IN-PERSON WORKSHOP
Inquiry as an approach to teaching and learning has long been regarded as a powerful means not only to engage students, but as an approach that builds the critical skills and dispositions for learning alongside a commitment to developing deep understanding across the curriculum. Inquiry is more than a way to plan and teach a ‘unit’. It is a stance taken by teachers and learners and a ‘way of being ‘ in the classroom that is truly transformative. Skilled inquiry teachers know how to nurture and strengthen learner agency. This approach to teaching ignites a zest for learning driven by curiosity and collaboration as students explore questions of significance.

This two day, highly practical workshop is designed explores both the pedagogy of inquiry (how we teach) and the ways in which we can design learning experiences that support and challenge learners as inquirers. The emphasis in this workshop is on the role of the teacher in the context of inquiry – as artful facilitator and responsive learning designer.
Objective:
To challenge them to think more deeply and apply skills and understandings to new contexts. Many of us like the idea of an inquiry approach but feel less confident with how to use it effectively in the classroom. This workshop is designed to help build educators prebuild a practical repertoire of strategies and approaches to lesson and unit design to foster inquiry. Throughout the day, we will explore the following questions:
  • Why use an inquiry-based approach?
  • How can we adopt an inquiry ‘stance’ in our teaching across the day and across the curriculum?
  • What is the role of the teacher in the inquiry classroom? Where does ‘explicit teaching’ fit into the picture? What does inquiry learning ‘look like’ in the classroom?
  • How is the inquiry classroom organised? How do we curate the space?
  • What does an inquiry-based lesson entail?
  • How do we collaboratively plan/design extended journeys (‘units) for inquiry learning?
  • What strategies can we add to our repertoire to strengthen our inquiry based teaching?
  • Come along and enjoy inquiring into inquiry!
Over the course of the two days, we will explore the following:
Day 1: a focus on pedagogy
  • The teacher as inquirer: activating prior knowledge and tuning into students’ thinking
  • Growing learner assets: creating a culture of inquiry into learning itself
  • The learner as active investigator: designing opportunities and building the skill set for researching/gathering information
  • Cultivating curiosity and sharpening our questioning skills
  • The role of the environment in stimulating, supporting and documenting inquiry

Day 2: a focus on design
  • Designing for inquiry learning at both lesson level and unit level
  • Designing to meet the needs of all learners – an emphasis on inclusivity
  • How to plan more responsively - how co-planning can nurture agency
  • Using cycles of inquiry to support planning
  • The role of concepts in framing a powerful inquiry
  • Moving from shared to personal inquiry
  • Tips for collaborative planning and documentation

*Note: for those teachers who have previously attended Kath’s ‘Teaching and Learning through Inquiry’ weekend workshop, this workshop includes some of the same content BUT Kath has built on and refined many of the components to reflect new thinking and recent experience in partner schools.
KATH MURDOCH
Kath Murdoch’s name is synonymous with Inquiry Learning – a field in which she has taught, researched and written about throughout a career that spans almost forty years. Kath is an experienced classroom primary teacher, university lecturer and consultant working with schools all over the world. An engaging and passionate speaker, Kath is highly sought after to lead workshops or present at conferences- but she is most at home in the classroom, working with young people. This desire to spend time teaching in classrooms is a signature feature of her consultancy and means she continues to bring recent, real experience to her work with teachers.

Kath is based in Melbourne, Australia and is the author of numerous books for teachers and children including ‘The Power of Inquiry’, Getting Personal with Inquiry’ and her latest: ‘From Agency to Zest, a journey through the landscape of inquiry.’
 
Venue:
Anglo American School of Sofia

Address: Панчарево, ul. "Siianie" 1, 1137 Sofia, Bulgaria

Phone: +359 2 923 8810

8:30 am to 3:30 pm
Registration at 8:00 am
on the 16th of March 2024
INVESTMENT
USD 850 Per Participant Closing Date 1st March 2024


Teachers who attend this workshop will receive a free copy of the book ‘From Agency to Zest’ and a set of Kath’s ‘Art of Inquiry’ cards.
INCLUDES: Certificate of Participation for 16 Professional Development Hours, Lunch and Coffee Breaks.
Upcoming Workshops
In-Person Workshop: Exploring the Power of Making Thinking Visible in a Mathematics Context
- By Mark Church
16th & 17th March 2024, Sofia, Bulgaria
The European Intensive Instructional Coaching Institute
- By Jim Knight
17th - 21st April 2024, Paris
 
Emails:
www.chaptersinternational.com
+91-9818362535