Teachers know that curiosity fuels learning. We intentionally design lessons that spark students’ questions. We celebrate inquiry, encourage exploration, and recognize that students often learn more deeply when they wrestle with uncertainty rather than simply receive answers. A classroom where students wonder, question, and investigate is a classroom alive with learning. Yet somewhere between the […]

A meeting to establish a teacher’s professional growth plan goal can either be a perfunctory activity to be checked of the “to do list” or the start of a year-long do — reflect — apply cycle that generates professional learning. Ask these questions at the end of the planning meeting: Does the teacher own the […]

Michael Hernandez, the author of, “Storytelling With Purpose: Digital Projects to Ignite Student Curiosity” and “The Uncheatable Assessment Course,” shares insights on authentic learning. How can we create learning tasks and assessments that encourage and strengthen students’ curiosity – supporting them in becoming engaged and inquisitive scholars and citizens. Read Michael’s article, When Assignments Invite […]

Two authors of Learning by Doing (Fourth Edition), Mike Mattos and Anthony Muhammad, discuss the powerful impact of PLCs. They define a PLC as an ongoing process in which educators work collaboratively in recurring cycles of collective inquiry and action research to achieve better results for the students they serve. The discussion explores shifts in […]

When are you more of a managerial leader verses an inquiry leader in the classroom? There are important times for each. What do students learn from your approach? How conscious are you of the practices you are implementing?  Jessica Vance, the author “Leading with a Lens of Inquiry: Cultivating Conditions for Curiosity and Empowering Agency,” […]

Parent, teacher, and inquiry consultant to schools, Trevor MacKenzie, provides definitions for and explanations of why student agency and inquiry are increasingly becoming a focus for schools. Trevor connects these practices to an understanding of students’ cognitive needs and provides some areas for important teacher/parent conversation. Send your questions to Trevor and find his resources […]