Someone described it to me as the ‘moment when the clouds parted and the sun shone through’. That is what it felt like way back in June (remember June?) when, for a few precious weeks, I was able to go into schools and work with kids and teachers face to face. It was definitely NOT the same experience as the ‘old normal’ … but for a little time there was a sense we were on the way out of this. It was short lived.
We are now not only remote learning again…we are in stage 4 lockdown here in Melbourne. Remote learning is with us at least until the end of term. As I scroll through twitter, I see more and more of my colleagues overseas returning to school in an unprecedented way – online. And I feel for those in countries where schools are expected to open despite the virus being uncontrolled. Strange and challenging times indeed.
This is a time that really does test our capacity to manage our thinking and emotions. We didn’t choose the virus that lead to this lockdown but we CAN choose the way we personally respond to it. For educators, our choice of response carries extra weight. Our learners are watching us. They are listening to what we say and how we say it. I am reminded of the quote I often use from Guy Claxton’s work where he reminds us:
“HOW we teach slowly shapes the way children respond to the unknown – to change, challenge complexity and uncertainty. The culture that a teacher creates acts like a magnetic field that attracts stimulates and rewards certain habits of mind and not others.” Claxton 2019:17
We don’t stop creating culture – for better or worse – when we teach remotely. The HOW of teaching seems to me to be more important than ever before as we now go deeper into the question of what remote learning can look like. While there is definitely a sense of weariness and heavy heartedness for many of us about returning to remote learning, I am trying hard to approach it with as much curiosity , interest and open-mindedness as I can. And there are some interesting things emerging.
Many teachers are much less challenged by the technology this time (myself included) so we can focus much more on the pedagogy – on our actual teaching. Teachers are telling me over and over again that their young learners are craving the social connection with their peers. This has meant for many, rethinking the balance between synchronous and asynchronous tasks. In the schools with which I am working, we are ramping up the live teaching opportunities both to meet the social and emotional needs of our learners, to reduce the strain on parents (it’s OK – we’ve got this, you can go make yourself a cup of tea now!) AND most importantly, to continue to play the critical role that we have in an inquiry classroom. To question, to cultivate curiosity, to notice and respond, to collaborate with our learners, to grow their learning assets….to teach. Just yesterday, a teacher friend told me that the increase in her “live” teaching time this time around had been invaluable for her own wellbeing. “I think last time, we did a great job of designing learning tasks for the kids to do in their own time – and giving them feedback and support but adding a lot more small group live sessions has actually made me feel like I am teaching again…”
Of course, when my inquiry-based colleagues are talking about ‘teaching’ … they are referring to the role of the teacher as skilled facilitator, learning designer, coach and co-learner. In the remote learning context, there is perhaps even more danger of too much TELLING and endless, tedious, slide show presentations. That is a waste of precious synchronous time, inevitably putting learners into what my facilitator colleagues Johnnie Moore and Viv McWaters call ‘a teacher trance’ (a ‘zoom trance’ being a similar state!).
With weeks and weeks ahead of remote learning, how can we continue to work in the dynamic, interactive ways of the inquiry teacher? I invited some feedback on this question on twitter recently and had some fabulous responses. I have attempted to weave them into the suggestions below but do check out the thread @kjinquiry for more ideas. How can we take the ‘Art of Inquiry’ online? And before you read any further, of course I acknowledge that there remain many learners for whom working online is a real challenge either because of poor internet access, unsupportive conditions at home, or lack of access to a device. I know schools working really hard to find ways to support those disadvantaged students but it remains a big challenge. I also want to say that having some asynchronous learning is still important. When designed well, it allows families to manage their time and resources and offers exciting scope for learner choice and the building of independent, self-management skills.
So my wondering of late has been about how I can take ‘The Art of Inquiry teaching’ into the remote context? I am going to respond to this question in two parts, referring to each of the ten inquiry teaching practices I have shared previously here. For Part one, we will look at the following 5 practices: Cultivate Curiosity, Release, Notice, Question and Get Personal and how they can translate to remote teaching. In part #2 I will look at ‘Keep it real, Think Big, Collaborate, Grow Learning Assets and Play
Cultivate curiosity: Inquiry teachers provoke, model and value curiosity.
Make use of the MANY amazing sites that are all about nurturing curiosity. Wonderopolis, Mystery Doug , curiosity.com and The Kids Should See This are amongst my favorites. These sites can be part of your asynchronous offerings - something learners can check out in their own time but then discussed and reflected upon in small groups or morning meetings. Watching a short clip together and using a chat function to document wonderings is another way to make the most of these sources. Use visuals, clips, pieces of music, etc. to provoke curiosity and invite learners to do this for each other.
Most families are able to take a walk at least once a day. Provide your learners with some prompts to nurture their curiosity as they walk around their neighbourhoods. Take photos of things that intrigue them and share them with the group. Start a digital wonderwall using apps like padlet. Be on the look out for images, clips and objects you can share that will give pause for wonder and awe.
Remember – one of the keys to nurturing curiosity is BEING curious! Talk to your learners about the things have been noticing and wondering. Share your questions out loud.
During our first lockdown, I designed some resources for learners to get curious in their gardens and houses. You can check it out here.
Bring objects to online meetings. Invite learners to bring something along to a meeting that might prompt others to get curious.
Design inquiries that have relevance and meaning to children – things that will ensure they are ‘hungry’ to find out. I know of a class currently engaged in an inquiry into the design of masks – looking both form, function and cost. It’s real and relevant and they are very curious to learn more. Find some more ideas for projects that lend themselves to inquiry at home here.
Question: Inquiry teachers ask more than they tell.
Asking the right question and encouraging learners to frame questions is a central strategy in the inquiry teacher’s repertoire. When meeting with small groups, we can continue to use questions to frame our learning intentions, to invite learners to share their question with us and to explore the ways questions work.
This is not a time for dreary “read/view this and answer the questions” activities. Questions should contribute energy and alive-ness to learning. The lovely thing about many online platforms is that they allow the learners to share their questions both orally or in written form through the chat function. This can accommodate more learners simultaneously and allow us to get a clearer window into their thinking.
Share your own questions – the things YOU have been wondering. Question aloud as you meet with learners.
When meeting learners on line, you might find there is more silence, more ‘wait time’ between questions and responses. That’s a good thing! Don’t feel tempted to fill it. This space can be really powerful for deep thinking.
Sometimes asking a question during a virtual meeting can feel confronting as we all stare at each other thinking about our response. Try this. Pose your question and then have learners turn their cameras OFF and have some quiet thinking/jotting time. Turn cameras on again, then you can invite individuals to share their thinking. If you are able to work with break out rooms even better – you can do think, pair share this way.
Where appropriate, share the intentions for your synchronous sessions as questions.
Invite your learners to share their questions at the end of your sessions (use the chat function, virtual whiteboard or other shared documentation tool) – its an easy exit ticket and allows to think about ‘where to next’ to help respond to the question
Keep the groups you are meeting with small. Just like the classroom, the quality of our questioning seems to diminish as the group size increases. Small groups allow more time, space and depth. The whole class meetings have a different purpose - they are more about building community, sharing and connecting.
Release: Inquiry teachers expect the unexpected and let learners to do the ‘heavy lifting’
For many teachers, remote learning has accelerated their willingness to release responsibility more often and more easily. The remote context is perfect for the ‘upside down’ lesson – or the rapid rather than gradual release of responsibility. Instead of I do, we do then you do…we flip it. Sharing a clip, provocation, posing a question or problem that learners can engage in in their own time THEN inviting them to a live, small group session where they share their thinking allows you to hold off the ‘direct instruction’ until it is needed. If it is needed.
There is something about the online context that seems to make us talk more. Mute yourself! Try turning off your camera to encourage learners to talk with each other rather than through you.
Just as you would in the classroom, invite learners to head off for a while to write/draw/make/explore/practice then return at a given time. Having everyone in the meeting staying at the screen for a whole lesson is a bit like having them sitting on the floor listening to you for a whole lesson – not OK.
Let’s continue to give our learners the freedom to plan their day albeit with an increased opportunity to attend workshops and group meetings. Some learners may need more support from us in figuring out how to structure their days but for the majority, this is something we can let go of and trust.
If you are able to use break out rooms – this is wonderful for release. And don’t think you need to visit them all! Trust that this is a time to allow learners to talk with each other without the constant presence of an adult.
Keep inviting learners to help you construct the best learning opportunities you can for them. Ask: what’s working? What isn’t? How might I do this differently? In a remote and online environment - many of our young learners have more technical expertise than we do. Have them run mini workshops for each other. Release responsibility to them to support their peers.
Notice: Inquiry teachers observe, notice, reflect and respond.
There is a lot we can notice when learners share their learning via email, seesaw posts, flip-grid posts and other digital sharing platforms. However, nothing beats the noticing that can happen as we listen and observe the learning happening in real time. Supporting learners to talk with each other (rather than through us) online allows us to listen.
Formative assessment is the key to quality noticing. Let’s continue to tune in to learner’s thinking. Gathering evidence of their theories, prior knowledge and ideas to inform our planning does not need to stop because we are working remotely. I loved this example from the team at Natural Curiosity where Carol invites her young learners to share their thinking about “What’s Underneath” with her which she then uses to frame the next teaching moment. This is inquiry based , remote teaching in action and this is a teacher tasking time to notice!
We also want to encourage our learners to notice. So keep inviting them to reflect on their learning, notice not just the what but the HOW of their learning. Self-assessment, reflection and the activation of the meta language of learning can add such depth to our conversations with learners whether online or off.
Use thinking routines to continue to encourage learners to share their thinking with you and each other. Check out Ron Ritchhart’s blog here for the routines that work particularly well in distance learning.
For younger learners, we might ask parents to film short snippets of their child at play and share it with us. This allows us to do some ‘noticing’ as we would in the classroom – and to respond with ideas for the way we might support the child through materials and questions
Get Personal: Inquiry teachers know their learners – as people as well as learners and help them find and pursue their passions.
Interestingly, many of the teachers I spoke with during the first round of remote learning said that they felt the experience actually strengthened their connection with individuals and helped them get to know their children as people as well as learners. Relationships with parents strengthened and we generally related to each other on a more personal level. Of course, the remote learning experience can go either way. I have seen examples where, for a range of reasons, children have simply been issued with tasks to complete and have had very little one – one contact with teachers other than an email. A phone call at the very least would seem to me to be one way of maintaining the relationship if a virtual meeting is not an option.
For teachers beginning the school year online, the opportunity for 1-1 meetings with each learner may well be even more powerful than the traditional whole class first day. I would suggest that before there is an expectation of a whole class, virtual meeting, time can be used to meet parents and children in a more personal way and to really find out more about each of their interests, strengths and goals,
In inquiry classrooms, we get personal by offering choices about what, how, when, where and with whom learning happens. There is no reason why this can’t continue in a remote context. This is a perfect opportunity to invite learners to dive into their passions, teach themselves a new skill, create and make something for an audience and work on a project of their choice.
Combining both asynchronous time to work on personal inquiries with conferences to share and give feedback to small groups show our learners we value their interests and potentially enriches the entire class as we share with each other. Make sure you share the inquiries YOU are engaged in too!
These are just some of the ways that the art of inquiry can be sustained and indeed enriched through remote learning. I received many wonderful suggestions via twitter … here are a few to whet your appetite. Check out the thread for more:
Stay tuned for post #2 as we explore this further…
So, how are YOU ensuring the ‘Art of Inquiry Teaching’ continues in a remote context?