In-depth inquiry is a skill senior school students develop and utilise to enhance their learning.
The WWF initiative – the Whale Tales Trail – has provided such inquiry. Students have enjoyed learning about the artists who created the 80 sculptures dotted around Tamaki Makaurau. With only 135 Bryde’s Whales inhabiting our Hauraki Gulf, learning about why these whales are threatened, has fostered knowledge and awareness.
During the recent NZ Seaweek, learners followed a cyclical process of inquiry. Once they had formed their questions about our ocean, its habitats, characteristics and inhabitants, they then set about answering them. Inquiry led some students to investigate light, water and rainbows. Others researched how to design and construct operational, mini, motorised boats.
In other classes, considering the features of sustainable living spaces has led students to plan and construct their own tiny houses. The nuts and bolts of designing playground equipment, that is inclusive for all children, has been the focus for another group of learners.
Whilst our inquiries haven’t always turned out as we had imagined, one thing is for sure, senior learners have been having a whale of a time.
