Getting Started with Inquiry

Make the curriculum work for you – connect the
“big ideas”
to the daily questions and interests of your students.

Design learning opportunities that encourage students to explore authentic,
“real-life” experiences based on these curriculum expectations.

Don’t take over – tune in to your students, not just the topic.

Talk with your students about ways of learning more about the topic by asking questions:

Some Guiding Questions

• What do we want to understand more deeply?
• What big questions will we explore?
• What is important to know about this?

Slow down – give your students time to explore their thinking
with each other while you listen and think about:

Questions to Ask Yourself

• What are my students showing me?
• What should we do next?

Talk to students and reflect every day about what, how and why learning is happening:

Conversations with Students

• What are we learning about this topic?
• What are we learning about ourselves?
• What do we think and know now?
• What does this mean for us as learners?

Tips taken from the
Ontario Capacity Building Monograph Series
October 2011

Getting Started with Student Inquiry