the sweet spot between safety and adventure - and how picture books can help you find it.

‘But Rogers knew that without familiarity – and, by extension, the trust that familiarity fosters, children’s curiosity can wither. It sounds counterintuitive, but children’s sense of adventurousness is paradoxically tied to their sense of safety. Kids need both to feel confident enough to explore the world around them.’ (Behr and Rydzewski, 2021:29)

One of the persistent myths about inquiry-based classrooms is that they are chaotic, and unstable environments where anything goes. A commitment to listening to children and planning in responsive ways suggests to some a lack of routine, order, or predictability. I am currently reading Behr and Rydzewski’s delightful book: “When you Wonder, you’re Learning” which draws on the beautiful work of Fred Rogers (a mainstay of children’s television in America from 1968 – 2001) and offers important lessons and reminders for today’s parents and educators. (I highly recommend it and have Linda Kaser and Judy Halbert to thank for recommending it to me!)  Not only did the television show itself become a reliable, routine aspect of so many children’s lives – something to look forward to each day/week – the format of the show was similarly predictable. But within the show, were countless moments designed to spark wonder, to invite the young learner to venture into the unknown, to ask questions, to make connections, and to explore.   For me, this mirrors the ‘sweet spot’ in the inquiry classroom. In order to effectively move with the unexpected moment, to be open to the question you do not know is coming, to be responsive and agile and take risks – we need a secure home base. We need rhythm and routine – boundaries that allow us to experiment in safety. Inquiry classrooms can and should be calmly energetic, a safe space in which learners are relaxed AND alert and where predictability and routine help support the spontaneity and adventure. 

Here in Australia, we are beginning the school year. More than ever before, as children in many states return to the learning on site after months of lockdown last year, we are acutely aware of the need to nurture relationships, establish routines and create a space that helps kids feel confident enough to explore. These first few weeks are vital in creating a learning culture – a culture which can either enhance or diminish children’s willingness to explore, take risks, make mistakes, reflect, collaborate and so on. 

Of all the routines I value as a primary school teacher, there is none more precious than gathering as a class to share in a really good book. When I taught full time, this was a sacred time – usually straight after lunch EVERY day and one of my great joys was in choosing what to read. Oh the anticipation of the book!  The conversations we had! As readers of this blog and my newsletter will know, I am a devotee of high-quality children’s literature - real books written by real authors and of the simple, powerful joy of reading to and with children. So if you are going to create any kind of routine in your classroom this year – make sure reading to your children is one of them. Do it every day.  The routine has the added bonus of connecting the group through the invisible thread of the shared experience of listening to and connecting with a powerful story. Serial reading is so important but reading a full picture book, start to finish, is a unique experience. 

 Last year, I shared a post about the way Oliver Jeffers’ book “What we’ll Build” could be used to create a class learning agreement.  This year, I am casting my net a little wider and sharing a few more of my favourite books (so hard to choose! So many!)  to use early in the year together with a few questions or prompts that might be helpful in shaping dialogue about shared expectations, goals and roles, ways of relating, agreements, etc. 

All the Ways to be Smart by Davina Bell and Allison Colpoys

What is smart? What does it mean to be smart? What kind of smart do you think you are? What makes you say that? Can you get smarter? Are we born smart, or do we become that way? This book is such a lovely way to open up the idea that being ‘smart’ can take all sorts of forms. The examples are numerous, and the rhythm and rhyme of the text is beautiful. I would begin by asking children to share their ideas about ‘smart’ before reading and then reflect on new thinking at the end possibly inviting them to write a letter sharing their view of their own strengths as learners.  Great one for parents too! 

The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi 

This is an old favourite and one of many books I own about names and identity.  This is a really lovely way to introduce an inquiry into the story of our names. It is often surprising what kids don’t know about their names and fantastic way to build intercultural understanding as well as honouring identity. After reading invite children to share what they DO know about their names and brainstorm some questions together that they can go home and ask to find out more. Have them teach tell the story of their names through the week.

My Heart by Corinna Luyken

This really is a most beautiful book. Simply reading it to your kids and inviting their reflections and connections may be enough.  A gentle way into conversations about the degree to which we can manage or control our emotions and responses to experiences. The last line: ‘Closed, or open – I get to decide’ is the kicker! What a wonderfully provocative statement. Do we get to decide? How much control DO we have over ourselves?  This book is also a lovely way to introduce the idea of a heart map – where children write or draw, in the shape of a heart, their interests and passions so you can get to know them better. 

The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires

Another perennial favourite, I come back to this book again and again as a way into conversations about managing expectations, making mistakes and coping with disappointments.  This is the perfect book to include early in the year when we should be having open conversations about the nature of learning and the value of mistake making. 

The Tree in Me by Corinna Luyken

Another Luyken book - I am a big fan!  This is a book about connection, and I just adore it. Even the title ‘The Tree in Me’ is enough to spark wonderful speculation: What might this mean? Can you really have a tree inside you? Why this title?  On reading the book, I encourage children to think not only about their connection with nature but also about what feels so special, so connected to them that it almost feels ‘inside’ them.  I would love to share this book while seated beneath a tree – have children spend time really feeling and exploring that connection with nature and ask: how might we keep connected to the earth as we learn together this year? How might we stay connected to each other? 

 My teacher is a Monster by Peter Brown 

We talk a lot about the “image of the child” in inquiry circles – and equally important is the image of the teacher held by children (and parents) and indeed by ourselves! This story is about perspective – the way we see each other and the judgements we make and how shared experiences and a willingness to see each other in new ways can redefine our relationships. Early in the year, we should be explicit and transparent about roles and invite children to share their thinking about what they think a good teacher says/does/feels/thinks? Always fascinating and a great way into inquiring into learning. 

 How to Heal a Broken Wing by Bob Graham

 It is almost impossible to choose which Bob Graham book to feature – I want to share them ALL. I am not even sure why this one comes to mind as a good early-in-the-year book. All I know is that when I read this book to a group of children a reverent hush always descends on the group. It is a story about noticing, empathy, kindness and being a good citizen in the most unassuming of ways. I think it can lead to gentle conversations about looking out for one another, about taking time to support and help others about how kindness can find a home in your classroom. 

 Wonder Walkers by Micha Archer 

My collection of books about wonder grows every year. This one is a great way to invite children to share the things that THEY are curious about. After reading it, ask them to share their own wonderings. – “what would you like to explore this year?”  The best way to use this book is as an invitation to conduct your OWN wonder walk. Even if the kids are really familiar with school – try a wonder walk where they deliberately approach the buildings and grounds with curiosity. Can we notice things we have not noticed before? 

Nine things to Remember (and one to forget) by Alison Binks

 A beautiful book to read aloud. I like the idea of innovating on this text and asking children what they think THEY should remember about being a learner? If you…remember to …. Another way to use the text is as a stimulus for them to imagine themselves at the end of the year. What memories would they like to have? 

What do you do with a problem? By Kobi Yamada 

All Yamada’s books are fabulous for the beginning of the year but this one is especially good for igniting a conversation around behaviour and generating ideas to form a class agreement. Most children are well aware of some of the typical issues/problems that come up in a classroom. Discussing what they are, why they occur and what the response might be can help build collective ownership of the norms and expectations in your learning community 

 Going Places by Peter Reynolds

 Like Bob Graham, Oliver Jeffers and Kobi Yamada, I could choose ANY one of Peter Reynolds books to use in the process of building a community early in the year. Going Places is an ideal text to introduce the idea of being imaginative, creative, and unafraid to ‘do it your way’. This is a book to prompt innovative, agentic thinking. It is also a beautiful way to explore the power of collaboration and what can happen when we put our heads together.  You might follow this book with a rich, open-ended task and encourage your children to do it THEIR way, to celebrate thinking outside the box and be less concerned about what others are doing. 

The Wonder of Winsome by Kath Murdoch

I just can’t leave her out!!   I wrote this book with the beginning of the year in mind (especially the prep/kinder year).  I would encourage you to share it at a parent night – a reminder to parents that adults have such incredible power when it comes to curiosity and agency. How would I use it in the classroom? I’d set up some wonder boxes or wonder journals (one for me too) and invite children to add to these whenever they have a wonder. Another routine can be the weekly sharing of wonders and selecting one to explore together. 

Oh my goodness! This has been such a LONG post and yet I finish it feeling dissatisfied. Why? Because there are SO many more! (You should see the pile I began with… )I would love to hear about your favourite books to use early in the year as you collaboratively create your learning community with your children.  Please do share!  And I also encourage you to consider the kinds of routines and rituals that you will introduce into your classroom this year to help create the calm, secure space we need for adventurous learning.

What routines do you like to establish? 

What are your favourite books to use early in the year?

Do you read to your children every day? Do you have a ritual associated with it? 

 Just wondering …

The art of inquiry: 10 practices for the inquiry teacher

 

Of all the blog posts I have written,  the one that has been read, reposted and mentioned most often- is “How do inquiry teachers teach?” http://www.kathmurdoch.com.au/blog/2014/02/21/how-do-inquiry-teachers-teach

That was back in 2014. In the intervening years, more and more of my work has centred on the question of how.  Looking back, it strikes me that this work has provided an important balance of emphasis.  I am passionate about designing (planning) for inquiry. In order to understand the demands and possibilities of inquiry, it is vital to build capacity around the planning table -  for teachers to know how to design for inquiry through conceptual, rich, authentic experiences and the use of a cycle or framework that scaffolds thinking from the known to the new. This work is about going beyond ‘planning activities’ and remains an essential element of the expertise necessary to use inquiry effectively.  But without a parallel focus on pedagogy, the application of our plans to the classroom can fall well short of our intentions. In the end, it is the way we teach that makes the most difference to learning.  I have been avidly reading my advance copy of Guy Claxton’s wonderful new book “The Learning Power Approach” and this really resonated with me:

"How we teach slowly shapes the way young people respond to the unknown – to change, challenge, complexity and uncertainty….Our teaching can steer them toward becoming more positive, confident, and capable in the face of difficulty. OR it can steer them toward becoming more timid, dogmatic and insecure."  (Claxton, 2018: 34)

What we teachers  DO, SAY and think matters. More than any program or unit plan.

Over the last few years, I have had the joy of collaborating with hundreds of teachers in a quest to dig deeper into the pedagogy of inquiry.  We have watched each other at work, co-taught and stripped lessons back to the minutiae of instructional practices.  Informed by some of the work of Hattie, Marzano, Johnson, Dweck and others  I have been gradually building up a more cohesive repertoire of key practices to which I return often. 

So a new book is on its way!  This book is based on 3 years of observation, experimentation and research into the essential practices of the inquiry teacher. (Like giving birth, each book I have written has been followed with the words “I am never doing that again.”  But the memory of the pain fades and the urge to write, create, design and share returns!!!)

I am doing something I have not done before.  I am using this post to share the bones of the book - the essential framework of the practices. And I would love feedback.  I’ve been playing around with these words/phrases for nearly 3 years now. I have tweaked, changed, added, removed along the way. My intention is to capture the essence of the practices in a key word or phrase. The detail and the practical ‘how to’ will be in the book -  but this is the essence.

The practices reflect what we have noticed when teaching 4-12 year olds. This is my area of experience and expertise and although my instincts tell me much is transferable, I acknowledge that the source of this work is extensive, long term work in the early-childhood through to primary setting. I don’t have the consistent, lived experience of working with secondary school students (although taught in a University for 10 years)  so I am not going to profess that these practices are the right fit – but it would be interesting to hear....

Ten Practices of the Inquiry Teacher

(not really in order...)

1. Cultivate curiosity

Inquiry teachers provoke, model and value curiosity – and they do this in a myriad of ways. Curiosity is nurtured through the way the learning space is curated, the kinds of questions asked, the extent to which the learners’ questions are valued and through the deliberate, infectious modelling of curiosity by the teacher themselves.  

2. Question

We all agree that questions lie at the heart of true inquiry.  Inquiry teachers elicit learner’s questions and often use these to help drive learning encounters. But the role of the question in the inquiry classroom goes far deeper than displaying a wonderwall. Inquiry teachers know how to ask the right questions. They use questioning to guide the learner to think deeply. They ask more than they tell. Inquiry teachers question what they and others think  - they question their own practice on a regular basis. 

3. Connect

Perhaps the most powerful word in this suite of practices. Inquiry teachers are all about connection. They design journeys of inquiry with and for learners that help them see connections across learning areas and between ‘school’ learning and the world beyond school. Inquiry teachers value the connections they have with others – students, colleagues and the broader community. They teach kids how to collaborate as they investigate problems, projects and passions.  

4. Release

I offer this word cautiously.  I prefer it to ‘let go’, it is more like ‘letting out’ as one does a kite string. Sometimes this is gradual, sometimes this is immediate but for learners to take a true inquiry stance to their learning, teachers need to release power and allow them to explore, figure out and make meaning. Not by themselves, but for themselves.  Inquiry teachers take risks. While they plan thoroughly, they are prepared to release themselves from the plan and take a different path. Inquiry teachers design tasks that allow the learners to do the heavy lifting.

5. Keep it real

When I talk to kids in schools about the learning experiences that they remember most fondly, it is always the ‘real’ ones. Learners crave authenticity and purpose. Inquiry teachers know how to use the school, local and global community as contexts for investigation. Whether it is inquiring into how to design and grow a sustainable garden, what to do about the car parking issue at pick up time, or collaborating with a scientists on the other side of the world, learners value opportunities to inquire into things that matter to them and their community.

6. Notice

Inquiry teachers observe, notice, reflect and respond.  They bring an inquiry stance to their observations of and conversations with learners. They take time to notice what’s going on  and to reflect on what they see and hear. And they notice themselves. They deliberately slow down instruction to notice the way students are responding.  Inquiry teachers are intentional, observant and responsive.

7. Grow Learning Assets

Taking an inquiry approach to learning means drawing on one’s capacity as a researcher, a thinker, a self-manager, a communicator and a collaborator.  Teachers who use an inquiry based approach understand that the power lies in the process. They work hard to privilege the process of learning. They invite learners to inquire into learning itself and know that it is ultimately the skills and dispositions of the learner that dissolve the boundaries between school and life beyond school.

8. Play

Inquiry teachers understand the power of purposeful play. They know that all senses are involved in learning.  And they know that play is not just for young learners. Time to play – to experiment, to tinker, to play with ideas benefits all learners. Inquiry teachers are not afraid to ‘play with ideas’ – to go outside…literally and figuratively.

9. Think Big

Inquiry teachers keep their eye on the bigger picture. They avoid ‘activities’ or ‘topics’ for their own sake – inquiry journeys are ultimately about working towards conceptual understanding.

10. Get Personal

Inquiry teachers inquire into the lives and passions of their learners. They provide opportunities for learners to follow some paths that matter to them and encourage each learner to set personal goals. Time is made for learners to explore questions of significance to them and an effort is made to help learners regularly inquire into themselves as learners. 

So...there they are. The 10 practices as of Nov 25th, 2017!  Would love your thoughts as I continue to write the book. What do inquiry teachers...do?

Just wondering .... 

If you could take just one word into the new year….what would it be?

Whether you are soon to begin a new school year or returning to school in a new calendar year, this is inevitably a time of heightened intention.  I love this ‘moment’ in time when the new and old year hinge on each other.  Reflection is made more purposeful when it casts light on the way ahead.  As a new year dawns, I can’t help but wonder about the way my thinking, my learning and my teaching will unfold.  This will be my 33rd year of teaching (how on EARTH did that happen?).  Whether teaching children, student-teachers or experienced teachers in the field I continue to love what I do and marvel at how much I learn, unlearn and re-learn each year.

As I have shared before (http://www.kathmurdoch.com.au/blog/2014/01/23/and-the-word-is)  my family and friends have a tradition of selecting a word to bring into the new year.  Just one, single word. The word provides as a kind of ‘tincture’ to the year – its purpose being to regularly nudge you along a path of your choosing – a path that strengthens you in some way.  

This year, I have chosen the word ‘space’… it works for me on a personal and professional level.   My passion for inquiry requires a lot of thinking about, providing for and curating space.  I know the best learning happens when I give myself and my students enough space to explore, grow, to think and to talk.  Clutter (physical, emotional and cognitive) feels like the antithesis of discovery and learning.  Even having some space to think, to read, to walk and to write is palpably nurturing for me as a learner as I enjoy some down time over the Christmas break.  I need space – and as a teacher, I need to provide it.

As I walked the spacious sands on a nearby beach early this morning, I pondered some single powerful words that resonate with the practice and stance of the inquiry teacher.  If you are so inclined, perhaps one of these words might act as your talisman for a wonderful year of inquiry.

Connect...If ever there was a ‘multi-purpose’ word for inquiry, this is it!  This year, help your students make connections – between ideas, between new and past experiences, between eachother and with themselves.  Make your own connections – not just within your school but with the wider community of inquiry teachers around the world. Stay connected to why you do what you do.

Wonder...No word list for inquiry would be complete without it.   Wonder fuels inquiry.  This year – commit to providing your kids with more time and reason to wonder.  Start a class wonder-journal into which you record things you have marveled at, noticed, been puzzled by.  Make your wonderwall a place for dynamic investigation. Give your kids time to explore their interests. Most of all, share YOUR wonders with your students. Be the curious, passionate learner you want to see

Open...One of the most challenging aspects of being an inquiry teacher is learning to stay open to the possibility that things may not go as planned – but it is also one of the most satisfying dispositions to build in yourself and your students.  Stay open – to new thinking, new ways of doing things, new questions. Design tasks that are open enough to allow diverse and individual responses. Open your doors. Open up your spaces. Ditch some tables. Move.

Dare... With a nod to Brene Brown, we sometimes have to ‘dare greatly’ in order to see inquiry truly flourish in our classroom.  Dare to express yourself with more candor and passion in your planning or staff meetings, dare to suggest and try new ways of doing things, dare to ditch the stuff you KNOW is a waste of time, dare to be spontaneous when you see a truly teachable moment worth inquiring into, dare to spend an entire day exploring something fascinating with your students,  dare to stop doing something you have always done just because you’ve always done it. Dare to try something that scares you a little.  Dare your students to challenge themselves, to move out of their comfort zone. Dare to help your students inquire into something you know nothing about.  Dare to question

Play...We know the value of play for learning and how vital it is that children have opportunities for the exploration and stimulation of play.  But play is not just about interacting with materials or having discovery time a couple of times a week.   Inquiry teachers help students play with ideas, play with thinking, play with words, play with possibilities. They bring a playful disposition to learning that creates a culture in which even the most challenging tasks can have a joyful element. Playfulness -  knowing how to bring a lighter touch to classroom discourse often to more sophisticated engaged thinking than the dull seriousness of an all-too-earnest conversation.  Don't lose sight of YOUR inner child. Play. Commit to learning some new circle games and play them all year.  Laugh together. Enjoy your teaching more. Enjoy your kids!

Grow...Inquiry teachers see themselves as learners.  It is our responsibility to continue to grow ourselves and our thinking along with our students. Make this a year of growth – whether you are in your first or last year of teaching.  Show your students that you too are an inquirer and that learning never stops. I am regularly stunned by conversations I have with some teachers who cannot tell me a professional book they last read, who don’t subscribe to any blogs or lists or attend any workshops other than those required of them. I don't get it.  We can ALL grow ourselves as learners more easily than we have ever been able to before.  Learn something new.  There is a world of wisdom in our pockets, at the touch of a button. Grow!

So….those are 6 words that come to mind when I think of entering the new year as an inquiry teacher.  I’ve merely scratched the surface. What’s YOUR word?

Just wondering…

Inquiry and all that jazz....

When I am not inhabiting the world of schools (which I must say takes up a good deal of my time!) I love nothing more than to immerse myself in my other passion – music.  I have adored listening to, playing and sharing music since childhood and it remains my go to activity when I have some time away from work.  I recently re-visited Brian Cambourne’s tried and true ‘conditions for learning.’  When I think about it , I can see that all those conditions for learning have been in place my whole life in relation to music.  I have been immersed in it (to the point where my siblings and I had to yell out from our bedrooms….‘can you please turn Ella Fitzgerald down we are trying to sleep!!’) I had a love of music demonstrated to me even though my parents didn’t play instruments themselves, I saw their genuine appreciation and interest every day.  I was engaged IN it by having the opportunity to explore different instruments at different times in my life.  There was an expectation that I could improve. I could experiment and approximate and learn from mistakes. I got to use music – to perform and create and of course, I had response – feedback, encouragement and advice. Without even knowing it, my parents, my school and my friends helped create the perfect recipe for a life-long love affair with all things music related.  If you have not re-visited or come across Cambourne's famous conditions – take a look and consider the degree to which your classroom and school provide them for students.

Last weekend, I took my eldest daughter to see an ensemble comprising four of the best jazz musicians around. She is an accomplished musician but has had less exposure to this genre and despite my father’s love for it,  jazz is something I appreciate but don't often choose to listen to.  I have had so many great responses to the recent blog post on ‘letting go’ I guess that post was in my mind as I watched and listened to them performing:  

http://www.kathmurdoch.com.au/blog/2015/11/9/letting-go-shedding-skins-and-teaching-as-trapeze

Peter Johnson (Choice Words, 2004)  describes quality teaching as a kind of ‘conversational jazz’.   I have always loved the metaphor but it really came home to me on Saturday night.  Great jazz musicians , like great teachers, are improvisers.  At one point, it was obvious the pianist was doing something entirely unexpected.  The singer (highly experienced) smiled broadly and said to the audience “ah, you never know what he will do and that’s what makes it so fun”.   Like so many jazz gigs, there was a palpable sense that the musicians were thinking on their feet AND this kind of immediate, playful, ‘go with the flow’ style was what fuelled their joy and the quality of what they did.  A skilled jazz musician knows how to honour the tune AND let the tune go.  They can take a tune in all kinds of pathways and tributaries - every so often, returning to the core melody as a kind of auditory anchor.   When playing in a band, each musician has to remain acutely empathic: listening to each other, following leads, pulling back when necessary taking the spotlight for a moment but never drowning the others out.   And behind all this amazing innovation, improvisation and seemingly free, fluid performance is an incredibly deep understanding.  The melody is known inside and out: so intimately,  it can be let go.  And in letting go and branching out, in innovating and exploring new music is born.   And each performance, each rendering of the piece is unique.  Jazz is such a profound example of the way solid structure, certainty, shared agreements and routine lay the path for innovation, choice, the unexpected and the new.

Inquiry teaching can divide people in much the same way that jazz divides music lovers…I wonder if it is because we can’t cope well if we think we are leaving the familiar safe haven of our curriculum and our ‘knowns’ behind?   Of course the very best inquiry teachers are like the best jazz musicians – they bring deep understanding of their craft to the classroom, they KNOW how to teach like a skilled musician knows their instrument, they know the curriculum well enough to improvise without losing it completely and they know their kids.  They are strongly grounded in the fundamentals of quality teaching practice and so…they can improvise. Teaching becomes a form of highly sophisticated play.

And if we think of a collaborative teaching team in the way we might think of some of the very best music ensembles, each person listens with respect, steps back when needed,  gives others time to ‘solo’,  applauds their colleagues’ innovations.

How strongly do you trust pedagogical expertise?  How free do you feel to improvise and innovate?  

Just wondering…