Make your own QUADRANT USED FOR EARLY NAVIGATION! Learn how early explorers used this tool and how it is used! Such a fun activity
At my school, we use Kath Murdoch’s Inquiry Cycle. Many of our staff are new the PYP and new to inquiry-based teaching and learning, so we find this inquiry cycle provides some structure to t…
Fun early finisher tasks with a science theme, great for stimulating creative thinking and writing.
Explore different materials and their properties with this engaging unit. Activities and printables for the Foundation and Prep Year chemistry strand.
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What is Inquiry Based Leaning in Kindergarten? In simple form, inquiry-based learning is more of a student-directed way of learning rather than teacher-directed. In some cases, the teaching team may set the general framework for learning, but for the most part, the learning is based on the students questions, ideas and passions. This is similar to the emergent curriculum if that is a term you are more familiar with. Rather than working off set lesson plans that are theme-based and not necessarily developmentally appropriate for all children, your teaching is guided by the students interests thus making the learning more meaningful to them. We know from research that children achieve optimal learning when they are given plenty of opportunities to become fully engaged in their play. Most often while children are engaged, their natural curiosity of the world around them comes forth. They take notice of everything and have a beautiful sense of wonder about people, places, objects, and nature. Through noticing and wondering, the children come up with questions and observations about their thinking. It is important that children are given the opportunity to investigate their inquiry, gather information, make observations and share their findings with others. It is the role of the teaching team in kindergarten to act as facilitators. We use these opportunities of inquiry to help guide the children with more open-ended questions allowing them to extend and clarify their thinking and make connections, while modeling the inquiry process. We provide the children with the tools, materials and resources they need to investigate these inquiries. What is the Inquiry Process? The Full Day Early Learning Kindergarten Program clearly defines the inquiry process in the curriculum document and I have included the table for you below: There is also an article I enjoyed named "The Plan: Building on Children's Interests" by Hilary Jo Seitz through NAEYC, that you can read here, that offers a very interesting perspective on the inquiry process. It has many similarities to the one in the Full Day Kindergarten document, but I enjoyed the way Hilary explained her four step process. I also now love the term SPARKS which refers to anything that promotes deeper thinking. Open-Ended Questions to Promote Inquiry The key to open-ended questions is that they promote further thinking and explanation. Questions that begin with "what, why, how, if etc." are usually open-ended questions. Anything that can be answered with yes or no are typically closed-ended questions and a lot of the time may begin with "can, do etc." I created the sheet above to carry with me on my clipboard when I am doing observations during the day as a reminder or suggestion. Very quickly these just became natural for me and it is just part of my normal conversations throughout the day with the children. This certainly won't be my last post on inquiry, but I hope this answers some questions for those who were wondering just what inquiry-based learning is.
Teach kids to tackle challenges and build vital thinking skills with these fun problem-solving activities and games for preschoolers.
Yesterday I recommended the book STEM Lesson Essentials Grades 3-8 as a wonderful resource for any K-8 teacher looking to dig deeper into understanding STEM education. One of my favorite parts of t…
Check out these 6 ideas to use as science time fillers in your grade 5 6 7 class to keep students engaged.
Research-based curriculum embeds skills naturally through play-based experiences that adapt to each child's developmental level and interests.
Geometry resources for teaching and learning mathematics. Fun and visual resources for maths teachers and kids.
The past few years I’ve had the opportunity to teach a course entirely through project based learning. Our local university approached a couple of schools in our district and asked us if we were interested in teaching a cross-curricular PBL program where our grade 12 students can earn college credits. Ummmm…. heck yeah! Basically, the ... Read more
Genetics is one of my favorite topics. As a relatively new teacher, I realized early on that you need to start with the basics which means...
Do you feel Science is just one more thing to add on to your already crammed curriculum? Are you thinking “Why Teach Science in Early Childhood?” Find out why you need early childhood science education in your classroom and how you are probably already teaching it.
Are you teaching the early years biology strand and looking for some engaging and educational science provocations to help your students learn about Living Things? In this blog post there are 5 engaging living things provocations to inspire you. There are also tips and ideas to help you set u
Download the free Claim Evidence Reasoning poster! The framework divides explanations into three logical, manageable, and teachable components for middle school students: Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning.
Using the Matariki star cluster as a context for learning can cover many different subjects. Matariki is also known as the Pleiades, and it is a widely recognised star cluster around the globe.
Ready to take collaboration to the next level? Check out these 20 collaborative tools that are NOT Google!
Orton Gillingham and Dyslexia Tutors
How to help your child find the right learning styles to enhance their potential in school and to prep the brain for higher learning. Learning is unique and different for each child.
When studying learning and cognition in graduate school, I was drawn to the theories of Lev Vygotsky, a Russian Psychologist from the early 1900s that presented a sociocultural approach to learning and cognition. He offered a theory that I believe presents optimal classroom instruction for all learners. What is Vygotsky’s Theoretical Lens? At the heart of Vygotsky's theoretical lens is that social interaction plays a key role in the development of learning and cognition. Vygotsky claimed: "Every function in the child's cultural development appears twice: first, on the social level, and later, on the individual level; first, between people (inner-psychological) and then inside the child (intra-psychological). This applies equally to voluntary attention, to logical memory, and to the formation of concepts. All the higher functions originate as actual relationships between individuals.” A second key feature of Vygotsky's theory is that one’s potential for learning depends upon the "zone of proximal development" (ZPD). In the literature, ZPD is synonymous with the later concept, scaffolding, and suggests learning with adult guidance or peer collaboration exceeds independent learning. Vygotsky defined the ZPD as the distance between the actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem-solving under adult guidance, or in collaboration with more capable peers." Using the ZPD to Enhance Classroom Teaching and Individualized Instruction: It’s always best to keep your students in the ZPD. See the image above. On the one hand, when learning is too easy, students get bored and their attention drifts away from a lesson. On the other hand, if learning is too hard, then anxiety and confusion can result and when discouraged enough, students can develop a sense of learned helplessness. The “sweet spot” is the ZPD where students are challenged enough to maintain attention and they are able to learn new concepts with guided assistance and scaffolding. Then, as learning happens, the support structure is slowly pulled away. Eventually, students engage in independent learning and practice until they reach automatization. Learning to automatization means that one has fully learned a concept to mastery and the process of completing a problem is virtually automatic and requires little to no thought. What are Some Direct Applications of Teaching in the ZPD? Because every student’s zone of proximal development is different, it can be challenging for teachers to accommodate the individual needs of each learner. Here are some possible problems and solutions. Problem Solution A student is unable to answer a direct question in class. - The teacher guides the student to the correct answer providing some scaffolding and by asking them questions. Some students have already learned the concept and others have not. - Break the class into two groups. Provide challenging applications to the group that has learned the concept and scaffolding instruction to the group that has not learned the concept. - Allow the students that have learned the concept to teach the students that have not. My students have a wide range of experience and knowledge with a topic. - Create learning stations with hands-on manipulatives, guiding materials, and demonstration videos that teach the concepts of the lesson. Have beginners, intermediate and advanced stations that increase in difficulty. Help each student select the best learning station. When a student finishes the advanced station, have them assist the other students to mastery. Some students still have not learned the concept after the lesson. - Offer one on one guidance and scaffolding with yourself or a peer mentor. - Go multisensory, creative and colorful in your instruction. Provide opportunities for the student to watch a demonstration and then do it themselves. Eventually, have them teach the concept back to you. Some students are ashamed or hide the fact that they have not learned a concept. - Create a safe environment for students to ask questions. Provide positive reinforcement for students that communicate misconceptions and learning difficulties. - Create a box in your class where students can write down their questions and ask for additional help. - Ask students to anonymously rate your lessons. Let them rate their learning on a scale of 0 to 10 (0 = Didn’t learn it - 10 = Got it). Also ask them about how engaging the lesson was (0 = boring and 10 = interesting, fun and engaging). By tapping into each student's zone of proximal development, you can assure that you will be maximizing your students' learning potential. What's more, you will find that your students are more engaged, find joy in the learning process and become active learners. I hope you found this blog helpful. I would love to hear your thoughts. Cheers, Dr. Erica Warren Dr. Erica Warren is the author, illustrator, and publisher of multisensory educational materials at Good Sensory Learning. She is also the director of Learning to Learn and Learning Specialist Courses.· Blog: https://learningspecialistmaterials.blogspot.com/· YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/warrenerica1· Podcast: https://godyslexia.com/· Store: http://www.Goodsensorylearning.com/· Courses: http://www.learningspecialistcourses.com/· Newsletter Sign-up: https://app.convertkit.com/landing_pages/69400 · Private Practice: Learning to Learn
A decorative and informative poster highlighting various forms of renewable energy. Ideal for key stage 2 science but it may also have some application in key stage 1.
Project/Inquiry Based Learning has been a passion of mine ever since I discovered it about 5 years ago. Since then, I have stepped out of m...
There are many project-based learning benefits. This post covers why project based learning is so powerful, and how to get started using it.
Your child's brain hierarchy determines how your child learns and develops. How they develop when they are young determines their learning in the classroom.
Students benefit from hands-on activities to help boost their conceptual understanding of math. This focuses on measuring liquid volume.
What is inquiry? What does inquiry look like? See what an inquiry-based education like the International Baccalaureate (IB) Primary Years Programme (PYP)* at ISTP looks like, every day in the classroom.
Teaching young children to code is far from a tedious exercise with the thoughtful, age-appropriate use of game-like apps and robotic devices.
A few years ago, the staff at my school began learning about inquiry research. We used the book, Comprehension & Collaboration: Inqu...
Looking for some good iPad apps to teach STEAM in your classroom? This collection created by We Are Teachers is definitely a must see. It provides about 60 iPad apps categorized under different subject areas, all of which are geared towards enhancing your kids' STEAM knowledge. The app recommendations are also arranged in such a way that you will be able to access apps for different grade levels (k-12). I have spent sometime going through this collection and find it really worth sharing with you here. Have a look and share with us what you think of it.
Teach the academic language of cause & effect by using real world examples. A perfect example of Integrated ELD with Science.
Children's Play SchemasIn case you need a recap on Play Schemas then I highly suggest you head to our blog 'What are Play Schemas?' before reading ahead.
Last week we were very busy learning about force and motion . We learned about friction and the force that moves a roller coaster. Then we p...
Digital Cameras: Theories Reinforced with Digital Photography “multiple theoretical frameworks to give a rationale for using photographic images in early childhood education” (Good, 200…
