Being Curious and Inquiry Learning

For some years we have been promoting curiosity via our approach to inquiry learning.

 We want the boys to develop an inquisitive disposition to the point of it being second nature to them. The macro picture of inquiry can be deceiving and may be seen as simply fostering curiosity, which of course is a laudable pursuit.

Inquiry learning starts with curiosity and exploration and leads to investigation into a worthy question, problem or idea. It involves asking questions, challenging the known, gathering and analysing information, generating solutions, making decisions, justifying conclusions and taking action.

Our job as educators is to enthuse and encourage the curiosity within children and in parallel, build the skills of developing good questions for inquiry, seeking out answers, testing hypotheses and exploring other questions generated during the inquiry.  The skills of inquiry learning are the building blocks for all learning.

I recently re-read a powerful quote from a former Headmaster (Gardner Dunnan) of the Dalton School in the USA.

“All students need a realm in which they can feel ‘expert’. That takes time, attention and hard work. But in developing that interest, they gain a capacity to succeed that you don’t get simply by having broad coverage.”

Just over a decade ago we started a class of 11 and 12 year olds who had already developed a strong set of work and study skills and were already well on their way to becoming independent learners. We gave them an opportunity to select a topic of choice and over the year complete an extended study culminating in a presentation of their work in November/December. I underline the fact that the whole process, including the decision around the initial question/topic, was supported and ‘scaffolded’ by the teacher. An enormous amount of ‘skill’ teaching and mentoring was involved.

This is really the ‘short story’ of the concept, but believe me when I say, the boys in this class over the years have all leapt at the challenge and their engagement has been inspirational to observe. They finish the year incredibly proud of their achievements (incredibly impressive studies) and move onto secondary school superbly prepared as ‘independent learners’ with a love of learning.

The year-long study would not suit every boy’s learning style. For this reason, all classes at the same year level are involved in inquiry learning but not in this ‘extended study’ approach.

However through our experience and observations, we had a strong hunch that this model did suit a number of children, even children who found some of the basics of literacy challenging, so in 2012 we trialled this approach with another class of 11 and 12 year olds. The class was selected as any homogenous class would be, except we identified children who we thought would enjoy and benefit by the extended study style of learning.

On reflection it has been a great success and the engagement of almost all the boys went to another level. Staff, parent and the boys’ feedback has been extremely positive.

One of the boys completed a study around the subject of Lego! Many would question whether there was enough ‘meat’ in this topic to complete a year-long inquiry? No question, as the student completed his inquiry and exceeded all our expectations. At the end of the year I asked him to reflect on his year and this is what he emailed me:

·         I liked being in an extended study class because it meant that we could do 'in-depth' research of a topic of our choice, something that we got really excited about. I really enjoyed coming up with different options of topics to do.

·         I personally liked the fact that we got to make our own booklet AND do a presentation to the class.

·         The way that we decided the questions we were going to ask for our study was really effective (using the windows program 'Inspiration')

  

·         It gives you a feel of what college will be like, with deadlines, projects, etc.

·         I like how you have to do a lot of designing the layout of your booklet.

·         You learn how to manage your time.

·         The teacher doesn't tell you how you should do something, you come up with a solution yourself.

   

Now the negatives:

·         Sometimes you might feel a bit, 'lost'

·         There are no other negatives.

 . 

All in all I like the way our class this year was run. I would love to have the opportunity to do it again.

We had a fantastic teacher, and i will miss this class next year at college.

  

From: Noah

Inquiry learning is indeed engaging and empowering. Good questioning is at the heart of the inquiry process. It is often open-ended (has no right or wrong answer) and/or a provocative question which demands research.

Ideally this inquiry approach is authentic, real work that that someone in the community might tackle with the possibility of creating new knowledge.

We use various techniques and a thinking framework or taxonomy called SOLO (Structure of Observed Learning Outcomes) to structure a lot of our teaching and learning around the inquiry process. This powerful framework provides a range of tools to grow the boys’ thinking.

Our staff continue to reflect on the Wellesley teaching and learning approach, stretching ourselves to grow our own skill set via our active professional learning culture. ‘We are learners too’ and will continue to strive to enrich the boys’ learning environment.

Being Creative Can Be Plain Hard Work

During the school year I don’t have a lot of time to read apart from professional education reading but over the Christmas break I tend to plough through a few books. My son who is a scientist living in New York, came home for Christmas and gave me Christoph Niemann’s book called ‘Abstract City’.

Niemann is an illustrator, graphic designer and author. After his studies in Germany he moved to New York in 1997. Niemann's work has appeared on the covers of The New Yorker, Newsweek, Wired and American Illustration and has won numerous awards from the American Institute of Graphic Arts, the Art Directors Club and American Illustration.

His book, ‘Abstract City’ contains the original sixteen essays from Niemann’s New York Times visual blog.  http://niemann.blogs.nytimes.com/

In an additional chapter Niemann explains why talent is over-rated and how yoga almost destroyed is design career.

Niemann’s book really appealed to me on a number of levels but mostly because he gives us all permission and encouragement to ‘back’ our creative thoughts. Most of us look upon the ‘creatives’ as people with special talents way beyond our own. Niemann very simply builds our creative confidence by his own admission that being creative is mostly down to plain hard work and a bit of luck and divine inspiration. Sure, some people have certain aptitudes for this and that, but fundamentally, these aptitudes mean nothing without graft. Usually it is not until we have dug very deep before we realise we have a nugget to polish. In essence ‘we are all better than we know’. K.Hahn (Outward Bound’s founder)

His graphic below tells the story. He says, “I hate it when people tell me, ‘You are talented.’ The word ‘talent’ implies a natural gift. As if there is a miraculous superpower that helps an artist produce decent work.” P258 Abstract City

The other myth Niemann debunks, is that working in a creative field is all fun and games. Like all things that are worthwhile, they take hard work and usually stress comes with this territory. This other graphic done by him is appealing. P262 Abstract City

A key message we keep hearing is that for New Zealand to improve its competitiveness in the global market place, we must foster creativity, innovation and enterprise in all aspects of society and particularly in schools.

At the heart of making a real difference to productivity is ‘smart thinking’ aligned with the courage to push the boundaries of our imagination and dare to do something different. We need to develop aspiration in our children. The desire to make a difference, tap into their self- belief and when appropriate work with others to build momentum behind their idea(s).

Schools have the responsibility to actively promote creative thinking and provide time for children to push the boundaries of their imagination.  If we can get young children practising thinking ‘outside the square’ and provide them with some thinking strategies/tools to stretch the mind, then anything is possible.

Being creative is hard work but immensely satisfying. It is a joy to see a child beam as they realise their work is of value. It becomes a self-fulfilling cycle as the positive feedback is the motivation fuel for more hard work.

Reading ‘Abstract City’ has been a real tonic as not only has it been a fun read but it has reinforced so much of what I and our school believes to be fundamental, and that is, our job as educators is to provide contexts for creative endeavor (be it in the arts, science, maths or any pursuit), expectations of ‘personal best’ effort and a warm, inclusive culture that supports risk taking.

 

Giving Boys the Best Chance to Succeed

As the school year approaches I have been reflecting on how to build on our approach to support the boys to ‘be the best they can be’.

Over the years Wellesley has built a reputation for having a distinct teaching and learning approach which caters for boys’ distinct set of needs. This is underpinned by the belief that the curriculum needs to be pitched in a way which will engage the boys away from the rote and the procedural into the higher levels of thinking. Now is not the time to expand on this but talk about some other key elements which are even more fundamental in bringing out the best in boys.

Many of you will know the work of Billy Graham who started NaeNae’s Boxing Academy from scratch. Billy had a tough childhood and got into all sorts of trouble before he found boxing and a great mentor in his coach, Dick Dunn. Billy went on to become a NZ Champion boxer and a successful international motivational speaker.

Billy’s life is now dedicated to helping young men who often have no self-belief and little hope of a decent future. His vision has been realised with many of his young charges radically and positively changing their life styles and local police reporting crime in the area is down 30%.

We have twice hosted Billy at Wellesley where he has shared his story and advice with staff and boys. Billy has definitely come from the ‘wrong side of the tracks’ but through his experiences and personal integrity, he is making a real difference to young boys’ lives. I read his book, ‘Making Champion Men’ over the break and many of his messages profoundly supported my own set of beliefs.

Quite simply, boys need kindness, age and stage appropriate expectations, encouragement, positive role models and to learn the consequences of their actions. This may sound too simplistic but where these fundamental principles are not imbedded in a shared fashion in homes and schools, there is a high risk factor of dysfunctional behaviour.

Once these core principles are in place, personal excellence and empowerment can be achieved. We want to lead our boys to take personal responsibility for their lives.

If we do not provide this structure for success, then when things go wrong, as they inevitably do in life, it’s too easy for young people to blame everyone else for their misfortune or dodge fronting up to their responsibilities.

The small things matter from a young age. Fundamental manners such as saying please and thank you are so important. Looking at people when they speak to you, being warm in greeting and fare-welling people and looking out for those who need help are all good habits to learn at a young age.

Having the confidence to speak up is so much easier in an environment of mutual respect. Swearing and sloppy language creates a lazy speech culture and often even a combative environment. Without  being too pedantic, insistence on correct pronunciation supports the group to build their communication effectiveness.

Boys feel secure when they know there are high expectations of them and a structure of support and discipline. They yearn for, and need acknowledgement and praise but they also need quietly bringing back into line when things go wrong.

A few years ago, former Wellesley parent, John Wright (past NZ cricket captain and later coach) spoke to the boys at our Year 8 Leavers’ Dinner. He shared the poem below with us. He said it has been his ‘rudder’ for life because at the end of the day, we have to be happy to look at ourselves in the mirror and feel happy we have done our best and lived a decent life.

The Man in the Glass

When you get what you want in your struggle for self

And the world makes you king for a day,

Just go to a mirror and look at yourself,

And see what that man has to say.

For it isn't your father or mother or wife,

Who judgment upon you must pass;

The fellow whose verdict counts most in your life

Is the one starring back from the glass.

He's the fellow to please, never mind all the rest.

For he's with you clear up to the end,

And you've passed the most dangerous, difficult test

If the man in the glass is your friend.

You may fool the whole world down the pathway of years.

And get pats on the back as you pass,

But your final reward will be the heartaches and tears

If you've cheated the man in the glass.

Dale Wimbrow (c) 1934

1895-1954

We have a very happy culture at Wellesley where respect for each other is fundamental. The values discussed above are the foundation stone from which we can build the other core competencies that will set the boys up for success.

 

Be Fearless

Over the last 5-10 years there has been an enormous amount of hype in the business and education world around the pace of change and what this means for our young people.

Questions such as:  How do we prepare our young people for a world beyond our imagination? How do we craft a student’s learning journey towards a job that has not yet been created? And how do we measure up against educators around the globe?

These and other questions have been very much part of our staff professional dialogue ensuring we are on top of the debate and are engaging with any new thinking.

Here at Wellesley we are passionate about our holistic philosophy—body, mind and spirit. We squeeze so much into each day for the boys. We regularly debate the ‘pulls’ on the timetable always trying to get the right balance. Our professional development is on-going and relentless. The content of the curriculum delivery is the easy part, it is the how the curriculum is delivered is the key part. Our aim is to infuse the ‘learning how to learn’ principles into the boys so they have the skills and dispositions of life-long learners.

So what are these skills or dispositions and what is the journey we need to take children on to give them real learning power?

They are a collection of attitudes and behaviours. Skills such as perseverance and graft, flexibility, questioning, curiosity, creativity, abstract thinking, reflection, making connections, resourcefulness, resilience and optimism This is not about getting rid of content but going deeper and providing a broader utility. I like Guy Claxton’s metaphor of a school as mind gym v an assembly line. The concept of imagining the mind as a muscle you can build, is appealing.

Teachers are not the font of all knowledge and it is healthy for the children to see them model cheerful ignorance and a desire to learn. We want to prepare our children to become brave new explorers in this exciting fast paced world. Earlier this year, old boy Michael Dobson spoke to some of our Year 7s at a House breakfast. He is 25 years old and after studying at Otago and then the University of California at Berkeley he took on work as a lawyer in Wellington. He recently won a scholarship to study in the USA for his masters in political theory. He told the boys about the many things he loved at Wellesley but the one thing he valued most was being taught to always ask questions, to be curious. He talked about his love of sport but most of all his love of art where he was encouraged to explore and create and to be fearless. He said what he learned in art class was to ignore that little voice we all have in our head, that voice that restricts us to voice our ideas and take the risk of saying it aloud. I want to quote you a small part of what Michael said to the boys.

“I’m extremely excited to live in one of the world’s greatest cities. (New York) And I’m confident I can foot it there. And a lot of that is because of what I learned at Wellesley long ago up some steep steps, in a classroom floating above the school. I learned that there is no such thing as a bad idea, and what I think matters. I believe what you guys think, matters too. So I say be fearless! Whatever you do, do it fearlessly. But—a final word of caution. As important as it is to be fearless, it also matters to be kind.......Don’t ever be mean. It is easy to be mean. Anyone can do it. To be fearlessly kind—that takes real strength.”

To see the Wellesley impact on young men such as Michael is very humbling and motivating for us all. The citizenship and  learning to learn skill set described so far are not new features of the Wellesley philosophy but we are forever honing and reflecting on the best way to facilitate them to our boys.

So we may be on the second half of the chessboard in terms of the exploding rate of change in our world, but we are not concerned because we are determined to provide these young boys with the skill set to not only navigate along with it but be the explorers, explorers with integrity that will create futures for not only the betterment of themselves but for society.