Trevor MacKenzie

Teacher, Author, Keynote Speaker, & Inquiry Authority

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In this highly engaging Learning Lab internationally-recognized inquiry expert Trevor MacKenzie will challenge your mind to rethink the role of the teacher and the learner in the inquiry classroom. You will participate in activities that can be immediately applied to your practice through specific constructivist frameworks, structures, and protocols that all help students, teachers, coaches, coordinators, and leaders to adopt an inquiry mindset as their own. You will learn specific, practical instructional strategies that engage the questions, wonders and curiosities of learners that align to curricular standards and outcomes.

An exploration of assessment with a lens on supporting learners in understanding where they are in their learning and where they need to go next in their learning will be facilitated by Trevor.  You will participate in activities that align learning standards with reflective exercises to empower students in understanding themselves as learners. You will design assessment activities that are infused with student voice aimed at transforming grading practices to move beyond merely providing students with a letter grade or percentage score.

You will learn to answer questions like these:

• What are the various types of inquiry and how can these lead to a gradual shift of control over learning from the teacher to the learner?

• How can we cultivate classrooms of curiosity?

• How can we mindfully support learners in inquiry by honing the skills, understandings and structures necessary to be successful in this new learning ecosystem?

• What are the characteristics and understandings of the Inquiry Teacher and how can we develop these to better meet the needs of our students?

• How can we embed cooperative learning strategies to help students share their understanding and move towards doing rather than merely knowing?

• How can we facilitate assessment exercises and conversations more consistently in our classrooms and in our teaching time so students take on a more authentic role in the assessment process?

• How can we encourage our learners to take on this new role in the classroom? And how can we inform parents to create capacity and support in this assessment transformation?

• How can we facilitate meaningful conversations in student/teacher assessment conferences?

• How can we strike a balance in our formative and summative assessment practice?