As I wrap up the finishing touches and review my Master’s paper with my cohort and professors this week, I am starting to action my final project. I plan to create a scoping document for the Provincial Government that outlines an idea to have a new pathway to graduation for learners who currently do not have a place to thrive. I am setting up and attending meetings with key players to try and find out and barriers from the ground up.

While in this mindset, I came across several books and one teacher podcast on the theme “Spiral of Inquiry.” The concept is not new and dates back to 2013 and work by Linda Kaser and Judy Halbert, who developed and popularized it. The Spiral of Inquiry assists schools in taking an inquiry-oriented, evidence-based approach to learning and teaching and has six key stages: scanning, focusing, developing a hunch, new professional learning, taking action and checking that a big enough difference has been made. At each stage in the spiral, three questions are asked: What is going on for our learners? How do we know? and Why does this matter? (Halbert & Kaser, 2013).

More information about the spiral of inquiry can be found at the Networks of Inquiry and Indigenous Education.

I have not fully explored the Spirals of Inquiry Podcast, which is made in Canada, but plan to do so.

I found the books and resources helpful as a way to view the project that I am working on. I have taken a similar approach and am working on a system-wide change rather than a classroom level one. I will continue to look back at this resource while I work on my project. I found it even more useful because it is based in B.C. and is therefore place-based and relevant to the educational system I work in.

One quote from the book that stuck with me, that I decided to use as a header on my blog, is that “innovation floats on a sea of inquiry” (Halbert & Kaser, 2013). I have had an uncanny amount of joy that has come from diving into the sea of inquiry and asking pointed questions to the right people to get answers while working on my project. I likewise am energized when tracking down sources and reading journals and reports related to my topic. As I explore this “sea” I am mindful to remember why I am “swimming” and to connect back to the innovative idea floating on top of everything.

I look forward to continuing this dive in the coming months as my project comes to life.

Reference

Halbert, J., & Kaser, L. (2013). Spirals of Inquiry—for equity and quality. The BC Principals & Vice Principal Association: Vancouver.

Photo by Kylie Van Eaton.