Curriculum - Inquiry Learning
We are always learning! At WEPS we encourage our students to inquire throughout day-to-day life as they develop curiosity, think critically and approach learning with interest and investment. Our teachers work collaboratively to ensure learning experiences tap into the interests of our students, generate genuine curiosity, and provide opportunities to problem solve. Thus, creating an optimal environment to inquire.
Inquiry learning at WEPS aims to foster a love of lifelong learning. We support our students to develop the skills necessary to approach learning with curiosity, creativity, and engagement as they continue to learn within and beyond their primary schooling. Inquiry learning in its simplest form is learning how to learn whilst engaging in content across the curriculum. Inquiring is not an additional subject but a way of being as we provoke, model, and celebrate curiosity within our classrooms.
Our students develop five transferable skills we refer to as The Learning Assets within our classrooms. These skills below embed our philosophy of Positive Education and align with our WEPS School Values.
Communication (sharing ideas and listening thoughtfully)
Self-management (preparing for learning, reflecting on and working towards personal goals, persisting when challenged)
Collaboration (working as a team, respecting peers, and working towards a shared goal)
Thinking (remaining open-minded, considering how to share thinking and how this changes throughout a learning journey).
Researching (developing questions, using a range of sources, making meaning of the information collected)
To develop the five learning assets of an inquirer, each learning community provokes interests and engagement through a termly Big Question. These questions are aligned to the Victorian Curriculum and provide an authentic context to develop understandings. Our teachers facilitate the inquiry as students develop their ability to delve deeper into learning content. The following diagram details the process however, this is not a linear approach. Students may need to jump between the phases of the cycle depending on their area of investment and understandings within the big question. 
