Visiting PSII- Inquiry in education
Our trip to The Pacific School of Inquiry and Innovation gave us insight into how education can be shifted from the standard, rigid model to a more fluid student centered approach promoting discovery and interests. By utilizing an emergent curriculum, the school allows students to co create their learning paths alongside teachers based on personal curiosity rather than a determined schedule. This approach fosters a sense of agency and engagement among the students, as they are not just absorbing information to pass a test but are researching real world problems and scenarios that hold personal relevance. The benefit of this model is the development of many of the skills and competencies outlined in the BC curriculum such as critical thinking, self-motivation, and community collaboration which are often hard to weave into traditional high school environments.
PSII Framework: https://psii.ca/assessment-tools/
That being said, completely flipping the script on traditional high school may not be beneficial for all students. One of the biggest hurdles I could see for students at PSII is dealing with the freedom of it all. If you’ve spent ten years being told exactly where to sit and what page to turn to, being told to just follow your inquiry could feel a little like being dropped in the middle of the ocean without direction. It takes a massive amount of self discipline to stay on track, and for some, the lack of a standardized schedule or deadline could lead to some serious procrastination or choice paralysis. It could be seen as a high-stakes way to learn, and the stress of managing your own entire education could be a lot for a teenager to carry.
In conclusion, this inquiry focused education can provide students with the opportunity to explore real scenarios which transition to the real world. These inquiry projects are something that I would implement in my future classrooms, however I don’t think I would have that be the primary focus as it does come with multiple problems.
