Torch - Spring 2014

Junior School

Student-Driven Learning A Penguin Story By Nicole Davies, Inquiry and Literacy Teacher

W hen you think back to your school days, do you remember your favourite project? What was your topic? What made the experience so special? This positive school memory probably involved a real-world application that engaged your emotions, nurtured your curiosity and stretched your thinking. It was likely research-based, which allowed you to gain depth and breadth in a specific area of interest, and included opportunities to share your learning with peers and family. Learning experiences like this, that foster wonder and excitement, continue to be an essential part of our students’ academic experience. Current best practices in teaching and learning and a shift towards a culture of collaboration in which students and educators share the responsibility for learning, have made this process even more exciting, student-driven and meaningful—we call it Guided Inquiry. When, as adults, our current Grade 2 students reflect upon their remarkable school moments, it would not be surprising if they recall their recent inquiry-based study on the growth and changes in animals, which has affectionately become known as The Penguin Project. When the initial instructional team—consisting of the Grade 2 Core teachers, Yvonne Stephens and Larissa McIntyre, the Visual Arts teacher, Rosa Mastri and myself—sat down to plan this integrated unit, we concentrated on designing meaningful learning activities that would focus on the “big ideas” and place student interests, questions and connections at the

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Current best practices in teaching and learning and a shift towards a culture of collaboration in which students and educators share the responsibility for learning, have made this process even more exciting, student-driven and meaningful.

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centre of learning. The goal was to use the curriculum as a vehicle to create rich and engaging learning opportunities that develop the values, dispositions and skills needed to be knowledge builders and innovative problem solvers. The teachers understood that the nature of inquiry-based learning required them to accept and plan for the unexpected as student needs and interests presented themselves; however, even with this in mind, no one could have predicted the passionate and student-driven path this Grade 2 unit would take.

Missy McCleary / Larissa McIntyre’s (on leave) Grade 2 class

10 Havergal College