We nurture curiosity and learner agency through inquiry.
At Wagaman Primary School, we support students to learn through a balance of explicit teaching and inquiry based learning. We believe there is an essential place for both approaches in our dynamic learning environments.
Inquiry Based Learning allows students to explore ideas, investigate concepts and develop important skills for lifelong learning. Through inquiry, students learn to think critically, apply their knowledge to new situations, analyse information, respond to new ideas and communicate their thinking collaboratively. Teachers guide students to investigate meaningful questions and real-world problems that connect to their interests and curiosity about the world around them.
At its heart, inquiry is about exploration, discovery and deep thinking. Our goal is to nurture learner agency, supporting students to make choices, take ownership of their learning and design pathways that help them achieve their goals. Through this approach, students become confident, capable and independent learners.
We explicitly teach the skills and dispositions of lifelong learning.
Teachers at Wagaman Primary School empower students to be active inquiry learners. We place emphasis not only on what students are learning, but also how they are learning. Using the Kath Murdoch's Learner Assets, students are explicitly taught the skills and dispositions they need to become confident, capable lifelong learners.
The learner assets support students to be researchers, thinkers, collaborators, self-managers and communicators across all areas of learning. These assets help students understand themselves as learners, build independence and develop the confidence to take ownership of their learning.
We make learning visible so every student understands how to grow.
At Wagaman Primary School, we are committed to making learning visible. We implement teaching practices that maximise a teacher’s impact on student learning and contribute to a highly effective learning culture. Students and teachers regularly engage in discussions about learning processes, strategies and achievement data, helping students understand themselves as learners and take increasing ownership of their progress.
Learning intentions & success criteria
Learning intentions and success criteria help students understand what they are learning, why they are learning it and what success looks like. This clarity enables students to confidently track their progress and know their next steps.
Feedback
Timely, specific and purposeful feedback is a strong component of our learning community. Students learn how to give and receive feedback that guides improvement and deepens understanding.
Student goal setting
Students engage in learning conversations and set goals for their own progress. They work both independently and alongside their teachers to monitor these goals and take deliberate action to achieve them.
Growth mindset
Students with a growth mindset understand that they can improve through effort and effective strategies. They embrace challenges, see mistakes as valuable learning opportunities and use feedback to grow. The explicit teaching of growth mindset is an important part of our teaching and learning approach at Wagaman.