An Inquirer’s Mindset | Run Your Life #9

In today’s episode, well-known consultant and author, Kath Murdoch, shares her journey in education over the past 33 years and what has driven her towards striving for both personal and professional excellence in her life. Although Kath’s expertise is related to inquiry-based teaching, she discusses other important factors that she believes are necessary to put into action in order to create the best learning environments possible for our students. The buillding blocks to creating a warm, nurturing, and supportive learning envionment must include strong elements of teacher well-being and setting up our schools in a way that motivates and inspires teachers to be at their very best day in and day out. In this episode, Kath discusses specfiic strategies and approaches that she puts into practice with many of the schools and teachers that she works with around the world. Whether you are an administrator or a teacher, you are sure to find a lot of takeaway value in this Kath Murdoch podcast. ABOUT KATH Kath Murdoch is an experienced teacher, author, university lecturer and popular consultant who has worked for many years in schools throughout Australia, New Zealand, Asia, America, and Europe. She is widely respected for her work in the field of inquiry-based learning and integrative curriculum in which she has taught, researched and published for well over 20 years. Kath began her professional life as a classroom teacher in Melbourne. Her fascination in how students’ constructed their understandings - and her interest in the way questions and big ideas could drive curriculum soon lead to a passion for integrative and inquiry-based methodologies. This passion has become a career-long focus for teaching, research and writing and the methodologies in which Kath specializes are now central to curriculum frameworks in many parts of the world – including the popular International Baccalaureate, PYP program. Critical to Kath’s success is her continued involvement in classroom teaching. Whether it is to demonstrate techniques, coach teachers or build her own repertoire of practices, Kath is committed to regular and ongoing work with students. Her classroom work and research feeds a dynamic and ever-evolving expertise in the area of integrative and inquiry-based learning. Kath’s professional development offerings are diverse. They range from intensive partnerships with schools to develop inquiry programs and practices over several years through to one-day workshops for beginning or experienced inquiry teachers. Whether in her hometown of Melbourne or on the other side of the world, working with a team or speaking to a packed auditorium Kath’s style is refreshingly practical, inclusive and always connected to the real world of teaching. Connect with Kath Twitter: @kjinquiry Website: http://www.kathmurdoch.com.au/ Themes Discussed: What is inquiry? Mindset and Motivation The Role of Direct instruction Student-Teacher Relationships Brene Brown’s Work The Power of Inquiry (Kath’s most recent book) Teacher and Student Well-Being