The spirit of inquiry builds knowledge across our lives. This applies from the earliest “why” questions of toddlers, all the way through to the advanced science and history explorations of upper secondary students. Curiosity combined with existing knowledge drives motivation for learning. I believe that a thirst for knowledge is to be encouraged, shaped and rewarded! Tutoring in language usually broadens into Inquiry Subjects, which students always love. The content of the lessons connects their personal experiences with the world at large. Students feel proud of their knowledge when they have been able to extend this through personalised tutoring. This gives them the confidence to take their learning further across all areas of the curriculum.
Rather than being a single subject, “Inquiry” is a widely recognised educational framework allows students to take leadership over their own knowledge development. Since 2002, I have taught and tutored students from age 3 to age 18 in countless Inquiry Subject areas including:
– Performing Arts (Drama, Music, Competitive Debating),
– Sciences (Psychology, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Earth and Space Sciences and Technology)
For K-10 students, documentation which I use to support our investigations includes The Australian Curriculum, The Victorian Curriculum and The International Baccalaureate’s Primary Years Program. By working with these guides as appropriate (and with the documentation of individual schools) we can ensure that students develop targeted knowledge to increase their academic scores. Similarly, for students in their final years of education I work closely with the Victorian Certificate of Education documentation or that of the International Baccalaureate’s Diploma Programme. Across all levels, Templestowe Tutoring students grow confidence in themselves as learners, as they form linked understandings about our world.
My Templestowe Tutoring students are guided in developing skills to:
– build logical sets of questions
– develop higher order thinking
– undertake investigations linked with their own interests and lives
– evaluate different sources of information
– link, memorise and internalise facts and concepts
– sort and organise information to enrich and extend their knowledge base
– create predictions and hypotheses based on their observations and understandings
Renowned educator Kath Murdoch outlines key inquiry phases as “Tuning In, Finding Out, Sorting Out, Going Further, Making Connections and Taking Action”. These stages are fluid, and particularly in one-on-one tutoring situations students can be supported to progress at the pace appropriate to their individual development. Across all age levels, tutoring in academic subjects and in areas of personal interest can assist students in making the most of their educational journey.