterday I thought, hey, wait a minute. Why am I going to get the children to do these by themselves when they could be doing them within a topic area that they WANT to know more about. Why aren't I accepting that learning occurs more when the children are enjoying it and taking ownership of it. The children are so excited about the class cafe so why am I stopping the learning to go and read and write about something that's completely irrelevant for them?

I am now going to roll with the class cafe inquiry. Children will be reading and writing throughout the inquiry unit. They are so excited about menus and recipes. Even though there is an element of maths in the inquiry, I do think there's a place for exclusive maths teaching that is seperate from the inquiry so I will still plan to teach maths separately, but with authentic situations and refer to the inquiry topic throughout.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Maths Inquiry - Number Talks

May 29, 2019 So my math inquiry started off being about how to group children - by ability, either same stage or multi ability. I'm now looking into 'Math Talks' to see how I can make maths more exciting in the classroom. I have many visual learners in my class and I feel that my maths is a bit 'stale' and needs more oomph. I've been researching online and this video has made me confirm that this is what I want to know more about:  Intro to Math Talks I'm really looking forward to learning as I go and to putting some of these new ideas into my lessons straight away.
Read more

Teaching Update with Covid 19 fears

It's been a tough couple of weeks trying to teach children when there has been real fear in the community regarding Coronavirus. It seems like everyone is holding their breath waiting for schools to close, or waiting for someone we know to get the virus, or waiting for whatever is meant to come next. I have been guilty of 'waiting' too. On average, eight children from my class are absent each day. I feel myself 'holding off' on the fun learning so they don't miss out. However, it has given us time to catch up on topic and those things we never get around to finishing. On reflection with my mentor, I will continue as per normal next week. Yes, it will be difficult when the absent children return, but I have provided them with home learning at the moment, so they won't be completely behind. While these are uncertain times, we need to carry routine on as per normal so that children know that this is a safe place to be and their anxieties can be laid to re...
Read more

Digital Fluency Intensive Day 1

Image
Manaiakalani has such an interesting origin. It was eye opening the small amount of space in the Tamati Basin that housed so many people and schools. What a great incentive for the community to come together to provide devices and internet to the local tamariki. An important part of this introduction for myself was the quote "We did not come to school to teach teachers" by a Manaiakalani learner. I am probably a bit guilty of asking children questions about digital technology both at school and at home with my own children. I shouldn't need to do this and children shouldn't feel like they have to stop what they're doing and help me when this is their time to shine. The shortcuts learnt today will make my professional life a lot easier. I can see a lot of time being saved knowing the little tricks for chrome, drive and docs. As I continue to use these in my professional life, I will discover more of what's available to use in the classroom. My learners will...
Read more