Naturally, educators want to understand each of these frameworks in order to make an informed decision as to how to best meet the needs of their students. The "Tree of Inquiry" is a visual guide for educators who are interested in shifting their practice but are unsure where to begin. Inquiry-based learning is the foundation for all of these student-centered strategies -- students are asking their own questions, discovering answers and using their teachers as resources and guides. Schools and classrooms where deep inquiry is clearly at work invariably possess four specific characteristics no matter the specific type of inquiry utilized.
1. The learner is actively involved in the construction of understanding
2. The teacher as guide and mentor
3. The whole child is celebrated and nurtured
Whether it be social-emotional learning, personal awareness and social responsibility, grit and growth mindset, or empathy, the language around learning has shifted in these spaces to focus on nurturing the whole student. Dispositions are at the core of these classrooms where qualities such as creativity, collaboration and communication are explicitly discussed, reflected on and supported.
4. Structures and frameworks exist but learning isn’t overly prescribed or standardized
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