I talk a lot about the power of intentions as it relates to our professional practice as inquiry educators. Whether I’m leading a school through a professional learning session or I am working with a small group of teachers on my own campus, I begin with a collection of intentions to bring a presence and mindfulness we all need to arrive with one another.

Seeing the warm welcome and celebration of Leading with a Lens of Inquiry has really been quite something special this past month.

Your DMs, sharing with your PLN and invitations to continue the work beyond the book you have in your hands is so very much appreciated (an understatement for the gratitude I have!) ☺️.

So many of you are venturing out on holidays and tucking the book into your carry on, sitting with the words…

Going further is a stage in the inquiry cycle.

During this stage, there’s a depth and complexity to learning as connections are made and questions are answered and evaluated to determine next steps in the process of learning. Our findings and conclusions are shared with peers and help cultivate the landscape for conversations and dialogue. We take our learning deeper by inviting different perspectives through more collaboration as we continue to make sense of our learning and reflect on the ways it’s changed over time.

Lifting up the voices of educators who are not afraid of taking risks, finding innovation within the systems we are given and connecting a global network and audience are all attributes of what’s behind the publication, STEMED Magazine.

I had the pleasure of visiting an elementary campus today. It was the culmination of work I had been doing with the coordinator and school over the last few years and the purpose of the in person visit (such a treat now!) was the celebrate their growth in inquiry.

In recounting the dynamic ways in which using the leadership lens of inquiry has brought about changes to our teachers, campus culture and even ourselves as the leaders, we center ourselves on reflection throughout the process of change.

It’s the start of a new school year and while the excitement of a fresh beginning is one that is synonymous with this time of the year, there are still schedules to make, classrooms to set up and routines and systems to transition into as we say goodbye to the ease and flow that summer days typically afford us.