01 - Copenhagen International School

Heikki Soini
Primary School Principal
Inquiry based Learning
As a PYP school we believe that
all children arrive to any learning
situation with valuable knowledge
and skills from previous experiences,
which will further enrich
the learning environment.
This means that children at CIS
who come from all over the world
will each have a slightly different
entry point to our PYP curriculum,
often seasoned with different
educational, linguistic and cultural
backgrounds. How does a
school plan and implement effective
teaching for such a diverse
and global community?
Inquiry or inquiry based learning
is often connected with or used as
a synonym to characterize teaching
by investigation, research or
discovery. In the IB PYP inquiry is
the leading pedagogical approach
which has been given a rather distinct
form and function. The process
is seen as a cycle which is very
similar to Kolb’s cycle of experimental
learning. At the very beginning
of the process learning is
anchored to the prior knowledge
and experiences of the child. This
means shifting the focus from
knowledge in the books and curriculum
to knowledge within the
child. By acknowledging where
the children are with their understanding,
knowledge and skills
we can ensure developmentally
appropriate content and phases in
order to engage them with an optimal
learning experience, either
as independent or dependent
learners.
The following stage of inquiry is
often called the invitation phase
(Kathy Short). Children are given
plenty of opportunities to explore
and engage with challenging,
meaningful and significant material
collated by the teachers. The
level of children’s prior knowledge,
the programme of inquiry
and the curriculum expectations
determine the breadth and depth
of the resources used. This phase
leads into the most significant
part of the inquiry: student initiated
questions, provocations and
wonderings. Usually, these will be
recorded and refined in collaboration
with teacher and peers. This
is a design of study where the
child is in the driver’s seat while
the curriculum expectations are
met.
It is truly fascinating to observe
the enthusiasm and time both the
children and teachers are spending
on the project at this stage.
Parents will find their children
describing what is going on in the
classroom with excitement, asking
questions, using internet and
other sources to find answers to
their questions. Children collect,
sort and present data in different
ways. They may be keeping a
journal, developing a power point
presentation, working on a dramatic
play or designing a piece of
art, a poster or a brochure to
demonstrate their understanding
of the concepts. The open-ended
nature of the inquiry guided by
the teacher allows the children to
reach their fullest potential in understanding
the big ideas, deveoping
life-long learning skills
and acquiring significant knowledge.
Inquiry is not only limited to the
units of inquiry which combine
several subject areas and demonstrate
interconnectedness of the
scientific disciplines. Inquiry
based learning happens also during
a single subject lesson e.g.
language, mathematics or PE.
These are often shorter than the
more holistic units and may focus
on important subject based concepts
like proofreading in language,
commutative law in
mathematics or problem solving
through passing a ball in an invasion
game introduced in the PE.
Again students are given an opportunity
to explore the authentic
world of an author, a mathematician
or a sportsman which will
lead to the development of enduring
understandings.
The end of the first term has provided
parents with many opportunities
to observe student inquiry
at the primary school. During
Open Houses parents could
see student questions published
in the classroom, reflective writing
in a unit diary or presentations
of conceptual understanding
in art work. Parents can see how
their children have responded to,
and reflected upon their performance
regarding a specified expectation
by observing the work and
comments presented in the portfolio.
However, the most important
measure of inquiry based
learning can be seen through the
level of ownership children demonstrate
towards their work. I
must say that I can see that every
day and I am impressed!
Thank you to all the parents for
your continued support and I
wish you all happy holidays and
all the best for the year 2010!