Description
This workshop, presented by Kath Murdoch for AISWA Early Childhood, is designed to suit K-6 educators who are new to inquiry pedagogies and those who would like a refresh.
Inquiry as an approach to teaching and learning has long been regarded as a powerful way not only to engage students in their learning, but to challenge them to think more deeply and apply skills and understandings to new contexts. Many of us like the idea of an inquiry approach but feel less confident with how to use it effectively in the classroom. This workshop is designed help build educators’ practical repertoire of strategies and approaches associated with inquiry learning and to deepen their understanding of the approach as a ‘stance’ and a pedagogy. Throughout the day, we will explore the following questions:
• Why use an inquiry-based approach?
• How can we adopt an inquiry ‘stance’ in our teaching across the day and across the curriculum?
• Why are curiosity and questioning so vital for learning – and how can we strengthen these?
• What is the role of the teacher in the inquiry classroom? Where does ‘explicit teaching’ fit into the picture? What does inquiry learning ‘look like’ in the classroom?
• How is the inquiry classroom organised? How to we curate the space?
• What does an inquiry-based lesson entail?
• What strategies can we add to our repertoire to strengthen our inquiry based teaching?
• How does an inquiry based approach nurture student agency?
Each participant will also receive a copy of Kath's latest book, 'From Agency to Zest: A journey through the landscape of inquiry'.
Come along and enjoy inquiring into inquiry!
Presenters
Rebecca Duncan (AISWA Staff)
Consultant | Early Childhood
Rebecca Duncan has been working in education since 1998. Along with teaching experience in each year level across Kindergarten to Year 4, her roles have included Coordinator of the Learning Development Centre at Christ Church Grammar Preparatory School as well as leadership in the integration of learning technologies, including at All Saints' College. In 2004, Rebecca was the recipient of a National Excellence in Teaching Award (NEiTA) for Western Australia.
Rebecca has been with AISWA since late 2010, when she was contracted to write a resource to support educators in their implementation of the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF). This project culminated in the publication of the acclaimed book, 'Early Years Learning Framework: In Action'. Ongoing employment as a consultant for AISWA followed, initially in the Curriculum, Literacy, and most recently, Early Childhood, teams. She has led numerous projects at AISWA, including initiatives to connect the Australian Curriculum and EYLF, one of which led to AISWA’s publication of 'Playing with the Australian Curriculum' (2013). Her teacher resource, 'Journeys of Inquiry', was published in 2018, highlighting case studies of inquiry in early childhood. This has now been accompanied by a second volume of inspiring stories of inquiry pedagogies in 'Further Journeys of Inquiry', which was published by AISWA in 2020. In 2021, Rebecca authored the text, 'Playful STEM: Using Blocks in Kindergarten to Year 2', followed by being the lead representative and editor for AISWA on the cross-sectoral publication, 'The National Quality Standard in Action: Western Australian schools', due for publication in late 2024. Inquiry pedagogies, literacy and numeracy, learning through play, integrative approaches, responsiveness to children, learning technologies, and the Early Years Learning Framework represent a few of Rebecca’s areas of specialty. She continues to stay deeply connected to classroom practice through mentoring, coaching and working alongside educators across the primary years of schooling.
Kath Murdoch
Kath Murdoch is an experienced teacher, author, university lecturer and popular consultant who has worked for many years in schools throughout Australia, New Zealand, Asia, America and Europe. She is widely respected for her work in the field of inquiry based learning and integrative curriculum in which she has taught, researched and published for well over 20 years.
Kath began her professional life as a classroom teacher in Melbourne. Her fascination in how students’ constructed their understandings - and her interest in the way questions and big ideas could drive curriculum soon lead to a passion for integrative and inquiry based methodologies. This passion has become a career long focus for teaching, research and writing and the methodologies in which Kath specialises are now central to curriculum frameworks in many parts of the world – including the popular International Baccalaureate, PYP program.
Critical to Kath’s success is her continued involvement in classroom teaching. Whether it is to demonstrate techniques, coach teachers or build her own repertoire of practices, Kath is committed to regular and ongoing work with students. Her classroom work and research feeds a dynamic and ever-evolving expertise in the area of integrative and inquiry-based learning.
Kath’s professional development offerings are diverse. They range from intensive partnerships with schools to develop inquiry programs and practices over several years through to one-day workshops for beginning or experienced inquiry teachers. Whether in her home town of Melbourne or on the other side of the world, working with a team or speaking to a packed auditorium Kath’s style is refreshingly practical, inclusive and always connected to the real world of teaching.
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Segments
Activating Inquiry in your K-6 classroom (with Kath Murdoch)
Date / Time
6 Mar 2024 Starts: 08:30 Finishes: 15:30Delivery Format : In Person