1. Ignition Whole Topic Stimulus
The process in brief
The first parts help with pre-planning (teacher framed) and is very much 'know that' - What is it? The question, theme or topic. The key is to consider how to ‘hook’ the children into learning, and to specify the required learning outcomes.
The later parts proceed from this foundation, with the children shaping the design of the learning.
Learning
1. Ignition – Whole topic stimulus
The point of inspiring the children’s interest - pre-planned (a book, visit, poem - etc...)
The children should know why we are doing this learning. The idea is that the children become enthusiastic learners.
The teacher has considered: 'How could I ignite the learning?'
2. Immersion – Skills and Knowledge
What curriculum/ factual/ informational/ technical detail are the children going to be immersed in, and how could these be explored within this topic?
E.g. If the theme is 'Greeks' then it may be aspects of: Family, rituals, celebration, housing, food, etc... Again - this would be pre-planned and drawn from the National Curriculum.
The teacher has considered: ‘How could I use this topic to immerse the children in Our Curriculum’s leaning outcomes?'
3. Inquiry – The specific focus
Having had some experiences from the ignition to think about what they would like to explore, a P4C session is designed so as to draw up to 4 questions from the children - beginning to be pupil led. The children’s lines of inquiry spark the lessons/ projects which are then used to explore the topic and deliver the learning goals. Careful consideration of the desired learning outcomes will help to guide the flow of the inquiry toward effective learning projects, while leaving the children space to explore and discover areas of interest.
The teacher has considered: ‘How could I frame inquiries which are ‘answered’ by the immersion learning outcomes?’
4. Innovation – Children’s questions
The questions taken from the inquiry form the basis for lessons which allow the children to explore the topic and to grasp learning goals. It may be necessary for the teacher to bring in some other immersion elements as extra lesson content which do not directly fit with the learning questions identified by the children.
This stage would be planned together. It could be a series of lessons, a research investigation, a production or a project, or something else entirely. It would give the children the scope to explore skills and to develop their understanding.
The teacher has considered: ‘How could I support learning activities which deliver the immersion learning outcomes?’
Outcome
Illumination – the culmination of the process
The final stage is sharing and further study. The learning with which the children have been engaged could be celebrated either as a display, a show, a webpage or some other outlet. Additionally, there is scope for further study and exploration of the curriculum in the form of Passion Projects which would be led entirely by groups of children and responsively facilitated by the teacher.