1. Inquiry Learning in Pukeko 1 By Yolande Mathlay What did
Inquiry Learning look like in my class
2. Inquiry learning in Pukeko 1 Inquiry teaching allowed the
students to ask questions and to drive the curriculum with their
curiosities. Our Inquiry began with gathering information and it
encouraged children to question, research and make discoveries on
their own. Inquiry transformed me, as a teacher, into a learner
with the students and the students became teachers with me. Inquiry
teaching allowed me to use my previous experiences and knowledge
and also take on new perspectives when we explored issues and
questions. 2
3. Creating a learning community The success of our inquiry
unit came from a shift in my role from teacher to facilitator. I
became the leader, the coach, the question asker and resource
finder expert. Although I presented lots of information to the
children I was not solely responsible for imparting all the
information. 3
4. Creating a learning community cont.. I created learning
experiences based on the students' prior knowledge and interests,
and linked the Science strand into the learning. Students' progress
was documented with ongoing (formative) and final (summative)
assessments. In addition, I created a variety of hands on
assessments for students to "show what they know." 4
5. Building our learning community I started our Inquiry unit
by stating clear expectations and high standards and I maintained
this throughout. I outlined clear ground rules and a zero tolerance
for disrespectful or hurtful actions to others. I believe for
inquiry to be successful, students need to feel safe to take risks,
share ideas, and believe ideas can lead to more ideas and
questions, even if they are not correct. 5 Behaviour agreement
decided by students
6. Where we started We brainstormed some ideas and came up with
our big idea and decided on a topic for our Inquiry 6
7. Each group chose a name and questions to research 7
8. Each group chose a name and questions to research continued
8
9. Each group chose a name and questions to research The
students were divided into 5 groups and each group had 2 questions
that they had to research 9
10. To start off the Inquiry, the students wanted to see if and
how fast rubbish will break down if it is sent to the landfill So
they decided to make mini landfills . This was a little project for
7 weeks They had a food scraps landfill. A paper landfill A glass
landfill. And a plastics landfill Each student formed their own
hypothesis and kept a journal over the 7 weeks to record their
findings 10
11. Our Plastics Landfill 11
12. Our Food scraps landfill 12
13. Our Glass Landfill 13
14. Our Paper Landfill 14
15. They dug up their landfills each week to see the changes
that took place 15
16. They dug up their landfills each week to see what changes
took place cont. We found that after just 1 week the food scraps
has already started to break down No changes in the glass, plastics
and paper Some of us had to rethink our hypotheses 16
17. Glass and Paper landfill after 1 week 17
18. Paper landfill after 1 week No changes took place in the
plastic and the glass. They learnt that plastic bottles and glass
takes about 450 years to break down A slight change in the paper
was noticed after 4 weeks.. 18
19. One students Journal: Example of a hypothesis 19
20. Example of a journal over the 7 weeks 20
21. Their Findings No changes took place in the plastic and the
glass. The Food scraps broke down and became part of the soil
Plastic bottles and glass takes about 450 years to break down They
noticed a slight change in the paper after 4 weeks.. 21
22. The students worked well together I was so proud of them!
22
23. More photos.. 23
24. Photos continued. 24
25. More photos cont. 25
26. More photos cont 26
27. More photos cont.. 27
28. More photos cont.. 28
29. I also took my students on a trip to Visy Recycling Centre
where they learnt more about the recycling process 29
30. Recycling Centre photos continued. 30
31. Recycling visit continued 31
32. Recycling photos 32
33. Learning all about recycling 33
34. Photos cont. 34
35. Some of the childrens learning. Did you know that trucks
have thick tyres so that the glass will not pop them. Every year
85,000 tons of rubbish is delivered to Visy. When the rubbish gets
dropped off it gets sent to the factory [MERF]. MERF stands for
Material Recovery Factory. 35
36. Some happy faces at Visy 36
37. The students also learnt about biodegradable waste and
decided to make a worm farm They used an old recycled bath and they
had to prepare the worm bedding thoroughly 37
38. The Tiger worms in their new home 38
39. The Worms had to be fed weekly 39
40. Covering the worms They learnt so much, like: Worms need to
be covered to protect them from the sun and pests. Some food that
worms like are, tea bags, egg shells, nail clippings, hair, food
scraps and coffee beans. 40
41. Student voice The worms produce worm castings that can be
used as fertilizer for the plants. It helps the plants and it also
helps the environment. Worm farming is important because it teaches
us to be clean and green. You can sell worm castings. In this way
we can re-use our food scraps instead of putting it in the bin. You
dont need to waste money to buy fertilizer just make it yourself
with your worm castings! 41
42. Bringing the inquiry together Assessment formed a huge part
of the unit. Children wrote letters to Susannah persuading her to
have recycling bins at our school and requesting permission to
continue their worm farm. The Inquiry celebration day was a big
success and students looked forward and enjoyed sharing their
learning journey with their parents. 42
