Bringing History to Life: Inquiry-Based Learning at Professional Development Conference

Greenwood teacher Sam King recently attended a Canada’s History conference in Ottawa, along with 50 teachers from across the country. The conference explored inquiry-based learning and how it can be incorporated into the history curriculum. 

The conference brought together history teachers from across the country. It was amazing to connect with other individuals who feel passionate about teaching history and hear how they approach the classroom. The conference looked at how we teach students of all ages to think and work like historians through inquiry-based and experiential learning.

It’s important to get students involved in building the story of what we explore in the past. We should allow student choice across all grades to explore connections they find to history. Historians build a story. They use primary sources, artefacts, narratives.  We want students to be authentically curious about the past. 

Rather than a teacher at the front of the classroom reading out from a textbook, inquiry-based learning involves students researching, developing and inquiring, and presenting their findings. This could involve a personal history component. For example, when learning about the War of 1812, one student realized they had a family member who fought in this war. That student is now researching their own family history. Another student took personal interest in the first Black newspaper and is researching that. It’s drawing personal connections to allow for deep dives into a meaningful topic in a localized context.

I’m excited to find more ways to incorporate this type of learning into my courses. I am also providing some professional development to my colleagues in this area, following this conference as well as an inquiry-based learning course I took in the fall. And, I’m very excited for the Grade 7 Heritage Fair that is coming up in June. It will be like a traditional science fair, but for history! The students have been working very hard on personal projects like the ones I mentioned above.

I think one thing that cannot be understated when it comes to this professional development experience is the opportunity to visit Ottawa. I felt like a tourist and life-long learner, visiting Canada’s capital and exploring the Canadian War Museum and its artefacts. It was really invigorating for me.