Phase Three Inquiry Cycle


To deepen the inquiry cycle we have tagged the community of learners concept onto various strands of learning. Cycle one used an Aboriginal strand to connect to the community of learners. Cycle two used a healthy living strand to connect community of learners and cycle three uses a making a difference strand. Therefore, phase three's question reads, "How can we continue to transform ourselves and others to deepen a community of healthy living learners that makes a difference in the world around us?" This is our third umbrella question that spearheads the cycle and ties all the learning opportunities together. After a couple of weeks students will begin to create their own personal inquiry questions that link into the umbrella question.

Our Overnight Visit to the Vancouver Aquarium

One of the learning opportunities focuses on a mini-inquiry question that helps students strengthen their critical thinking skills. We introduce several organizations that have made a difference to our world either through their support for people, the environment, or animals. Trying to connect to community partners to support this learning augments the experience. Therefore, we  plan a trip to the Vancouver Aquarium overnight to get a behind the scenes look of the organization and the role it plays in the local and broader community. This organization is controversial in nature because many believe animals should not be held in captivity. As a result, our mini inquiry question is, "When is it justified to keep wild animals in captivity?" The trip becomes an opportunity to collect data that would support both sides of the issue which will later be taken to an academic controversy. Afterwards, the examples from the point of view they wish to justify are moved into the creation of a persuasive essay. In this way, we tie many curricular learning outcomes into this mini-inquiry question. 

Hands on experiences that are unforgettable

Integrating real world experiences to support learning is a great way to engage students. It brings relevancy and meaning to the learning experience. When we plan a fieldtrip, we use it as a way to deepen the learning of the more difficult or challenging learning outcomes within the curriculum. Fieldtrips and community projects are very effective in motivating learners to take ownership of their learning. They begin to see how their own learning can work to transform a broader community.

Imagine sleeping next to the beluga whales!

Concluding the Inquiry Cycle

Showcasing Learning 

At the end of each inquiry cycle we celebrate our learning with a showcase. This has become part of our classroom culture for several years and we feel it has many features that solidify the learning process and support what we are trying to achieve in helping develop lifelong learners. In planning a showcase for learning celebration students prepare by gathering evidence that justifies their transformation of their thoughts, beliefs and actions with respect to the overall inquiry question and their own personal inquiry question. Students select the best evidence of learning throughout the inquiry cycle to showcase at the celebration. The process of selection requires one to self assess and articulate how their choices prove transformation.  

As teachers we prepare for the showcase by sending invitations to parents, grandparents, uncles and aunts. We open the invite to close relatives because sometimes parents are unable to attend. This allows for students to share their learning with their support network. Sometimes we include other classes from within and outside the school. School District representatives and school trustees are also invited along with Vancouver Island University education students and faculty as a way to support their program and preservice teachers. Visitors are asked to come with three questions for the students: what are you learning about, what supported your learning and what will you take to your next learning experience. (These are questions I got from the Network of Inquiry and Innovation, Halbert and Kaser.) This predictability of knowing what they will be asked allows students to feel more comfortable in preparing and sharing their learning. 

A showcase usually takes approximately 2 to 3 hours in length depending on the age of the learners. Students take this event seriously and some even dress up in their best outfits because it is so special for them. They are eager to share and talk about their learning with everyone that stops to visit. As their teacher I feel proud of their efforts and recognize their sense of ownership for their learning as they prepare for the event. A community of learners is strongly evident at our learning showcase celebration. 

Checking the criteria to give descriptive feedback

 When visitors listen to students present they are in awe of how articulate and confident they are about their learning. Students are able to personalize their learning experience in such a way that it captivates their audience. This results in most visitors taking the time to visit as many students as possible. Evidence of students being metacognitively aware is recognizable by the  way they answer the three questions: what are you learning, what supports your learning and what will you take to your next learning experience. In addition, they are able to answer who believes in them as learners. Often they will name their parents, classroom teacher, principal, another teacher in the building, but most importantly they answer, "We all believe in each other because we are a community of learners!" Then they spontaneously chant each other's names. When learning looks like a community of learners it is a joy to learn and teach.

Students preparing for showcase by giving each other descriptive feedback on their showcase presentations.

Continuous Feedback to Transform Learners

This week Val and I have begun the most rigorous work of the inquiry cycle. The crunch is on while we try to support all learners in taking that leap to transform themselves through their personal inquiry passion projects that tie into the overarching inquiry unit: How can we transform ourselves and others as a community of healthy living learners? Since the beginning of January students have engaged in exploring various aspects of healthy living. Now that they have a strong foundation of background knowledge they are working hard on their personal inquiry passion projects and are needing lots of descriptive feedback to support transformation. This is a huge task to manage in a classroom. Having supportive educational assistants, learning assistant teachers and librarians are important in helping to reach all students and ease the workload. However, the culture of having a community of learners to support self regulation in the classroom is essential if we are going to meet students one on one to give them descriptive feedback to transform as learners. The guidance of the 4 C's, commitment, control, communication and cooperation act as a set of foundational values to maintain a climate of support. Students self monitor their behaviour to keep themselves on track as we meet one on one with each student. The culture of a community of learners ensures the cycle of inquiry completes its spiral and students transform. 

Providing feedback to take the next step in learning

In a community of learners students also provide each other feedback to support learning.

Partnerships in Learning

Today's adventure in learning engaged the students in a dissection of a pig's lung as a way to process their understanding of how the respiratory system worked. Two student teachers from Vancouver Island University, Sara Rostron and Kelsey Brown, co-designed and co-taught the lesson to support one another through the process. This was truly an authentic experience that left students with a deep understanding of how the repiratory system works.

When new teachers enter the profession with the experience and understanding of how to collaborate and work toward improving student learning as a community, we shed the notion of being isolated in the profession and encourage the culture of professional learning communities.                                    

Coaching Inquiry to Support Transformation in Learning

Today Val and I worked with our students to support their inquiry passion projects. One of my students is passionate about dancing. She dances as one way to support a healthy living lifestyle. As part of her inquiry passion project Val arranged for the student to interview a premier ballet dancer, Jillian Vanstone, from the National Ballet in Canada. Her testimony of what it takes to be a dancer and the sacrifices she has made to attain her level of performance was enlightening for the students. The students learned a great deal about the lifestyle of a dancer. However, when you attach the learning experience to an inquiry question you enable students to take their learning to the next level. They are able to reflect on the experience and personalize it by thinking about how the experience effected their thoughts, beliefs and possibly actions. In this case the student blogged her reflection on our school blog where she demonstrated transformation. This is the kind of learning that encourages the development of metacognition among learners. They reflect on how the new experience connects to who they are, what they think and belief and decide on their next steps to take their thinking to action. See if you can pick out the transformation statements in her reflection? What has she decided to rethink in her actions?

Reflections on our SKYPE interview with Jillian Vanstone - principal dancer @ The National Ballet of Canada

Reflections from Mercedes:

Can a professanl dancer 's  lifestyle connect to our lifestyle?

I think it was an amazing experiance to meet Jillian and I had alot of support from my friends to skype her.

I learned that to be a professanl dancer you need to be very sterickt about your diet and your rest.

Her scoial life comes from her dance club. They are her community. I learned that you have to be very focued. I gess I have to check my treat eating a little more if I want to become a professal dancer.



This year I have had the opportunity to collaborate with my teacher librarian, Val, an amazing educator. She is new to our a school so is interested in developing new working relationships that support student learning in our school. Val is not only very resourceful and helpful in supporting teachers' programs, she adds an element of creativity that strengthens student learning. She takes great ideas and augments the effectiveness of the instructional design. Her infusion of rich text, capturing guest speakers through the use of technology resources and her ability to co-teach and co-design make her expertise invaluable to our school learning team. 

In five short months she is transforming the way I work with technology in the classroom. She has given me an opportunity to learn within a community of learners climate. She is patient, open to new learning ideas, she values the teams' input and strengthens our work by adding a new dimension to learning that opens the doors to new possibilities. For example, in our classroom we engage in developing personalized inquiry questions that students explore and try to justify their transformation of thoughts, beliefs and actions. The questions are designed with students' thinking about their interests and strengths then connecting them to the broader inquiry question that we design to guide our learning throughout the term and connect to the curriculum. Val has embraced supporting students with inquiry projects and has added the dimension of identifying them as inquiry passion projects. This has excited the students further and has helped them clarify how to develop inquiry questions that encourages transformation. Val sees opportunities to infuse technology that enhance the learning experience. For example, she will connect with an author to set up an opportunity for my students to interview them on skype. She has developed a school library wikki that enables students to dialogue about rich text. She is an amazing support to both students and teachers.

Val has gone beyond the traditional role of librarian and has acted as a learning coach to everyone in the school. She sees herself as a learner and a teacher and acts on this belief. She is an amazing asset to supporting us developing an innovative learning environment. How do your learning partnerships evolve?

A Common Belief



We are all learners we are all teachers. Creating an environment for learning where each of us feels valued and respected for our contributions is critical if we are going to take the necessary steps forward in the development of innovative learning environments. How we create this foundation is unique to each setting but ensuring the foundational values are honoured becomes necessary to shifting to a learning culture. What does this look like for you? How do you explicitly teach and coach this foundation to support a thriving community of learners?