Next steps
Schools can implement Enquiring Minds through a series of gradual stages. The preparation stages describe a series of low-risk strategies for staff to develop their confidence with this sort of enquiry-based teaching.
Preparation stages:
- One teacher, in a single subject. The teacher uses Enquiring Minds to help students develop subject knowledge based on their everyday experiences. An English teacher, for example, could look at text-speak with her class, or writing for teen magazines.
- Teams of teachers in a single subject. Staff can support each other between sessions with advice and expertise.
- Teams of teachers working across subjects. This involves teachers from several departments working together to devise a cross-subject scheme of activities. Students begin constructing and producing knowledge based on a multidisciplinary investigation of their own choosing.
Enquiring Minds in practice:
- Teacher teams, collapsed curriculum space. Implementing Enquiring Minds as a discrete slot on the timetable. The aim is to enable students to make decisions about things they would like to work on that are not based on school subjects. This approach requires strong leadership to make the necessary organisational changes.
- Whole school. A whole school approach would involve some reorganisation of the curriculum and restructuring of the timetable. It is possible at this stage that school would be making 50% of its timetable 'enquiry-based'. This will take time to adopt and requires strong leadership and investment in staff support.
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Use the 'enquiry cycle' to plan enquiry-based activities
Try out some of these activity ideas in your classroom