Inquiring as Teachers

Inquiry. The heart of the PYP. In a PYP school, we encourage our children to inquire, wonder, think and dream. It comes to kids naturally, and so mostly, we encourage and provide a safe space where they can do that.

But, as adults, teachers in that setting, how much do we inquire? How much do we ask questions? How much do we really flex our teaching practice in order to let the students be free to wonder?

I think it’s hard, sometimes, when we’ve been in the same setting for a while. We’re comfortable. Things are working. And we don’t question as much as we should.

We also don’t inquire as much when we don’t listen to each other and ourselves the way we try to listen to our children. In a recent blog post on Edutopia, David Hawley, from the IB wrote about the importance of asking ourselves reflective questions every day about our practice:

• What should we stop doing?
• What should we start doing?
• What should we continue doing?

This post really stuck with me. I think it’s important to ask questions all the time and feel safe to do so. It’s also important to surround yourself with teachers that inquire as adults. It’s important for a school to put adult reflection and inquiry as much at the center of things as it is for our students.

How does your school put this in place? How do you encourage teacher questions? How do you listen?

First published on Solid Ground