Eric Crivac
Grade 5
Hudson, NH
December, 2010

A Reflection of my own learning: Time to find a question, not teach the answer!

As I sit down to write this brief paper my mind and heart are filled with gratitude. As teachers we are "sent" to many workshops, speeches and conferences in order to deepen our knowledge in a specific area. Many of these events give us a weeks worth of information in a few hours and leave us with our heads spinning. What we have just completed here at Rivier College and in our classrooms has given me a way of thinking and teaching that will hopefully last a lifetime. It didn't happen in a week, month, or a year, but over many months and years of gathering together to share and learn. This group has given me the courage to create an atmosphere where trusting the students questions, and following the learning I see happening are now key components to my teaching philosophy that I hold dear in my classroom.

My reflections since our last meeting keep returning to the theme I feel is key for me to the success of this inquiry based way of thinking and teaching; that theme is TIME. As we immerse ourselves in the growing curriculums entering our classrooms it is the subject of time that becomes the driving energy that dictates what and how we choose to guide our learners. It is the students that are the main focus of our profession and the learning we see happening is the wind that should move our vessel…not the clock.

For me, teaching to understanding takes time and time is a precious and highly sought after commodity in the ever congested schedule of a school day. Just as we have reached a level of understanding after 3 years of learning, so to does it take time for students to reach a level of understanding in their world of learning. As I have shifted my instruction from giving the answers through "telling", to encouraging students to develop questions that will lead them to their own discoveries I have fought with the topic of time. For discovery to happen and students to reach their own level of understanding we as educators must strive to become creative with the time we are afforded. I have learned through this project to bring the inquiry into many aspects of my day, not just science. In social studies students are introduced to subjects and are allowed to develop questions that guide our learning. In reading, which takes much of our time, it has been challenging since we are asked to "all be on the same page". So, becoming creative when and where opportunity presents itself is essential. The ole' saying, "Jack of all trades…master of none" will be true of our students if we do not slow down and encourage them to thirst for an understanding deeper than the answer. With the culture of test and assess prevalent in our schools it is essential that our group remain active within our own communities to lead by example and share the valuable lessons we have learned over the past years with this project. I feel strongly that this group is well positioned to be leaders in education as we move forward. When, not if, we are given the TIME to teach inquiry I believe it will be the students that will be our #1 cheerleaders.

In closing I want to use this paper to encourage each member of this team to remain active in their school communities. Join the curriculum committees, engage your school leadership teams, and keep working to develop an atmosphere where the student leaner is at the center of our decisions. If we all do that our TIME here will have been well spent and live on. Please keep in touch. Eric :