Ongoing Professional Learning

This resource was presented during a lunch&learn I attended recently with my associate teacher. The focus was on implementing more inquiry based learning and having students focus on asking more questions. The lunch and learn we attended was called QTF - Question Formulation Technique. Here the students were introduced to a QFocus activity which they can implement in any subject in the curriculum and encourage students to develop questions.

This directly relates to the OCT standard of ongoing professional knowledge because by attending these learning opportunities, teachers continuously build their knowledge and acquire different skills to make learning interesting for students. The ongoing learning comes from the "doing" of the activity you are going to run with your students. An additional benefit was working with fellow colleagues and discussing different strategies for formulating questions as well as how their students would approach such an activity and ways to manipulate the activity for maximal engagement.

Getting to participate and engage in the activity so you know what you expect from your students is considered the learning and practice aspect. The teachers gain this knowledge and share it in the classroom, making learning interesting and enjoyable for the students. By working with colleagues, they discuss ways to make adjustments to accommodate various types of learners.