Environmental Inquiry Resource

Part 2 describes the experiences of teachers who have integrated Environmental Inquiry into their practice. It includes the stories of four teachers at The Lab School as well as those of seven teachers at four public schools in Toronto: Victoria Village Public School, The Grove Community School, Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Elementary School, and Rose Avenue Public School.

These stories reveal how different teachers (at different grade levels and with diverse groups of students) pulled broad key concepts from the curriculum to create a learning environment conducive to:

• student questioning and theorizing
• student investigation and discourse
• identifying cross-curricular links
• supporting student-driven initiatives in environmental stewardship

A fundamental principle of Environmental Inquiry is the centrality of the learner: the importance of taking into account the student's unique learning style, cultural background, interests, and developmental needs. These stories are offered as examples of what Environmental Inquiry can look like in practice. Their primary function is to give the teacher a sense of the mindset and essence of this approach, an idea bank for getting started. They are meant to encourage teachers to consider how Environmental Inquiry might work in their own classrooms.