Week 1: Field trip to Pacific School of Innovation and Inquiry

This week we went to the Pacific School of Innovation and Inquiry (PSII) to learn more about alternative structures for education. PSII is a BC secondary school that is home to 120 students and 10 teachers. Unlike students in traditional schools, PSII students don’t have dedicated courses, credits or schedules, instead their learning is based around an inquiry. They work with their teachers to dive deep into a topic that they are interested in, which then guides their learning across various subject areas. They call it “emergent curriculum” as it emerges as the student progresses through their inquiry. The teachers are responsible for guiding the learning, ensuring common curricular goals are met, and assessing students using their assessment framework. An in-depth description of which can be found here.

Reflection

I think that we need to reimagine education, or at least the availability and accessibility of education options. Brick and mortar schools don’t work for everyone, they can be quite harmful for others. Jeff told many stories of students who were failing subjects in mainstream schools that were excelling at PSII because they were engaged, motivated and wanted to learn. I think alternative schools are great for the kids who don’t excel in traditional spaces but are also beneficial for students who do. I did just fine in elementary and high school, but I could only imagine the directions my life could have gone if I had the opportunity to learn at a place like PSII. Other alternative spaces such as outdoor or nature based schools also have their benefits for students lucky enough to attend. It is unfortunate that these schools are often privatized and or have limited capacity, so not ever student has access to it. I think there needs to be more space for schools like these in the public education system, but also within traditional schools for incorporating these pedagogies.

Some classmates and myself were having a discussion after the PSII tour about how something like this could be implemented in a mainstream school, but also at the elementary level. As generalized elementary teachers we have the freedom to merge subjects and run a classroom that could theoretically follow an inquiry structure. However, how can this be done at younger grades when independent learning is challenged by limited reading and writing skills. Not to mention managing 22-30 different inquiry projects, ensuring all students curriculum standards are being met. Resources and availability of space would be another challenging aspect. We also discussed how parents would respond to the approach, and how some might be worried and vocal about their student learning what they need to learn.

Despite these limitations, I think there is a way to incorporate some of PSII pedagogy into our future classrooms although it might look different. Younger grades might require more structured learning for reading, writing and math that is interspersed within the inquiry model. It could take on a more Montessori centres approach, with a “choose your own adventure” attitude. I could see centres with “literacy boxes” (as discussed in our literacy class last semester) surrounding different topics, with books, experiments, craft tools. This approach might be more manageable in middle years, however I am unsure how you’d be able to adapt it to accommodate and manage an entire class without limiting their ideas and inquiry. I have many questions on the “how” but I am excited to try and implement some of this into my future classroom. It is exciting to think about students being stoked to be at school, and truly engaged with the material.

Questions for my Classmates

• How do you envision an inquiry approach being integrated into a mainstream elementary classroom?
  • It will clearly take some brainpower so I’m interested to hear others ideas!
• Do you think there is a place for this approach to be implemented into an isolated classroom, or do you think the benefits come from the diversity of teachers the school format offers?