My understanding of inquiry-based learning has really evolved throughout the past semester. Inquiry has been a big topic of discussion in several of my classes, and I am also working on a couple of inquiry projects that have been assigned for class. The idea that I currently have about inquiry-based learning is so much more complex than it was when I first started. This is actually my second blog post about inquiry based learning, the first one having been inspired by our Q and A with Jeff Hopkins from the Pacific School of Innovation and Inquiry in Downtown Victoria. Today’s blog is brought to you by another Q and A- this time with Trevor Mackenzie, a teacher in Victoria and inquiry expert who uses inquiry in his own classroom and teaches others how to do so. Posted below are some sketchnotes that I made during the conversation with Trevor (by the way, I feel like sketchnoting really did help me pay attention and retain more info):
Trevor said some things that completely shifted the way I think about inquiry based learning. He described how he sees Inquiry as being a learning culture rather than a specific activity that students can engage in. He strives to build a culture of learning in his classroom rather than a culture of performance. One way he does this is by giving out feedback before giving out grades. For example, when handing back an assignment he will give students their feedback and a copy of the rubric, and have them asses what they think their grade is. Then, he will compare this grade to the one he has given them, and make adjustments as necessary (for example, he might realize that his grade was too low after seeing the student’s justification for a higher grade). Another way to create a culture of learning, as well as balance summative vs formative assessment, is to not mark every assignment, and let students choose which pieces of their work they do want to be marked. One specific activity that I am really excited to incorporate into my future classroom is co-creating competencies with students. Trevor starts by asking students what they think a competency is. After this discussion, students work together in groups to brainstorm what they think the competencies should be for the class. In his current class, Trevor said that the competencies the students came up with happened to align very well with the curriculum, but if they didn’t he might try to guide them in that direction. After having further discussion and choosing a few key competencies, Trevor posted images to represent these competencies on the walls of his classroom, and had students choose the competency they wanted to focus on for that semester. In general, Trevor encourages teachers to be very explicit with students about teaching and learning methods, and to invite students to participate in the process of planning.
Here’s short youtube video from Trevor that describes this process:
Looking back on our first Q and A, I feel like there are a lot of similarities between the way Jeff Hopkins and Trevor Mackenzie approach inquiry-based learning. Here’s a table summarizing some of the similarities and differences I see:
| THEME | Jeff Hopkins (PSII) | Trevor Mackenzie |
| ABOUT | Inquiry-based school | Inquiry-based classroom |
| CULTURE OF INQUIRY | Most of what students do is centred around their own interests and questions | Inquiry is embedded into everyday classroom activities, not just for specific projects. Teachers model an inquiry mindset for students. |
| ASSESSMENT | Students receive lots of formative feedback throughout their learning process, teachers constantly evaluate where students are in terms of competencies. This information gets converted to a number grade at the end of the process. | Balance between formative and summative assessment. Grades given after formative assessment. Students are asked to show evidence for their learning. |
| SCAFFOLDING | Students receive a lot of one-on-one support from teachers throughout inquiry process. There are explicit step by step inquiry guidelines to scaffold this process. | Instead of “throwing students in at the deep end” students begin in the “shallow end” of the inquiry swimming pool, with lots of support and scaffolding to progressively guide the way to deep inquiry. |
| CO-CREATION | Students co-create learning activities and progression with teacher. | Students co-create competencies and assessment criteria with teachers. |
| CROSS-CURRICULAR | The whole school is centred around achieving cross-curricular competencies rather than specific subjects | Trevor mentioned the importance of taking advantage of cross-curricular opportunities as they naturally arise from student inquiry |
Overall, I think both educators agree that inquiry is not a one-off project or activity, it is a mindset. It is a framework that values engagement in the planning and learning process and encourages students to set their own goals.