ABC of Inquiry – ACTION
ABC of Inquiry – ACTION. Teaching and learning have a unique vocabulary, a shared language of understanding. Over the next few weeks we will be sharing some of the ideas and practices that sit behind the language of learning. Welcome to the the ABC of Inquiry, a dictionary of ideas for teachers, parents and learners.
ACTION: Lights, camera action…
Action has a two-fold purpose in inquiry. There is action in learning and action from learning.
Action in learning is possible when the learning environment and tasks have been designed in such a way that learners can be actively involved in the deconstruction and construction of ideas. This might be a physical action where learners are accessing hands-on manipulatives or experimenting with physical materials, or it may be more mental action where learners are debating, analyzing and reflecting on ideas, perspectives, processes, attitudes or skills. Either way the learner is actively constructing their own understanding, they are not passive receives of knowledge or slowly being robotized by skill and drill recall.
Action from learning is when learners know that their learning has relevance to the world outside the classroom and use it to pose problems or solve problems. When learners are able to be active in the learning process, they own the learning, and they will make sense of it in ways that are relevant to them. This ownership allows them to use the learning in the real world, this learning is called action.
ABC of Inquiry -Action Detail
Words to be explored in the A sections of our dictionary will include
- Action
- Active
- Adaptive thinking
- Agency
- Anchor charts
- Application
- Assessment
