Resources
and downloads
The Inquiry Project Store.
Here you will find a selection of resources that have been created to support teaching and learning in my work with schools. There are resources to purchase as well as a selection of tools and templates for download to use with your learners. For any questions please email me via katekorber@theinquiryproject.com.au
Resources for purchase
Free Resources
Inquiry Planning Resource to support metacognition, critical & creative thinking
This graphic has been developed to support educators to design Guided Inquiries that utilise metacognitive tools to enhance critical and creative thinking. Drawing inspiration from Kath Murdoch's model of Inquiry (2016) and the 4eX2 Instructional model (2007),. The graphic highlights the importance developing key questions that nurture critical and creative thinking, but also a focus on explicit teaching AND honoring student voice and agency throughout the Inquiry process.
Vision for High Impact Teaching in Inquiry Learning
Inquiry Learning and Explicit Teaching are NOT competing pedagogies. As educators we need to draw upon a range of tools an strategies that honor the place of explicit direct instruction AND student voice and curiosity. This visual highlights the need for educators to select the appropriate use high impact teaching strategies throughout the journey to enhance curiosity, agency and clarity of knowledge and skill. To think about when to plan explicit instruction for curriculum and new concepts, and to know when to listen to student interests, wonderings and curiosities and use HITS to scaffold learning opportunities that depth understanding and applicaiton of knowledge and understanding.
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Metacognition Action Verbs
Naming thinking facilitates learning growth by providing a structured framework for students to understand and articulate their cognitive processes. As part of my work with schools I have recently adapted a continuum of Blooms action thinking verbs and have mapped along side an Inquiry process. . I hope that this tool can help learners to enhance their agency by encouraging reflective thinking and metacognitive awareness.
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Cost Benefit Analysis
A Cost-benefit analysis is a decision-making tool used to compare the costs and benefits of a particular decision or action.
This strategy helps learners to analysis and consider the feasibility of their ideas for taking action in Inquiry.
One Pagers
One pagers are a great way to organize your thoughts by summarizing important information in a single page. They help you focus on what's most important and avoid getting overwhelmed by too much information. One pagers can also help you see connections between ideas and make it easier to communicate your thoughts to others. Even better are one pager templates that help learners to segment and sort important take aways within a framework. I've created a set of landscape templates which give students a choice of how they would like to set out their ideas and key messages in a visual way. Adding colour and images help scaffold thinking and reinforce long term memory. You can view and download my free set of one page templates for you to print via the link in bio! I'd love you to share with me how you use them!
Think-Pair-Share
One of the most commonly thinking routines used in classrooms, but do we rush it and not give enough consideration to scaffolding the conversion.....
THINK: The children are invited to firstly stop and take some time to think about their own personal thoughts and feelings. This should if possibly be noted down, ready to share. This step is vital in helping learners to consider new learnings and what it means to them.
PAIR: Children are invited to listen to one another and understand their perspective.
SHARE: The children are invited to then consider the different viewpoints and create a response that is shared by both learners. This may or may not be different from their own initial response.
Head, Heart, Hands Thinking
Before we start a Guided Inquiry a tool we use with our teachers to help them unpack the big picture ideas and possibilities is Head, Heart and Hand thinking. This helps our teachers to not just focus on curriculum standards but to think more broadly about possibilities and how we can design learning opportunities that make it real and relevant for our children. This is a macro planning tool we use to help have conversations before we start. Then we move to rich provocations and tools that develop student questions and wonderings around our big idea.
Thin & Thick Questions
The ‘think or thick’ question tool is one of my new favourites. Post it notes on paper are always my preference but sometimes online templates and Jamboards can be great for older kids too.
I’ve created this one in Canva for you to use! Use it as a template or a background in Jamboards, edit to your heart’s content!
Debono's Thinking Hats
Created in 1985, Edward de Bono's infamous 'Thinking Hats' routine was intended to provide a framework for teaching students to approach problems and issues from multiple viewpoints. Each of the six hats symbolizes a distinct thinking perspective —white for facts, red for emotions, black for critical judgment, yellow for positivity, green for creativity, and blue for overview and process. By guiding students to 'wear' different hats during discussions, teachers can help them practice metacognition, fostering an awareness of their own thought processes and encouraging reflective thinking. This structured approach not only enhances critical and creative thinking skills but also helps students develop a more holistic understanding of complex issues, making it an powerful tool for educators.
Feedback: Kind, Specific, Helpful
Effective feedback serves as a vital link between assessment and learning, significantly enhancing student progress—research suggests it can accelerate learning by up to eight months. High-quality feedback has the power to improve student learning outcomes and bridge the gap between higher and lower-achieving students. However, praising intelligence alone can unintentionally reinforce a fixed mindset, potentially hindering growth. Instead, effective feedback focuses on identifying next steps in learning by addressing gaps and guiding students forward. To maximize its impact, feedback should always be kind, specific, and helpful, ensuring that it fosters a positive learning environment and supports continuous improvement. This anchor chart provides educators and students alike with prompts and sentence starters to scaffold effective feedback in the classroom
Knowing the Zone: Designing Assessment with purpose
Drawing inspiration from Eduardo Briceño (2016), this resource unpacks how through a consideration of both the Learning Zone (for practice and growth) and the Performance Zone (for showing achievement) we can ensure that assessment compliments purpose. Embedding this practice helps students feel safe to learn, take risks, and improve — while also feeling ready to show what they know when it matters most.
This resource is aimed at supporting teachers when designing assessment tasks to ensure clarity of purpose, align feedback with learning goals, and create a balanced approach that values both improvement and achievement.
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Nurturing Assessment Capable Learners
Drawing on the work of John Hattie, Dylan Wiliam and Eduardo Briceño this resource highlights key strategies for building classroom cultures and designing learning that promotes clarity, reflection, and confidence. The focus is on equipping learners with the skills to monitor their own progress, understand how to achieve success, and take greater ownership of their learning journey.
