Recently I spoke at the Collaborative Convening on the Return of In-Person Instruction event hosted by the San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools event. I was joined by some pretty amazing voices in education.

Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond opened the sessions with an informed keynote circling around best practices for learning and what we should be aware of as kids return to in-person settings in a post pandemic world. She referenced inquiry several times in her keynote as a method to engage and empower kids in a culturally responsive manner.

Dr. Douglas Reeves spoke about grading practices that are fair, accurate, specific, and timely. Catlin Tucker shared the 5Es instructional model through the lens of synchronous and asynchronous lesson design. Carl Hooker shared strategies for assessing in a blended model. And I spoke to my passion for inquiry-based learning.

Registrants consisted of superintendents, principals, instructional coaches, curriculum advisors, and anyone in the county of schools in a leadership position.

I focused my time with the audience on unpacking the guiding question: how do we support teachers in giving more agency over learning to students? My goal was to unpack ways in which they could bring inquiry back to the schools that they represent. In order to implement inquiry practices, beliefs, and values, we must ensure that teachers are willing to give agency over learning to their students.

I used the Types of Student Inquiry sketchnote as a discussion prompt connected to the guiding question.

I proposed that these school leaders use the sketchnote to discuss:

• misconceptions of inquiry-based learning.

• the role of scaffolding for student agency in the inquiry classroom.

• how we reimagine our curriculum across these four types and through the lens of student voice and choice.

• the importance of coaching and modelling competencies, dispositions, and habits of mind. These are the tools students need to sharpen in order to take on more agency over learning.

• how we can engage as a community of practice in a constructivist manner in order to create a culture of inquiry.

• how we reflect on what we want to let go of in education, what we want to maintain, and we we want to implement or elevate or add in to our practice.

Over the past months I have been speaking to many educators about not snapping back to pre-covid teaching practices. As we return to in-person instruction we have an opportunity to honour the struggle that this has been, the incredible hardships endured, and the enormous weight teachers have carried throughout this pandemic. Teachers put students on their back and kept them connected and learning throughout the most challenging of circumstances.

As we return to in-person instruction we have an opportunity to build relationships with kids and with each other, to collaborate and connect through empathy, responsiveness, and care. We have a chance to let our kids know that we see them.

As we return to in-person instruction we have an opportunity to teach to our values, to centre the student, to leverage wonder and curiosity, and to create personal relevance for each student.

It was a fantastic conversation and event. I am looking forward to more of these conversations with educators in the coming months.