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From Agency to Zest presents a captivating exploration of concepts integral to inquiry-based learning, skillfully penned by the esteemed educator and inquiry authority, Kath Murdoch. 

The book takes an alphabetical approach, dissecting and contemplating 26 pivotal words (alongside numerous related terms) that encapsulate the core of inquiry. 

Serving as an invitation to introspection, From Agency to Zest encourages educators to engage in meaningful professional dialogues, fostering a deeper grasp of inquiry as a teaching and learning methodology. 

Amidst elucidating these concepts, Kath generously imparts practical insights on leveraging the book to enhance and enrich professional learning endeavours within and beyond educational institutions. 

This thoughtfully crafted work serves as a valuable resource for educators seeking to navigate the intricacies of inquiry-based education.

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“This book is Kath Murdoch's masterpiece. It is immaculately researched, carefully argued, elegantly written, beautifully produced, and above all, incredibly useful and practical.”—Guy Claxton, author of The Future of Teaching

In Getting Personal with Inquiry Learning, world-renowned inquiry expert, Kath Murdoch, draws on decades of experience to offer a thorough, practical guide to supporting young learners’ investigations into their passions, interests and questions. 

Following her best-selling Power of Inquiry, this book invites teachers to take their thinking about inquiry to the next level and to truly honour both their own and their students’ agency.

Getting Personal with Inquiry Learning offers educators a compelling argument for providing young people with opportunities to pursue their interests at school and provides a myriad of practical strategies to make this effective and manageable. Rich with classroom examples, templates to guide planning and accompanied by advice from a range of highly respected educators from around the world, this book beautifully connects theory and practice—achieving depth and accessibility.

Bonus: Check out this video where Kath chats about her new book - it's worth a view.

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How can we create learning environments that cultivate curiosity and grow young people as confident, capable and creative inquirers?  How can we ensure that our teaching nurtures rather than diminishes the sense of wonder with which we are all born? How can we become better inquirers as we teach? 

How can we help our students grow as thinkers, collaborators, self-managers, communicators and researchers as they inquire? The Power of Inquiry is an inspiring and comprehensive guide to the implementation of quality inquiry practices in the contemporary classroom. Organized around ten essential questions, each chapter provides both a theoretical and practical overview of the elements that combine to create learning environments rich in purpose and passion. 

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Igniting and embracing curiosity is at the heart of inquiry-based learning, and it all begins with powerful questions. Yet, if your students' questions are too basic, off-topic, or nonexistent, you know how challenging it can be to guide them toward meaningful inquiry. Crafting questions that drive authentic learning takes practice, and that's where Inquiry Mindset: Questions Edition by Trevor MacKenzie shines. [Recommended by Kath Murdoch]

This insightful book equips educators with tools and strategies to harness the potential of student-generated questions. Through Question Routines, MacKenzie provides a clear framework to help students craft, organize, and justify their inquiries. These routines are effective across all grades and subject areas, empowering teachers to bring curiosity and engagement back into the classroom.

By implementing the approaches in this book, you’ll discover how to leverage curiosity to create personalized learning opportunities. You’ll also see how questioning fosters collaboration, critical thinking, communication, and reflection. Best of all, you won’t have to ask or answer all the questions—your students will take the lead.

Packed with real classroom stories, practical strategies, and powerful endorsements, this book will inspire you to rethink how you guide inquiry. Dive in, and let questions like "What if?", "How could we?", and "I wonder?" transform your teaching.

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Curating Inquiries: Curriculum Design and Mapping for Primary Schools by Grant Lewis

"Curating Inquiries" by Grant Lewis is an indispensable resource for curriculum coordinators, teachers, and administrators which I highly recommend. Grant, drawing from over 20 years of experience in curriculum design and inquiry-based learning in primary schools across Australia and globally, presents his insights in a friendly, sometimes humorous, conversational style that makes the book a pleasure to read.

This comprehensive guide is designed for educators who aim to establish a robust inquiry-focused framework that enhances teaching and learning through meaningful inquiries. While suitable for all educators interested in inquiry-based teaching and learning, it serves as an excellent support resource for IB PYP teachers, coordinators and administrators.

Grant begins by highlighting the importance of a well-structured conceptual framework for curriculum design. He underscores the necessity of long-term planning, advocating for curriculum mapping over a year or more to ensure continuity and depth, which fosters substantial and interconnected inquiries.

A significant portion of the book is dedicated to defining and illustrating inquiry-based learning. Grant clarifies its purpose and benefits, demonstrating how it can be effectively integrated into the curriculum while adhering to educational standards and incorporating student voices. He dissects the components of successful inquiry, offering practical examples from his extensive experience.

The core of "Curating Inquiries" lies in its practicality. Grant provides a wealth of strategies and protocols that teachers and administrators can immediately apply to support and enhance inquiry-based teaching and learning. These include methods for designing inquiry questions and provocations, structuring learning activities, assessing student progress, and championing student agency, including student voice and action.

One of the key challenges in inquiry-based learning is balancing the freedom of exploration with the need for accountability. Grant addresses this by illustrating how to align inquiries with curriculum standards without stifling creativity. He advocates for a flexible approach that respects student interests and voices while ensuring that learning objectives are met.

"Curating Inquiries" is particularly recommended for school leaders and teachers looking to deepen their understanding of inquiry-based learning. Grant provides guidance on planning and implementing inquiries that are memorable, powerful, and engaging. The book aims to empower educators to create rich learning experiences that resonate with students, allowing learner agency, voice, and action to flourish.

In summary, Grant Lewis's "Curating Inquiries" is a valuable resource for educators seeking to enhance their curriculum through inquiry-based learning. With its blend of theoretical insights and practical advice, the book equips teachers with the tools they need to create meaningful and effective learning journeys for their students.

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Concept-Based Inquiry in Action by Carla Marschall, Rachel French

Create a thinking classroom that helps students move from the factual to the conceptual.

Concept-Based Inquiry is a framework for inquiry that promotes deep understanding. The key is using guiding questions to help students inquire into concepts and the relationships between them.

Concept-Based Inquiry in Action provides teachers with the tools and resources necessary to organize and focus student learning around concepts and conceptual relationships that support the transfer of understanding. Step by step, the authors lead both new and experienced educators to implement teaching strategies that support the realization of inquiry-based learning for understanding in any K–12 classroom.

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Philosophical Inquiry shows how to use the tools of philosophy for educational purposes. It is a practical guide to the philosophical arts of questioning, conceptual exploration and reasoning, with wide application across the school curriculum. It provides educators with an effective means of teaching students to think critically and creatively, to use their knowledge to solve problems, to deal with issues, to explore possibilities and work with ideas.  Philosophical Inquiry emphasizes the use of collaborative learning, through class discussion, working with a partner, and small group work. This approach teaches students to think in socially responsible ways. It means that students become not only thinking individuals but also good team-players, with benefits that extend beyond the classroom and the school to community life and the world of work.