I hope everyone is having a great day on this chilly Monday! The teachers at SJA have spent the weekend participating in a number of professional development activities which have given us a number of great ideas to discuss and reflect on this week. A really great visual was brought to my attention which I would love to share with you as well.
This image is a great visual to help explain the inquiry cycle, which is a fundamental part of the IB program here at SJA. Our hope is that children at SJA become more than 'teacher-directed' students. We want our students to be interested in the world around, and go out and problem solve on their own terms. The inquiry cycle helps children develop these important life long skills. Children will learn how to identify issues that are important to them. They will learn how to take steps that will help them find answers and make discoveries. The next step is an important one- communicating their ideas! The final stage of the inquiry cycle is when children learn how to reflect and make action based changes once they have successfully inquired into an issue.
This is an important model to help design a child's thought process in the classroom, but imagine a child's success if they begin using this model in the outside world. Our students will become independent, self motivating, and resourceful, which are qualities we hope to groom in all of our students here at SJA.
Have a great week,
Mrs. Nelson
