Drawing from his many years of experience, p4cHI founder Dr. Thomas Jackson (Dr. J) shares some of his most memorable moments and significant realizations.  These stories provide us with a vibrant and oftentimes inspirational perspective on where p4cHI has come from, what it is, and, indeed, on what it could be. This week Dr. J shares a powerful story about what happened when students in a Fourth Grade class were deliberately excluded from an inquiry.  We learn what it is like to not be heard. Continue reading

An assumption that lies beneath the community of inquiry approach is that there is tremendous power in bringing together a diverse collection of thinkers.  Each on of us has a different background, different experiences, and, so too, different strengths when it comes to thinking.  Oftentimes a team of thinkers -- working together, sharing insights, and checking each others' biases -- can arrive at a greater depth of understanding. Continue reading

Now we begin a two-part mini-series on how to improve listening.  This week we are going to examine "Proactive Strategies" for improving listening.  A proactive strategy is a move that you make before the poor listening even happens.  Just like getting a flu shot or taking your car in for an oil change, it is an effort to stop the problem before it even starts. Continue reading

Teacher is the boss and teacher knows the answer.  This phrase nicely sums up the traditional view of the teacher.  The teacher is the one who sets the rules, tells the students how to behave, and governs the class.  The teacher is the one in the know who can answer any question. The p4cHI approach to education aims to turn this traditional view on its head.  Rather than claiming power, the p4cHI facilitator gives away power.  Almost immediately she abdicates her claim to epistemological authority because her knowing all the answers is an impediment to the students' genuine inquiry.  Then she begins the process of passing the authority to manage the classroom over to the students; her goal is for the students to govern themselves. Continue reading

Wonder: We wonder about the world and wonder at it.  "Wonder," Francis Bacon said long ago, "is the seed of knowledge."  It is what inspires us to ask questions, explore the stars, and discover better ways to live.  It is what takes our breath away and inspires us to rise to unimagined heights.  Wonder is indeed the seed from which much grows. Continue reading

Drawing from his many years of experience, p4cHI founder Dr. Thomas Jackson (Dr. J) shares some of his most memorable moments and significant realizations.  These stories provide us with a vibrant and oftentimes inspirational perspective on where p4cHI has come from, what it is, and, indeed, on what it could be. In this week's story Dr. J talks about the stages of development of the p4cHI community of inquiry.   Continue reading

It was an hour before The Big Meeting and I frantically approached my co-worker.  "OK, I said, "what's our plan?  What's our strategy?  What are we going to say and what our we going to do?" My co-worker was a bit older, a bit wiser, and certainly at that moment a lot calmer than I.  She looked at me with an amused look on her face, paused several seconds, and then leaned towards me.  "This," she said in a quiet voice, "is what we're going to do.  We are going to listen to them.  We are going to listen to them very carefully.  And then once we're done listening we will know what to do." Continue reading

One thing, in all honesty, that I'm not as good at as I might be is explaining how p4cHI fits in with various National and State educational initiatives.  My first instinct is usually to try to make the broader (and not always well-received) case that schools ought to aim higher than simply helping children to meet academic standards.  Ultimately, I am more concerned with empowering children to live the good life. From the fact that I don't spend a lot of time trying to explain how p4cHI fits in with current educational policy it doesn't follow, however, that p4cHI doesn't fit in with such policy.  Quite to the contrary, p4cHI provides a dynamic way to achieve many highly esteemed educational aims. Continue reading

We have a lot of "Magic Words" in p4cHI.  Most of the Magic Words are acronyms.  POPAAT, for instance, stands for Please One Person At A Time.  NQP is short for Next Question Please.   SPLAT is the oddball; it isn't short for anything.  It just means that you need to speak louder because the words came too quietly and softly our of your mouth and, so, fell with a "splat" on the floor before they could be heard.  At least that's what I tell the kids.  In truth, legend has it, the origin of the term is a bit more grim.  Imagine, a class was once told, that your friend off in the distance is about to get run over by a bus.  You need to speak with a loud voice or the bus is going to hit your friend and he/she will go SPLAT.  (That story is just between you and me.  It is not recommended that you use it with young children!) Continue reading

Drawing from his many years of experience, p4cHI founder Dr. Thomas Jackson (Dr. J) shares some of his most memorable moments and significant realizations.  These stories provide us with a vibrant and oftentimes inspirational perspective on where p4cHI has come from, what it is, and, indeed, on what it could be. Did anything come before space?  In this week's story Dr. J tells what happens when a class of Kindergarten students explore the connection between space, dinosaurs, and God. Continue reading