Purposeful inquiry is powerful（有目的的探究學(xué)習(xí)充滿能量），所以，進(jìn)行每個(gè)單元探究教學(xué)時(shí)，北皋小學(xué)部的老師們除了精心設(shè)計(jì)課堂探究學(xué)習(xí)之外，還會(huì)將課堂延伸到更廣闊的空間——或是邀請(qǐng)外部專家走進(jìn)校園，為學(xué)生們做講座，或是帶領(lǐng)學(xué)生探究出行，為他們創(chuàng)造將課堂所學(xué)內(nèi)容和實(shí)際生活建立聯(lián)系的機(jī)會(huì)，來(lái)產(chǎn)生可遷移的知識(shí)理解。

“每次外出探究之前，年級(jí)老師代表都會(huì)提前踩點(diǎn)，為學(xué)生設(shè)計(jì)開(kāi)放性的、具有探究空間的探究學(xué)習(xí)任務(wù)，因?yàn)榫哂嗅槍?duì)性和目的性的探究學(xué)習(xí)能幫助學(xué)生建立持久而深遠(yuǎn)的理解！”北皋小學(xué)部PYP課程協(xié)調(diào)員馬鳳仙老師介紹說(shuō)。

經(jīng)過(guò)精心的設(shè)計(jì)和實(shí)施，北皋小學(xué)部各個(gè)年級(jí)的探究出行都收獲滿滿，我們選擇其中一些和大家分享：

KG

中國(guó)科技館

學(xué)習(xí)“世界如何運(yùn)作”探究單元時(shí)，KG小朋友在3月份參觀了中國(guó)科技館，體驗(yàn)了 “兒童科學(xué)中心”。體驗(yàn)過(guò)程中，孩子們對(duì)本單元的中心思想“我們周圍的各種簡(jiǎn)單機(jī)械使生活更輕松”形成了深刻的理解。

在“我是建筑工人”活動(dòng)中，小朋友們戴上安全帽，穿上工服，體驗(yàn)房屋建設(shè)過(guò)程中的多個(gè)環(huán)節(jié)，體會(huì)建筑施工過(guò)程中蘊(yùn)含的不同科學(xué)知識(shí)和科學(xué)技術(shù)。

“小球大冒險(xiǎn)”環(huán)節(jié)，小朋友們操作多種機(jī)械，使得小球完成滾動(dòng)、提升、拋射、轉(zhuǎn)移、下降等多個(gè)“冒險(xiǎn)動(dòng)作”，體驗(yàn)一起玩球的樂(lè)趣，觀察小球的運(yùn)動(dòng)軌跡，認(rèn)知生活中的機(jī)械結(jié)構(gòu)，激發(fā)探索的興趣！

G1

中華民族園

今年1月，學(xué)習(xí)“我們身處什么時(shí)空”主題探究單元的1年級(jí)學(xué)生踏上了前往中華民族園的探索之旅。這次出行旨在幫助孩子們深入了解不同民族的歷史文化，發(fā)現(xiàn)過(guò)去與現(xiàn)在的聯(lián)系，以及比較不同文化的特點(diǎn)。

孩子們?cè)诔鲂兄袑W(xué)習(xí)了各民族的起源、參觀了民族建筑和各民族特色的手工藝品。更寶貴的是，他們對(duì)多元文化有了更深刻的認(rèn)識(shí)，學(xué)會(huì)了尊重和欣賞不同的生活方式。

G2

奇趣農(nóng)場(chǎng)

在“共享地球”探究單元，2年級(jí)學(xué)生探索了動(dòng)植物如何在棲息地過(guò)完自己的一生。去年10 月 ，全年級(jí)開(kāi)啟了前往農(nóng)場(chǎng)的“探險(xiǎn)”。他們此行的目的是——學(xué)習(xí)農(nóng)作物和動(dòng)物如何在獨(dú)特環(huán)境中茁壯生長(zhǎng)的實(shí)用知識(shí)。學(xué)生們興奮極了。

到達(dá)農(nóng)場(chǎng)后，大家立即沉浸在各種引人入勝的活動(dòng)中。從摘取新鮮的蔬菜到準(zhǔn)備美味的黃瓜沙拉，他們熱切地抓住每一個(gè)親手體驗(yàn)的機(jī)會(huì)。此外，學(xué)生們還與農(nóng)場(chǎng)里的山羊貓王和夏奇拉互動(dòng)。

為了培養(yǎng)他們的好奇心，學(xué)生們被分配了任務(wù)，去識(shí)別不同的植物、蔬菜、果樹(shù)、昆蟲(chóng)和動(dòng)物。他們也去挖了紅薯，觀察紅薯復(fù)雜的結(jié)構(gòu)。學(xué)生們深入探究了雞的生命周期，仔細(xì)研究雛雞發(fā)育的階段。大家以團(tuán)隊(duì)形式合作，興奮地探索，做筆記，享受著真正的學(xué)習(xí)實(shí)踐。一天下來(lái)，孩子們不僅玩得開(kāi)心，還帶著豐收的紅薯、新鮮蔬菜和水果回到了學(xué)校！

G3

自然博物館

最近，3年級(jí)學(xué)生完成了第5單元的學(xué)習(xí)。孩子們探索了生物體如何調(diào)整其結(jié)構(gòu)和行為，以便能在特定的環(huán)境中生存。大家了解了許多動(dòng)物和植物的適應(yīng)行為，以及生物體如何隨時(shí)間變化。

為了促進(jìn)對(duì)知識(shí)的了解，5月里，孩子們來(lái)到國(guó)家自然博物館參觀。他們利用自己對(duì)植物適應(yīng)行為和對(duì)化石的現(xiàn)有理解來(lái)參觀植物和恐龍化石展覽，也記錄了詳細(xì)的筆記來(lái)豐富課堂作業(yè)，同時(shí)更加理解了如何將化石用作理解環(huán)境變化的證據(jù)。

G4

汽車博物館

在4年級(jí)的第6個(gè)探究單元中，學(xué)生們探索了創(chuàng)新和經(jīng)濟(jì)發(fā)展是如何相互聯(lián)系的。在人類社會(huì)的眾多創(chuàng)新活動(dòng)中，我們選擇交通和通信為重點(diǎn)，引導(dǎo)學(xué)生研究這些領(lǐng)域的創(chuàng)新如何改變了我們的生活、工作和互動(dòng)方式，以及這些創(chuàng)新與經(jīng)濟(jì)發(fā)展的關(guān)系。

作為本單元的激發(fā)趣味的活動(dòng)，5月里，4年級(jí)師生參觀了汽車博物館。參觀過(guò)程中，孩子們著重記錄了他們對(duì)這些問(wèn)題的思考和觀察：汽車使用了什么技術(shù)、汽車如何創(chuàng)造物質(zhì)財(cái)富和汽車如何幫助人們？出行回來(lái)后，孩子們?cè)谡n堂上分享了自己的記錄，探討了汽車創(chuàng)新與經(jīng)濟(jì)發(fā)展的聯(lián)系。

G5

京杭大運(yùn)河博物館

5月，5年級(jí)學(xué)生走進(jìn)了北京京杭大運(yùn)河博物館，深入了解古代貿(mào)易的輝煌篇章。博物館內(nèi)陳列著豐富的文物和歷史資料，讓學(xué)生們仿佛穿越時(shí)空，親身感受大運(yùn)河在古代貿(mào)易中的關(guān)鍵角色。他們了解到大運(yùn)河作為南北貿(mào)易的主要通道，不僅促進(jìn)了沿岸城市的繁榮與發(fā)展，更見(jiàn)證了中華文明的輝煌。

博物館中的古代船只模型、貿(mào)易貨幣、絲綢和瓷器等展品，都讓學(xué)生們深刻感受到運(yùn)河貿(mào)易的繁榮與昌盛。這次參觀，讓學(xué)生們對(duì)古代貿(mào)易有了更深刻的認(rèn)識(shí)和理解，也讓他們更加珍視和傳承中華文化的瑰寶。

Purposeful inquiry is powerful.Therefore, to complete each Unit of Inquiry, teachers at Beigao Elementary not only design classroom—based inquiry learning, but also extend that learning outside the classroom.This is achieved by inviting external experts onto the campus to give lectures for students and by guiding students to explore these concepts via trips, thus creating opportunities for students to make connections between what they have learned in the classroom to their real lives. To create opportunities to make connections is to generate transferable knowledge and understanding, an important skill for students to have.

“Before each Field Trip, grade level teacher representatives scout out the places and design open—ended, inquiry—specific learning tasks for students. Focused and purposeful inquiry learning helps students build lasting and far—reaching skills and awareness!” said Ms. Catherine Ma, PYP Coordinator of Beigao Elementary School.

With such careful design and implementation, all grades at Beigao Elementary have been rewarded with Field Trips. Here are the highlights from some of them:

KG

China Science and Technology Museum

For the “How the World Works” Unit of Inquiry, KG students visited the China Science and Technology Museum in March to experience the “Children's Science Center.” During this, they developed a deep understanding of the central idea of the unit, “simple machines around us make life easier”.

The “I am a Construction Worker” activity at the museum was very popular with students! They put on helmets and uniforms to experience many aspects of the construction process, which helped them appreciate the different sets of knowledge and technology used during that process.

In the “Ball Adventure” session, students actively operated a variety of machinery, allowing the ball to complete rolling, lifting, projecting, transferring, dropping, and other “adventure” movement links! Experiencing the fun of playing with the balls led students to also observe the ball's trajectory while being cognizant of the mechanical structure of life, stimulating the interest of exploration!

G1

Chinese Nationalities Garden

In January, during the “What Time and Space Are We In?” unit embarked on an exploratory trip to the Chinese Nationalities Garden. The purpose of the trip was to assist students in gaining a deeper understanding of the history and culture of different ethnic groups, to discover the links between the past and the present, and to compare the characteristics of different cultures.

During the trip, they learned about the origins of each ethnic group and visited buildings and handicrafts unique to each ethnic group. They gained a deeper understanding of multiculturalism and learned to respect and appreciate different ways of life!

G2

Curious Farm

In their “Sharing the Planet” Unit of Inquiry, students explored how animals and plants depend on their habitat to complete their lifecycles. In last October, Grade 2 embarked on an adventure to a farm. Their mission? To gain practical knowledge about the incredible world of crops and animals that thrive in such a unique environment. Students were buzzing with excitement as they ventured beyond the familiar school grounds, ready to dive into a day filled with exploration and discovery.

Once they arrived at the farm, students wasted no time in immersing themselves in a variety of engaging activities. From harvesting fresh vegetables to preparing delicious cucumber salads, they eagerly embraced every opportunity to get their hands dirty. But it wasn't just about the plants; the students also had the chance to interact with the farm's resident goats, Elvis and Shakira.

To nurture their inquisitive minds, the students were assigned tasks that required them to identify different vegetables, fruit trees, insects, and animals. They also had the chance to dig up sweet potatoes, allowing them observe its intricate structures. Students then delved into the life cycle of chickens, closely examining the stages of chick development within eggs.

Working together in teams, students eagerly explored their surroundings, taking notes and immersing themselves in a truly hands—on learning experience. As the activity came to a close, not only did everyone have an absolute blast; but they also returned to school with a bountiful harvest of sweet potatoes, other fresh vegetables, and various fruits. It was an unforgettable field trip!

G3

Museum of Natural Science

Grade 3 recently completed Unit 5. In this unit, students explored how organisms adapt their structures and behaviours to allow them to survive in a particular environment. Students learnt about a number of animal and plant adaptations and how organisms change over time.

To further promote understanding, students visited the Museum of Natural Science in May. Students were able to draw on their existing understanding of plant adaptations and fossils to engage with the plant and dinosaur fossils exhibits. They recorded detailed notes to supplement their classwork and enhanced their understanding of how fossils can be used as evidence to understand changes in the environment.

G4

Auto Museum

In the 6th Unit of Inquiry, students explored how innovation and economic development are interconnected. Of the many innovative activities in human society, we chose to focus on transportation and communication — leading students to investigate how innovations in these areas have changed our lives and how they encourage economic development.

In May, students and teachers visited the Automobile Museum. During the visit, students focused on recording their thoughts and observations about these questions: “What technologies are used in cars?” “How do cars make money?”, and “How do cars help people?” Upon returning from the trip, they shared their notes in class and explored the connection between automotive innovation and economic development.

G5

Beijing—Hangzhou

Grand Canal Museum

In May, 5th graders went to the Beijing—Hangzhou Grand Canal Museum in Beijing to learn more about this glorious chapter of ancient trade. With a wealth of artifacts and historical information on display, the museum allowed students to feel as if they had traveled through time and space to experience first—hand the key role of the Grand Canal. They learned that the Grand Canal —as the main channel for north—south trade— not only promoted the prosperity and development of coastal cities, but also bolstered the glory of Chinese Civilization.

The exhibits in the museum included models of ancient ships, trade currencies, silks, and porcelains. All of these gave the students a deep impression of the prosperity and flourishing of the canal trade. Altogether, this visit gave the students a deeper understanding of the ancient trade, and also encouraged them to cherish and pass on the treasures of Chinese culture!