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Curiosity & Investigations
Each term Integrated Units & STEM are taught using an inquiry approach (Immerse, Question, Plan, Investigate, Act). These units require students to actively investigate significant questions, issues and ideas about the way the world works. The student’s understandings are developed through rich and strategically planned experiences. Most units will incorporate domains from across all strands with a focus on one or more domains. Students also have the opportunity to explore "passion projects" where the focus is on using the inquiry approach to investigate deeply into an area of personal interest and work towards a useful action or product.
Students actively investigate significant questions, issues and ideas about the way the world works. Their thinking and understanding is developed through rich and strategically planned experiences. Through consultation with students and teachers it has been agreed that experiences should focus on four Key Organisers:
Student led inquiries are an integral part of our Investigations program. Technology is incorporated and used throughout the curriculum to further learning. Incursions and excursions will be undertaken throughout the year to support the curriculum.
Students actively investigate significant questions, issues and ideas about the way the world works. Their thinking and understanding is developed through rich and strategically planned experiences. Through consultation with students and teachers it has been agreed that experiences should focus on four Key Organisers:
- Learning to learn
- Learning about ourselves and others
- Learning to live in the environment
- Learning how things work
Student led inquiries are an integral part of our Investigations program. Technology is incorporated and used throughout the curriculum to further learning. Incursions and excursions will be undertaken throughout the year to support the curriculum.
F-2 Investigations and Oral Language Development:
Oral language is the foundation for student learning. It is essential for literacy learning, and successful use of language is critical for students’ wellbeing. Almost all classroom-based learning relies on oral language.
Oral Language ‘Investigation Philosophy’
Students vary in their ability to use their existing language in order to learn. The level of oral language knowledge and competency of some students is substantially different from the demands of the curriculum.
Investigations also allows children the opportunities to play. Play is an essential part of growing up and researchers believe it’s critical to ensure children reach their full potential in life according to online studies: Play is a serious business. The pioneering developmental psychologist Lev Vygotsky thought that, especially in the younger years, play is the leading source of development.
“It is an important element of the human condition. Through play children learn, naturally and effectively and make sense of their environments.”
Play is valuable to the development in children at a Social, Emotional, Cognitive, Language and Physical level.
Social: through cooperative play they develop and understand their place in a group setting; also become aware of others feelings and how their actions affect others. Self perception is shaped to become more realistic. Boundaries in a group setting or with others in general have a code of behaviour of what is acceptable and what is not and thus the child naturally picks up on these aspects of interactions through trial and error.
Emotionally: learn how to handle their feelings; management of stress; and also through play they develop and understanding of joy of accomplishment. Many emotions are brought forward in play especially in group settings (playing amongst their peers).
Cognitively: they explore, experiment, think, group, classify and analyse the world around them near and afar through play.
Language: through their interactions with others they learn new words and invent others; gestures are given meaningful understandings over time. Language is practiced through play both in solitude and with others at various levels.
Physically: motor coordination is refined and developed.
Our Aim is to enhance student learning in:
Oral language is the foundation for student learning. It is essential for literacy learning, and successful use of language is critical for students’ wellbeing. Almost all classroom-based learning relies on oral language.
Oral Language ‘Investigation Philosophy’
- To ensure children are supported in their transition to school through a developmentally appropriate program that is engaging and fun.
- To provide children with multiple opportunities to strengthen their social skills, including interpersonal and organisational skills, through targeted play.
- To continue to develop young learners problem solving skills.
- To facilitate children’s oral language development in order to support their transition into more formal school based literacy learning.
- To provide a rich language program that includes art, music, technology, science whilst building a love of literature and words.
Students vary in their ability to use their existing language in order to learn. The level of oral language knowledge and competency of some students is substantially different from the demands of the curriculum.
Investigations also allows children the opportunities to play. Play is an essential part of growing up and researchers believe it’s critical to ensure children reach their full potential in life according to online studies: Play is a serious business. The pioneering developmental psychologist Lev Vygotsky thought that, especially in the younger years, play is the leading source of development.
“It is an important element of the human condition. Through play children learn, naturally and effectively and make sense of their environments.”
Play is valuable to the development in children at a Social, Emotional, Cognitive, Language and Physical level.
Social: through cooperative play they develop and understand their place in a group setting; also become aware of others feelings and how their actions affect others. Self perception is shaped to become more realistic. Boundaries in a group setting or with others in general have a code of behaviour of what is acceptable and what is not and thus the child naturally picks up on these aspects of interactions through trial and error.
Emotionally: learn how to handle their feelings; management of stress; and also through play they develop and understanding of joy of accomplishment. Many emotions are brought forward in play especially in group settings (playing amongst their peers).
Cognitively: they explore, experiment, think, group, classify and analyse the world around them near and afar through play.
Language: through their interactions with others they learn new words and invent others; gestures are given meaningful understandings over time. Language is practiced through play both in solitude and with others at various levels.
Physically: motor coordination is refined and developed.
Our Aim is to enhance student learning in:
- listening comprehension
- expressive language
- vocabulary
- phonological knowledge
- grammatical knowledge
- social language skills
- using language to learn and to communicate effectively
- storage and retrieval of information in and from long-term memory
- perception and attention to spoken language.