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Personalized Inquiry Based Learning

“PIbL” is our label for a brand of instruction we want to develop across all of our schools. Personalized means we’re meeting the individual learning needs of every student. It means we apply assessment data and information we have about a student’s learning style and preference to best use school time to focus on achieving learning goals. Inquiry-based means using questioning methods in the classroom that cause students to think about solutions to a potential challenge, and test their ideas through trial and error. While inquiry has often been used in the field of science, it can be used as an instructional method across the curriculum, especially in connection with twenty-first century skills. PIbL, more than anything else, speaks to our ideal model for engaged instruction. While we do like project-based (PBL) approaches in learning, we realize that is not a realistic goal given the length of the school year, our current budget for instructional resources, or the current framework of our daily schedules in the schools. Nevertheless, we will continue to make project-based approaches to learning a part of our personalized, inquiry-based approach to instruction.

Instructional Innovation Plan

We will be developing an instructional plan that clearly defines the ideas behind deeper learning and PIbL that helps us maximize the potential of every learner. Our innovation plan will leverage our investment in digital resources and technology, our knowledge about what works in education, along with provisions for high quality professional development for all teachers.