2019 Wyoming Innovations in Learning

Curiosity is the fuel of learning. Without it, motivation and energy for learning lags. With it, engagement and focus for learning increases. While this seems like a relatively simple set of statements - the importance for finding as many ways to engage a student's genuine curiosity cannot be overstated. As one of the oldest ideas in education (think, Socrates) and 'new' old ideas (think, Dewey), inquiry is not new, but its place in the educational landscape needs to recover a prominent position.

In a classroom that values inquiry, learning starts from curiosity and intentionally builds learning experiences to honor student ideas, questions and investigations. The teacher role is to create space for student ideas, questions and investigations to go from seed to tree utilizing a wide range of curricular materials (video, graphs, maps, images, etc). The student role is to do the heavy lifting of learning; requiring development of ever increasingly sophisticated questioning and investigation skills. When a learning environment values inquiry, students become arbiters of their own learning experience. Join Diana Laufenberg in an interactive keynote that focuses on how a classroom can move from a more traditional approach to one that places inquiry as a core value. Practical examples, suggestions and activities will be utilized.

Session materials available at:
bit.ly/WYInnovations