In this week’s class, we were introduced to Trevor Mackenzie, a teacher at Oak Bay High school and expert on inquiry-based teaching and learning. Trevor’s wisdom was extremely valuable to us all. As we later discussed in breakout rooms, we had all heard of inquiry learning and even participated in it, but didn’t feel like it was fully explained to us. Trevor introduced us to the four types of student Inquiry and explained how the Gradual Release of Responsibility occurs throughout the model. He also provided us with 10 characteristics of the inquiry classroom to help guide us in our future teaching practices. While all of this information is valuable, in my breakout room we discussed specifically how he had outlined the role of teacher or student in different parts of the differing types of inquiry. To represent this information, I created a simple graphic. The graphics represent if that stage of the inquiry is teacher-led (e.g. Structured Inquiry topic), student-led (e.g. Free Inquiry question), student-led with teacher support (e.g. Guided Inquiry question), or teacher-led with student support (e.g. Controlled Inquiry product). I will keep this graphic as a quick and easy reference on the types of student inquiry, but I now know if I’m ever feeling unsure about Inquiry teaching or learning, Trevor Mackenzie and his book ‘Inquiry Mindset’ and fantastic resources to help guide me.
