Professional Learning for Busy Educators

Educators and parents have long known that curiosity is at the center of powerful learning. But too often, in the push to meet standards and pressure to stay on pace, that essential truth about learning that sticks gets lost. Worse, many older students have forgotten how to ask their own questions about the world, afraid that if they wonder they will be wrong. It’s far less risky to sit back and wait for the teacher to ask the questions. And yet, good questioning may be the most basic tenet of lifelong learning and independent thinking that school offers students. Taking the time to activate curiosity doesn’t have to mean abandoning learning standards, nor is it necessarily a waste of time.

Authentic learning is a useful approach for encouraging our learners to develop the critical thinking skills and confidence needed to tackle real-life situations. However, it can be hard to get out of the more traditional mindset where the teacher is the source of knowledge and assessment of information learned is done through the use of clear right or wrong answers to standard questions.

The definition for authentic learning is rather encompassing and may make it difficult for a teacher to get a handle on how to approach its implementation and direct learners in questioning. However, if you have seen kids in an engaged classroom, you may have stumbled upon one of the pillars that are fundamental in an authentic learning experience.

When I (Trevor) first adopted an inquiry approach in my classroom, I discovered that when students explore a topic they are truly passionate about, amazing things happen: engagement increases, attendance and work ethic improve, twenty-first-century skills are acquired, classroom energy and collaboration are fostered, and my assessment of student understanding becomes more clear and accurate.

The key to teaching for understanding is to foster ongoing inquiry into important “big ideas.” A natural way to actively engage students in such inquiry is to use a few Essential Questions (EQs) to frame a curriculum unit. The explicit use of EQs sends a powerful signal that learning something deeply is about making meaning, not simply the acquisition of factual knowledge and discrete skills.

Transforming teaching practices is a long, slow road. But increasingly schools and teachers experiencing success are sharing their ideas online and in-person. Science Leadership Academy opened as a public magnet school almost ten years ago in Philadelphia. The educators that make up the school community have spent nearly half that time sharing best practices through a school-run conference each year and more recently by opening a second school in Philadelphia. Diana Laufenberg was one of the first SLA teachers and has gone on to help foster inquiry at schools around the country, most recently by starting the non-profit Inquiry Schools.

It takes time to build up a strong inquiry-based teaching practice, to learn how to direct student questions with other questions, and to get comfortable in a guiding role. But when Laufenberg talks about what it takes, she makes it sound easy. We've broken her advice down into digestible tips for anyone ready to jump in and try for themselves.

So, let me share three ways to do innovative projects in the midst of standards and curriculum. Not because it is cool, or fun, or fancy. Because it is what works with our students, and has worked time and time again for retention.

It’s likely one of the most common questions that educators use when attempting to engage a room full of students: “Who can tell me?” Though it may come in different forms—“Does anyone know the answer?”—the results are the same: Typically only a few students raise their hands, and their responses serve as a barometer for gauging the progress of the entire class.

Of course, those responses can be misleading, lulling teachers into believing that all of their students are learning when they aren’t. Luckily, there are far more effective ways to check for understanding, ways that allow all students to process and respond to teacher prompts. The three simple techniques here can help teachers structure their lessons so that all students are required to actively demonstrate their learning.

The internet is an amazing place filled with a wealth of information.  In fact, there is so much information, students must be given the skills on how to search and evaluate in order to utilize the amazing treasures that can be found in an ever running faucet of information.   While skilled researchers have developed metacognitive skills in order  to prepare for their encounter with their favorite search engine, this is not always the case of students in the classroom. Instead, I wish to discuss the strategies that are important to research before a student enters that first keyword in the research portion.

You can find the rest of the 3 part series here: 

Part 1: Facilitating Inquiry in the Classroom… The Driving Question and PBL

Part 2: Facilitating Inquiry in the Classroom… Student Owned Questions… 10 Resources

"Stepping into a classroom at Opal School, a small public charter school in Portland, Oregon, is an invitation to wonder, play, and be provoked. Materials for tinkering, creating, and exploring are within easy reach so that children can make their thinking visible and discussable. Meanwhile, teachers document learning as it unfolds with audio recordings, photos, notes, and more.

Although Opal School can accommodate only 88 children in grades K–5 (and another 30-plus in a tuition-based preschool), the institution’s reach is much larger. Some 1,000 adult learners from around the world also connect annually for study tours, professional development, and other special events.

“From the beginning, our goal has been to strengthen public education by provoking fresh ideas concerning environments where creativity, curiosity, and the wonder of learning thrive,” explains Susan MacKay. She is director of teaching and learning at the Portland Children’s Museum, which operates Opal School in a unique partnership with Portland Public Schools.

Looking for fresh ideas to share with teachers heading into the new school year, I joined a sold-out crowd of 300 earlier this summer for a symposium called Play, the Arts, and Education for Democracy. The event drew attendees from across the U.S., including many returnees seeking a refresher in what Opal School calls playful inquiry."

It takes time to build up a strong inquiry-based teaching practice, to learn how to direct student questions with other questions, and to get comfortable in a guiding role. But when Laufenberg talks about what it takes, she makes it sound easy. We’ve broken her advice down into digestible tips for anyone ready to jump in and try for themselves.