Structured Word Inquiry Part Tiga (fini)

After a month or so ‘off’,  not teaching Structured Word Inquiry (SWI)- Im not sure why I didn’t keep up with it, I do know that this takes time from other things… as inquiry tends to do.

We got back into it investigating what adaptation means. We looked into the meaning on a surface level but then started to look at where did this word come from. What did it mean? Why does it mean what it means.

Instead of going into the process of what we did (which is important but it seemed to play out in a very similar way to what happened here)   because thats just the way I knew how to do it…I thought Id focus on my own reflection of the whole process.

Structure Word Inquiry is my professional goal for this year. I was inspired when Pete Bowers came to JIS, I blogged about it here. I am still interested but I hit a bit of a wall 3-4 months later. One reason was because I wasn’t sure where to go next with it. Another might be the time factor, in some units if seemed to fit better than with others and Im all about the trans disciplinary approach and less about single stand alone lessons. Perhaps another reason is my focus has shifted, next year I wont be in the classroom (well I wont have my own classroom) as I transition into a new and exciting  role at my school. From a personal growth perspective Ive got a lot to learn about this. I knew very little. Now I know more. I am a learner and tried something new.

So I look back at the success criteria I set for myself to achieve my goals and gave them a Grade 🙂

Success Criteria:

1. I learned something new -Grade A
2. I used SWI effectively in my class Grade C+ (theres got to be a way to make deeper connections)
3. I used SWI in meaningful way – Grade B
4. Learners came away with a better/deeper understanding of a word – Grade C+
5. Learners were able to inquire into and question ideas about words Grade C+

Obviously my ‘grading’ is tongue and cheek but I do believe that I needed more time, better authentic connections, deeper understanding (me and the learners) and perhaps a mentor. I encourage anyone to go forth and give it a go and this as the last and perhaps MOST important success criteria I give myself the Grade A. I gave it a go. I learned along the way, made mistakes, tried again and it was NOT a waste of time. Id love to know how you go if you try it.