Trevor Mackenzie - Dive Into Inquiry: Amplify Learning and Empower Student Voice

Trevor MacKenzie is an award winning English teacher at Oak Bay High School in Victoria, BC, Canada, who believes that it is a magical time to be an educator. By increasing student agency over learning, weaving in strong pedagogy, transformative tech use, and sharing learning to a public audience, Trevors learners are ready to take on important roles in the 21st century.

Trevor is the author of Dive into Inquiry: Amplify Learning and Empower Student Voice as well as Inquiry Mindset: Nurturing the Dreams, Wonders and Curiosities of our Youngest Learners (co-authored with Rebecca Bathurst-Hunt) published by Elevate Books Edu.

• Blog: trevormackenzie.com
  
• Twitter: @trev_mackenzie
  
• Email: trevormackenzie.com/contact
  

This book is important! MacKenzie has written a powerful argument for inquiry learning to form the basis for twenty-first-century education. He offers detailed explanation as to why this approach is crucial in the current world economic climate. His useful classroom examples from his own experience and around the world will help any teacher implement new student-driven learning. The empowerment of young people to be agents of their own learning is the most pressing issue in this rapidly changing world and MacKenzie has created a blueprint to ensure this happens.

Dive into Inquiry has quickly become my favorite how-to book on inquiry-based learning. Filled with practical examples and solid structures that I know I can implement immediately, it has left me convinced that I really can create the kind of learning space that my students deserve. It is an approachable read that will change both your thinking and your practice for the better.

Trevor MacKenzie has written a heartfelt book on student inquiry where his passion for growing a culture of inquiry and students feeling a sense of trust and empowerment are front and center. His clarity of message and practical examples of how to co-create this experience in other classrooms is inspiring. He offers fabulous examples of student voice, social construction, and self-discovery.

Trevor MacKenzie has written a fascinating book, which takes the theory of inquiry-based learning and explores the practicalities needed to put the approach into successful operation. His passionate argument is underpinned by a deep understanding of the importance of feedback, pupils owning their own learning, and the need for clarity of outcome from the outset. I particularly like the graduated approach to developing inquiry learning. Too often, this approach fails because pupils have not been taught nor mastered the skills necessary to successfully undertake such an approach. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in the power of pupil-centred approaches to learning.

In Dive into Inquiry, Trevor MacKenzie tells the story of how he came to be an inquiry-based teacher and gives his readers tips on how to successfully move through the various types of inquiry-based learning. As teachers, we know that scaffolding is key, and this approach can help any middle-school or secondary teacher who wants to learn more about how to integrate this type of teaching into their practice. I especially enjoyed all of the sample questions that Trevor shares in his book I will definitely be using them to help students reflect!

Without action, the goals of genuine student inquiry and personalized learning will remain aspirational. Trevor MacKenzies book offers practical and proven advice for bringing these ideas to life in a classroom. Your students will thank you for following his advice.

As a promoter of Genius Hour, I was happy to read Dive into Inquiry by Trevor MacKenzie. The book fleshes out how teachers can make an entire class/course driven by inquiry, rather than just an hour a week. With passion, experience, and insight, MacKenzie explains what to do in the first days of school to change the landscape of learning for students transitioning from a teacher-centered classroom. He carefully covers everything a teacher and students will need, including how to co-create the course syllabus, types of inquiry, the four pillars of inquiry, essential questions, planning, research, authentic work and how to share it, and more. You will read and be inspired by stories of Garrison and graffiti, Eli and emergency medical care, Zoe the flourishing figure skater, and a score of other students who will bring inquiry in the classroom to life. Dive into Inquiry is a quick read, but it is meaty and worthwhile.

This is a book brimming with energy and idealism, full of insights and practical wisdom from Trevor MacKenzie, a teacher who takes student agency seriously. He provides thought-provoking examples of teacher-generated questions and the rich discussions that ensued. He is also keenly aware of the importance of moving beyond teacher questions to a higher level of inquiry in the classroom, where students are formulating their own questions. Inquiry, MacKenzie demonstrates, needs to be fostered if students are to regain their natural curiosity.