A couple of weeks ago, we had the incredible chance of visiting the Pacific School of Innovation and Inquiry. It was such an inspiring afternoon that I needed to talk about it here.
Demystifying the Inquiry-based learning
Since the beginning of the semester, we have been hearing a LOT about inquiry-based learning. We know what it is, but I always had a hard time understanding what it looked like in a classroom. Here, at PSII, we had a whole school driven by this method and we had a real expert on the subject to guide us. Jeff Hopkin explained to us how it worked on a daily basis, he showed us the online portfolio system they use and how they tailor-make a program for each students.
It was fascinating! What I specially liked about it was how he highlighted the community of teachers providing support to the students. I didn’t realize it when I first learned about inquiry-based learning, but it requires a great community of leaders and teachers to guide students through their own research. You need to have a wide range of knowledge and have a great network of diverse people so you can see the challenges ahead of your students and have the right resource for them.
Assessment made understandable
Another thing that was difficult to conceive when I first heard about inquiry-based learning was the assessment part. If everybody is doing something different, how do you assess their work equitably? Jeff Hopkin made it clear to us that they needed, at some point, to convert what the student did in the term in curriculum language. They try to shield the students as much as possible from the curriculum expectations because they noticed that it is not a great motivator for them.
Talking with students
After the conference, I had the chance of visiting the school with the art teacher and talk with a couple of students. Their enthusiasm, their projects and their love for the school was palpable. It was fun to see what students choose to do or research when they have complete (or almost) freedom.
Overall it was an amazing inspiration!
