Author Archives: whatedsaid

About whatedsaid

Teaching and Learning Coordinator at an IB PYP school in Melbourne, Australia. I'm a teacher, a learner, an inquirer...

Response to the dry spell…

Posted on January 30, 2014 by whatedsaid

Hi Al, Thanks for posting your honest self-reflection, in which you wondered if/where the inquiry has gone. “… I didn’t know if I wasn’t thinking inquiry because I haven’t been doing any inquiry with my students or because inquiry is … Continue reading →

Posted in Inquiry | Tagged collaboration, scientific inquiry | 9 Comments

Liberating learning spaces…

Posted on October 29, 2013 by whatedsaid

This post was written by Des, a Grade 5 teacher at my school who is constantly on her own inquiry journey – into inquiry, technology and learning spaces… My students have always had their own special seat with their own … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged learning space | 3 Comments

What does inquiry look like?

Posted on October 25, 2013 by whatedsaid

The first question in last night’s #pypchat on Twitter brought a wonderful range of answers from educators across five continents… What does inquiry look/sound/feel like? Vibrant, alive, expect the unexpected. – Jane Kids engaged, talking, creating, observing, collaborating.- Linda Students … Continue reading →

Posted in Inquiry | Tagged inquiry | 5 Comments

An inquiry journey…

Posted on October 8, 2013 by whatedsaid

(Skip the background paragraph if you like, it gets more interesting.) My school is an authorised IB world school, following the Primary Years Program (PYP), and we’re currently in the process of our ‘self study’ in preparation for an evaluation … Continue reading →

Posted in Inquiry | Tagged collaborative planning, inquiry learning, professional learning, PYP evaluation, teachers as inquirers | 4 Comments

A Language Inquiry

Posted on July 11, 2013 by whatedsaid

Thinking aloud here, as part of my own inquiry… Inquiry learning includes questioning, wondering, experimenting, learning from mistakes, discovering, uncovering, solving problems, seeking clarification, finding out, constructing meaning… in authentic contexts. Can this apply to language learning? My friend Greta, keen … Continue reading →

Posted in Inquiry | Tagged ESL teaching, teaching language through inquiry | 6 Comments

Provoking Curiosity

Posted on May 24, 2013 by whatedsaid

It takes a while before the children think of putting paper into this old typewriter to make it do something… They wonder if the flat disks beside it are the films for the old camera! They’re exploring a mini museum … Continue reading →

Posted in Inquiry | Tagged curiosity, Inquiry Based Learning, learning history, provocations, relinquishing control | 4 Comments

Depends what you are looking for…

Posted on March 1, 2013 by whatedsaid

Sometimes we are too busy watching for the things we think are looking for… the right answer, completion of work, ‘good’ behaviour, compliance or conformity. So we miss important things our students are saying (or not saying)… questions, thoughts, sparks, … Continue reading →

Posted in Inquiry | Tagged inquiry, selective attention test | Leave a comment

Is inquiry a struggle for you?

Posted on February 24, 2013 by whatedsaid

I was asked by someone starting up a collective blog whether we have a schedule at Inquire Within, with some sort of plan of who will post when. I told him inquiry doesn’t work that way. Sometimes Inquire Within goes … Continue reading →

Posted in Inquiry | Tagged inquiry as a stance, inquiry learning, teachers as inquirers | 14 Comments

Inquiring into learning…

Posted on November 16, 2012 by whatedsaid

Adapted slightly from a recent post at What Ed Said. Do you focus as much on the process of learning as the content? Do your students reflect as much on how they learn as on what they learn. As a … Continue reading →