Reflection 4: Jeff Hopkins (PSII)

Learning about the Pacific School of Innovation and Inquiry felt extremely appropriate after hearing from Trevor Mckenzie about inquiry based learning. The students at PSII take inquiry based learning to a whole new level by having their inquiry question at the centre of each school subject. The school is in the heart of downtown, and seems to lend itself well to students who are young entrepeneurs, being near all kinds of businesses. The layout of the school itself is extremely unique and lends itself to collaboration between students. Here is a YouTube video that walks through the space.

Why does this matter?

Education in British Columbia has been changing a lot in the past few years, specifcally with the introduction of the proficency scale. And with the additional emphasis on the First Peoples’ Learning Principles. The ministry is trying to take the spotlight away from grades and percentages, and highlight student learning as a process. As we learn in our psychology class, when students are motivated intrinsically to seek knowledge and learn, they are much more likely to persist and excel at school. When students focus on grades, they memorize and cram for tests and when they complete the tests the information falls out of their head. With schools like PSII focused on inquiry based learning, students are learning more in each subject, because it is related to something that interests them. I know even for myself when I am allowed the freedom to choose my topic even for an essay, I almost always remember more about the topic, and produce a better product.

I included the First Peoples’ Principles of learning above because I think it relates to the structure PSII has created. Particularily “Learning is holistic, reflexive, reflective, experiential, and relational (focused on connectedness on reciprocal relationships and a sense of place).”