What does an inquiry focussed teaching team look like?

Te Whāriki is child centred and learning oriented, challenging

us to be our best possible selves and to make the difference that children are entitled to: What does this mean for teachers' professional responsibilities?

These words offer such an awe inspiring vision for learning and teaching, infused with Te Whāriki Principles and Strands, and take us 'beyond the horizon', certainly way beyond complacency and ordinariness. This is why our professional responsibilities must be meaningful, collaborative and nurture teachers as life long learners too. The Teaching Council of Aotearoa, New Zealand requires all teaching teams to consider how, in their every day practice, teachers meet each of the Council's Teaching Standards, asking: 

What quality practices do we use in our setting that connect with this standard? 

Whenever I consider how we might fulfil our professional responsibilities, it is always with a consideration of what effect these will have on children's opportunities to learn and the effect on the wellbeing of teachers.

In terms of children's learning contexts: I have written about this is the following book.

"When children are in a community that feeds their appetites for curiosity, as well as companionship, rhythm and ritual, ideas flow, and action results. Children lead, and because we live and learn in a socio-cultural context, teachers and families also lead, but they do so in a spirit of respect for children's burgeoning capabilities" ( in Leadership for all - Learning for all, Lorraine Sands & Wendy Lee, Pedagogies for Leading Practice, Edited, Sandra Cheesmnan & Rosie Walker, Routledge, 2019).

In terms of Teacher wellbeing: 

Work expectations must essentially be meaningful, reasonable and aligned to ensure colleagues build a shared understanding of their 'Local Curriculum' (Te Whariki, 2017, p.7). In this way, each team member is fully aware of the culture of learning and teaching they are nurturing within their communities. In my experience anything we do that has only one purpose is limited. 

For example: Formulating the quality practices related to each of the Teaching Council Standards' is expected to be a team collaborative exercise. Once this is completed, however, they are often filed. Imagine how useful they could be when part of a deeply thoughtful process of inquiry research, embedded in Internal Evaluation processes where they can be further reflected upon. I think the quality standards have many applications, and a very useful one is as an induction tool. When we really try to get to the essence of what it means to create a vibrant, energetic learning community and think about the legacy we offer to children, then a collaboratively written document sends very important messages to new team members about the way our setting has committed to Te Whāriki Principles and Strands.  

Below is an example of the quality practice re the Standard; Teaching. It is written in a narrative format and has a Learning Story attached to use as an example of the learning and teaching culture embedded in the context of learning for an individual child, as teachers seek to nurture his identity as a life long, dispositional learner. As you read this consider the messages of vision and practice it offers a new team member.

We think we meet the Teaching Council Standard 'Teaching' in these ways:

• When teachers position themselves as learners and teachers, ako becomes our priority and we are less likely to miss the meaning of our Te Whāriki principle, Empowerment (1996, 2017). We are learners and teachers with and alongside children who are also learners and teachers. This doesn’t mean we do not offer provocations, however, we do not expect that all children will do the same thing at the same time.  Instead we address the notion of children leading their own learning and teachers refraining from hi-jacking children’s ideas and their play, and focus instead on respectful, responsive relationships with a high expectation for complex learning to emerge from nurturing children’s deep seated interests. This is highly nuanced and is as far from didactic teaching as one can get. We trust our children’s energies, their passions and their spirits and their desire to seek learning through social connection. This is why we strive to build a collaborative community with children growing their characters as learners from the inside out. This is why we do not have ‘activities’ or templates, stamps and stickers. We grow competent social learners who self regulate their emotions and work hard and long to achieve their self set learning goals. 

• This is why we can spend long periods of time with invested learners at the sewing machine, in the tinkering shop, at the kai table, to name a few spaces, engaged in deeply thoughtful conversations. Other children are very able to play in complex ways without interference in this high stakes/high trust kind of learning and teaching setting. 

• We are of course ever responsive and are there, not to interrupt but to co-construct learning together as appropriate, there to add vibrancy, expressive language and there to ask questions that provoke awe and wonder.

• Learning and teaching (tikanga whakaako) is a subtle process, forged in relationships, and this is why it is so important to ensure our Pou Whakahaere (governance) and Pou Ārahi  (leadership) is responsive – That our listening dialogue is evident across our entire community.

• We seek to have a richly resourced environment that invites curious exploration, with teachers who are very clearly learners and researchers, ever seeking to understand each and every child’s language, culture and identity.

• We include our perspectives on learning, based in our considerable professional learning, both formally and through the wide range of books we all read. We write Learning Stories with quotes from researchers we value, in ways that are interesting and emotionally engaging for families/whānau. 

• We track children’s progress and see continuity of learning as a high priority for children and for ourselves.

The Learning Story below entitled: Goal achieved! gives a further insight into the way we offer children and their families our thoughts on their learning. Learning Stories are a vehicle to make this learning visible. Learning Story, narrative assessments travel in time. When they are thoughtful and emotionally connected to a child's interests, they become a shared space for discussion about the learning we see, with our colleagues and with families and children. This is such an important part of building a collegial understanding of the culture of learning and teaching we co-construct together. When we share these messages together, we strengthen everyone's understanding of the learning we value.

Dear Charlie, Niko, Christie, and Tanya,  

This view of Charlie on the climbing frame is one that says: I’m confident, I can do this now, and I can play around with it all because I like to stretch my skills.  

My thoughts on your learning Charlie….

Charlie has been oh so confident on the flying fox, yet this climb up the wall has taken a little more time to perfect, but perfect it he has! I asked him, while up on the wall, how it felt and he pulled a very good ‘tragic’ face which spoke volumes about how confident he really was feeling. Once up, how do you get down? The fun way is to abseil and this only comes with that ‘feel good’ attitude, otherwise those feet are feeling for the footholds with some trepidation. 

Not so Charlie this day, as he jumped out like a true 

mountaineer, bouncing his way down the wall to the ground. 

How might you stretch this learning further, Charlie?

This is called planning, and I know Charlie is always up for the next physical challenge that takes courage and commitment to perfect. However, Charlie has many bows to his learning, and I’ve included this photo of Charlie chilling out reading a pile of books with me, to show his diverse interests. I couldn’t possibly count how many times we’ve snuggled up together with favourite books. The link between the big physical skills and the quiet enjoyment of books may not be so easily ‘read’, however, it takes being comfortable with your body in those big movements, to be able to refine skills into the small eye and hand connections necessary for reading later on. Most of all though, it takes a confident learner who enjoys new challenges and Charlie proves every day that he has these learning characteristics in abundance ( and a very well timed sense of humour).  Our role here is to plan for our environment, in vibrant, challenging ways to ensure Charlie can lead his own learning. How fabulous that we see him doing this each and every day.  Arohanui Lorraine