Inquiry Buddies
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Connections to the New BC Curriculum and Core Competencies

Thinking

Skills:

Critical thinking, identify issues, develop questions, gather, access and analyze information, evaluate conclusions and solutions; reflect on outcomes

Creative thinking, flexibility, risk taking, ease with ambiguity, innovative ideas, reflective thinking, sense of play.

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How does Inquiry Buddies link to this competency?

During Inquiry Buddies, students are continuously using critical and creative thinking skills throughout the process.  We have found that sometimes we need to model and teach these skills directly (ie. developing good questions or how to access information), and sometimes we need to give students freedom to discover things for themselves and be creative.  We found it is key to give students time.  It takes time to be innovative, reflect, and problem solve. 

Communication

The communication competency encompasses the set of abilities that students use to impart and exchange information, experiences, and ideas, to explore the world around them, and to understand and effectively engage in the use of digital media.


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Summary of skills within this competency:

Connect and engage with others [to share and develop ideas], acquire, interpret, and present information, collaborate to plan, carry out, and review constructions and activities, explain/recount and reflect on experiences and accomplishments

How does Inquiry Buddies link to this competency?

During Inquiry Buddies students are constantly exchanging information and dialoguing with their inquiry partners around their topic/project.  Through this process, students are developing and practising the art of communicating.  We have found that good communication also needs scaffolding, and we have used the model of “Accountable Talk” to teach students these skills.  We have found that because of the “buddy” element, students are kept accountable to their learning topic and group. 

At the end of the inquiry project, students show and share their learning with the rest of the school community in an inquiry fair.

Social and Personal

Personal and social competency encompasses the abilities students need to thrive as individuals, to understand and care about themselves and others, and to find and achieve their purposes in the world.
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Skills:

Developing positive personal and cultural identity:

Influence of relationship and cultural context, personal values and choices, personal strengths and abilities

Social Awareness:

Self-awareness, self-regulation, developing relationships, developing well-being, solving problems in peaceful ways, social awareness, contributing to the classroom and school community, exercising democratic rights and responsibilities

How does Inquiry Buddies link to this competency?

During our first year of Inquiry Buddies, the development of deep, meaningful relationships was very evident.  Parents also commented that students gained a sense of confidence in themselves as learners through their chosen passion/topic.  In addition, we have seen students learn how to problem solve in a group through voting.  One girl last year commented that she learned to “go with the flow” and compromise.  That was a huge discovery for her. 

We try hard to facilitate a link between each group and the school or greater community.  Some examples are linking a “Pet Abuse” group to LAPS, and a magician presenting at our school spent time with our “magic group” discussing having a greater cause within the show like his on informing people about “Bullying.”  We bring in “community experts” for groups when we can.


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Core competency information taken from:  https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/competencies

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Photos used under Creative Commons from e-magic, qthomasbower, LizMarie_AK, Create-Learning Team Building & Leadership