Whew! Today’s EdTech class was an exciting change up but it made for a busy day…

We took a field trip to PSII – Pacific School of Innovation and Inquiry in Downtown Victoria. The school was founded by Jeff Hopkins and we got to listen to him speak about what makes PSII special and the importance of inquiry based learning. I grew up in Victoria and until today I had never known what PSII had to offer, in all honesty, I didn’t even know it existed. All in all, I had a really great experience learning about PSII today but I am left with lots of questions still. It’s important to remember that it is a high school and that the students that attend it are much older and more responsible than young elementary students.

I think that the inquiry based approach to conquering the curriculum is super cool! It allows students time and freedom to learn about what they want, not just what the teacher wants. Personally, I believe the model at PSII resembles the real world much better than a public high school does. For example, when students need help they are expected to approach the teacher and schedule an appointment that works for them. Students also get to participate actively in the community by going on field trips to local parks, gyms and other facilities. This model gives students the opportunity to be held accountable for their work, however, the model requires an immense amount of self-determination and diligence.

I love that the students get to work at their own pace whether it is individual, collaborative or under the guidance of a teacher. Realistically, this model would be impossible in an elementary school. Early elementary students rely on their teachers and the structure of a classroom. With that being said, there are definitely some take aways that would be a great addition to an elementary school classroom. I think that a guided inquiry project would be perfect for elementary students! Additionally, this model does not fit seamlessly into university. How can you go from having completely personalized learning to entering university and sitting in lecture filled with 200 other people?

I tried to picture myself at PSII and if I’m being honest I don’t think it would be a good fit for me. I love having a timetable and set classes. I would feel overwhelmed without having much guidance from my teachers. I love the idea of being able to choose what interests you in order to complete the curricular competencies but I definitely would need some teacher guidance to get me started. After a few classes on a big idea, I would love the chance to dive deeper into a topic that interests me.

I highly recommend going and checking PSII out. Here are some of the posters that highlight the core values that PSII focuses on. I wonder if you guys would have liked to attend high school like this? Would you ever like to teach in a model like this one?

 

See you next week!