The Inquiry Cycle

We talk a lot about inquiry learning and today I wanted to break down some of the steps we go through in the inquiry cycle to give you a better understanding of the pathway we take on our journey of inquiry.

Each step has a statement that guides us. The first is 'I am curious' and it is the stage where we talk about our wonderings and ask lots of questions. It is also the stage where we can share some of our own knowledge about things. We started with some curious questions about music and this helped lead us down the pathway for the rest of our inquiry.

Next we start exploring. This stage is the discovery and research phase where we start to learn all we can about the subject. This might include reading information or being exposed to new things so that we can have a go and see what happens. This is a hands on stage and many of the areas around the classroom become filled with things to explore and discover. 

For our music inquiry this included learning to play different instruments and experimenting with how we make sounds. We also began to explore patterns as a part of maths and explored how there are patterns in numbers, shapes as well as patterns in music.

Next we move into the sorting and creating stage. This is where we start making and building as a way of showing some of the things we have learned so far. One of the activities we did was to sort different instruments by the way they make sound. We built our own instruments using the knowledge we had gained by exploring how sound is made. This is also where our show started to come together. We wanted a way to share our Kaitiaki learning that used lots of the new things we had learned about music and dance.

Finally comes the 'I am celebrating stage'. This stage is where we put all the elements together and take an action to share our learning. The Art Celebration was a natural fit for us to share our learning with the wider school community and we were so glad that we could share our show with so many people and that you could celebrate with us. 

But thats not the end. From here we can reflect on the entire process and see if we answered those questions and wonderings we had right back at the beginning. The great thing about inquiry learning is that it just naturally flows towards the next inquiry. Inquiry doesn't just happen in the classroom and we invite all of you to have conversations at home about some of the things we are exploring in the classroom. Our community is filled with musicians, artists, scientists and all sorts of amazing people. So share your stories and help be a part of the ongoing learning that is inquiry.

Hopefully that answers some of your questions about inquiry but if you want to know more than stop in anytime. We have a classroom full of inquiry experts that would love to share their learning with you.