“Knowing” vs. “Knowing about” – Jeff Hopkins
In our society, we tend to “know about” many things, but what do we really know? As Jeff Hopkins, principle of the Pacific School of Innovation and Inquiry (PSII) said, it is the beginning of the “spiral of inquiry.” This unique school is designed to focus on student-directed learning, specifically highlighting areas of interest the student has. This flow chart, created by the PSII, breaks down the process of inquiry their students partake in.
When I was a secondary student, I was lucky enough to be apart of an alternative high school; something I am very grateful for. I went to the Individual Learning Center (ILC) within my district for my core academic studies.
There, I was able to modify my courses to suit my needs and interests. My teachers were EXCELLENT and are individuals I still connect with on a personal, and now, educational level, to this day. It changed my view on learning and taught me particular skills that I would not have learned in a “normal” high school setting, such as being self-driven. It also helped reduce my anxiety around being compared to others.
In our discussion with Hopkins, he mentioned one thing that stuck with me and will continue to be something I keep in the back of my mind when I have a class of my own – you do NOT have to categorize your courses, merge them together! This not only demonstrates how life truly is, but in elementary education, a teacher has their students all day, so why do we allocate learning blocks specific to one course? Blending courses and concepts together is a great way to make cross-curricular connections and eventually children can make these connections themselves. In my Wednesday field experience, following certain activities, the teacher would ask students how it connected to each STEM or STEAM – Science, Technology, Engineering, (Arts), and Math. The students came up with cleaver ways on how they perceived a connection, demonstrating their knowledge.
Check out the Pacific School of Innovation and Inquiry. The school is held right here in Victoria, B.C.
Till next week,
xoxo missrose