Planning with Learner Curiosity in Mind 💭

Spending the month of July in Australia has been something.

The people.

The new connections and experiences.

The curiosity.

Curiosity has been a theme of this visit. The curiosity in each of the rooms has been palpable. While uniquely powering each group’s learning, it’s not just the questions that have emerged that have defined curiosity in these spaces, it’s been the engagement, the vulnerability and open mindedness that has provoked deeper thinking and meaning making towards rethinking our approach. It’s been the reflection on the possible ways we’ve become stagnant in some areas because of habits and systems put in place. It’s been the ah-ha moments and playful connections that have launched powerful action steps towards what’s next within our professional practice.

I had the pleasure of co-presenting many of the sessions with a critical thought partner, Trevor MacKenzie. We got interrogative and looked at assessment, explored a variety of question protocols and delved further into provocations to further identify how intentional we are as we plan for curiosity and align our values with our actions.

Photo: The Yellow Cottage at Scone Grammar

Planning to support schools and educators at events such as those in Perth, Canberra, Brisbane, Scone and Tasmania doesn’t happen without being curious ourselves. This can become especially challenging when walking into a room and not personally knowing all the learners and their needs. We look at this challenge with a sense of wonder. We ask ourselves big questions, reflect on previous experiences with other inquiry educators and zoom into big concepts that we know transcend shallow topics, creating space for our learners to sort, feel a bit of tension and take the inquiries and intentions presented to places that are personally connected to their practice and journey.

Inspired by the energy at each of the events during our time in Australia, we thought it would be fun to “pull back the curtain” a bit and share more about the thinking that goes into planning with an inquiry mindset. What are the questions we ask ourselves and the decisions we make that launch powerful conversations, recenter the learner and spark an engagement that ends up filling the learning space? How might your learners feel a sense of connection and awe around the curriculum with this frame of mind? Whether or not you were able to attend one of these learning sessions, I’m hoping that the following resource, Planning for Curiosity in Mind (click on image below to download 😊), will support you as you plan for learning with your group of learners.

This resource will guide you. You’ll find it quite easy to find your flow and start where you need to. Use the questions to reflect and find resources to support your plan accordingly. Consider sharing it with a critical friend, tuck it alongside your curriculum and scope and sequence documents and using it to reground your mindset when it feels like your plate it just a bit too full.