Middle Years
Introduction
Melbourne Museum is an excellent place to stimulate philosophical inquiry in the
middle years (5 to 8). Museum trails encourage the development of higher-order
processes required for creative problem solving, decision making and conceptualising.
In addition, students will develop the capacity for metacognition, which is the capacity
to reflect on and manage their own thinking. When visiting the museum, if students
are provided with challenging and stimulating tasks, they will reflect and engage in
sustained discussion, deliberation and inquiry, thereby undertaking effective thinking.
What is Inquiry Learning?
A visit to Melbourne Museum undertaken within a learning framework of inquiry taps
into young people‟s natural curiosity and sense of wonder, in the same way that
philosophical inquiry engages students in the search for meaning.
Through the philosophical inquiry approach, students can:
create hypotheses, clarify terms, ask for and give good reasons, provide
examples and counter examples, question assumptions, draw inferences and
make sound judgements
develop social skills as they share perspectives, listen to one another,
challenge and build on others‟ thinking and reconstruct their ideas.
Community of Inquiry
What is a Community of Inquiry?
The creation of a Community of Inquiry is a useful pedagogical approach to teach
Philosophy to young students. Students work together in groups to generate and then
answer their own questions about the philosophical issues contained in purposewritten materials or a wide range of other resources. By sharing voiced thoughts, the
students become more reflective about issues that may puzzle them.
In the community of inquiry students learn to respect, listen to and understand a
diverse range of views. Students are encouraged to take increased responsibility for
their own learning processes and to develop as independent and self-correcting
learners. Students develop the confidence and intellectual courage to put forward their
own views in a group. Participation in the Community of Inquiry develops higher order
thinking skills in the context of meaningful discussion. Demonstration of these skills
addresses elements within the VELS learning domains of Interpersonal Development,
Personal Learning and Thinking Processes (see below).
Melbourne Museum Philosophy Guides – Middle Years
Page 1
How does a Community of Inquiry work?
In a typical Community of Inquiry session, students read a stimulus text in groups.
They raise questions from the reading and record them. These questions shape the
agenda for discussion. Each reading usually generates enough questions for several
subsequent discussions in the Community of Inquiry.
Teachers can stimulate collaborative inquiry by preparing discussion plans and
exercises, which aim to encourage depth of discussion. Purpose written texts are just
one possible source material. Other written material, images and recordings can also
be used to stimulate philosophical inquiry – drawing, music and roleplay are all
effective springboards for discussion.
Basic Steps to Organise a Community of Inquiry
1. Students participate in a warmer linked to points of discussion in the stimulus.
2. Students engage with the stimulus such as a text, film, museum visit or
artwork.
3. Students sit in a closed circle and generate questions arising from their
engagement.
4. Teacher collects student questions on butcher‟s paper.
5. Teacher reads student questions aloud.
6. Teacher negotiates with students the question to discuss first. This process
should take no more than 10 minutes.
7. When the question is decided, the inquiry process can commence. The
teacher guides the process, and helps students to develop inquiry skills
(questioning).
Questions that the teacher can explicitly model include:
Can you give me an example to support that point?
Does anyone disagree with that point? Why?
What are some other ways we might think about that point?
What are we assuming? Are these assumptions problematic?
What are the possible implications of that statement?
Goals and Intentions
Because the Community of Inquiry encourages the sharing of ideas, each
individual has an opportunity to consider different and previously unconsidered
perspectives. This encourages tolerance of different ideas and increases the
ability of students to work together; it also strengthens the capacity to explore
questions from multiple perspectives.
In the inquiry/discussion phase, the „best‟ answer is not provided or validated
by the teacher. Instead, the class must construct and evaluate the possible
responses to the question. This process reinforces the understanding that
there is no easy answer or solution, but some are more defensible than others.
Visit the following websites for further information about Community of Inquiry
learning: Victorian Association for Philosophy in Schools (VAPS) at
http://www.vaps.vic.edu.au Museum Victoria at
http://museumvictoria.com.au/Education/Community-of-Inquiry/
Melbourne Museum Philosophy Guides – Middle Years
Page 2
Melbourne Museum Philosophy Trails & VELS
Mind and Body Gallery
Geography at Level 6
Standard: “students explain the operation of a major natural system and its
interaction with human activities”
Learning focus: students “develop knowledge about the operation of one of
the major natural systems...for example weather”.
Science at Level 6
Learning focus: students will come to “appreciate that people of diverse
cultures have contributed to and shaped the development of science.
…They explain trends and patterns in data, identify discrepancies in
experimental results and suggest improvements to their investigations.
Students cite instances in which social priorities have had an impact on or
have been influenced by society.”
Melbourne
Gallery
Bunjilaka
Gallery
Science at Level 5
Standard: students “explain how observed characteristics of living things
are used to establish a classification system”.
Learning focus: students “develop an understanding of themselves as
organisms composed of different cells and systems working together. They
explore the relationship between system failure and disease in humans. …
They “learn that the nature of scientific thinking is not static and relies upon
knowledge, cultural perspectives, understanding and skills that are built up
over time, shared and reflected upon, while incorporating new ideas,
thinking and experimental evidence.”
Forest Gallery
Melbourne Museum‟s Forest Gallery, Mind and Body Gallery, Melbourne Gallery and
Bunjilika provide opportunities for teachers and students to address the three
interwoven strands of the Victorian Essential Learning Standards (VELS):
1. Physical, Personal and Social Learning
2. Discipline-based Learning
3. Interdisciplinary Learning.
Source: http://vels.vcaa.vic.edu.au/downloads/vels_standards
Each gallery is linked to at least one Discipline-based Domain.
Civics and Citizenship at Level 5
Standard: students “identify significant developments in the governance
and achievement of political rights in Australia”.
Humanities at Level 3
“Students describe and sequence key aspects of the histories of cultural
groups that make up their class, community and nation”.
Historical knowledge and understanding at Level 4
Standard: Students “demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of
significant events in Australian history”.
Melbourne Museum Philosophy Guides – Middle Years
Page 3
The philosophy trails are designed to enable teachers to combine a Discipline-based
Domain with the Interdisciplinary Learning Domain of Thinking Processes. Where
the Community of Inquiry methodology is adapted for discussion, elements of the
Physical, Personal and Social Learning Domain of Interpersonal Development
will also be incorporated.
The Thinking Processes Domain contains standards organised by three
dimensions.
STRAND
DOMAIN
Interdisciplinary
Learning
Thinking Processes
DIMENSIONS
Reasoning, processing
and inquiry
Creativity
Reflection, evaluation and
metacognition
Dimension standards at Levels 3 to 6
Reasoning, processing
and inquiry
Students learn to use
critical thinking to analyse
and evaluate information
they encounter, develop
questions and create
opinions based on informed
judgments.
Creativity
Reflection, evaluation
and metacognition
Students think creatively
and solve problems.
They learn to take risks
with their thinking and
make new connections.
Students learn to reflect on
what they know, and develop
awareness that there is more
to know.
They learn to question their
views and those of others.
Students apply creative
ideas in practical ways and
test the possibilities of
ideas they generate. They
use open-ended
questioning and integrate
available information to
explore ideas.
Students identify strategies
they use to organise their
ideas, and use appropriate
language to explain their
thinking. They identify and
provide reasons for their point
of view, and justify changes in
their thinking.
Level 3
Students gather information
from a range of sources to
answer their own and
others‟ questions. They
question the validity of
sources when appropriate.
They apply thinking
strategies to organise
information and concepts in
a variety of contexts,
including problem solving
activities. They provide
reasons for their
conclusions.
Melbourne Museum Philosophy Guides – Middle Years
Page 4
Reasoning, processing
and inquiry
Creativity
Reflection, evaluation
and metacognition
Level 4
Students develop their own
questions for investigation,
collect relevant information
from a range of sources and
make judgments about its
worth.
They distinguish between
fact and opinion.
They use the information
they collect to develop
concepts, solve problems or
inform decision making.
They develop reasoned
arguments using supporting
evidence.
Students use creative
thinking strategies to
generate imaginative
solutions when solving
problems.
They demonstrate creativity
in their thinking in a range of
contexts and test the
possibilities of concrete and
abstract ideas generated by
themselves and others.
Students use a broad range
of thinking processes and
tools, and reflect on and
evaluate their effectiveness.
They articulate their thinking
processes.
They document changes in
their ideas and beliefs over
time.
Students apply creative
thinking strategies to explore
possibilities and generate
multiple options, problem
definitions and solutions.
They demonstrate creativity
in the ways they engage with
and explore ideas in a range
of contexts.
Students explain the
purpose of a range of
thinking tools and use them
in appropriate contexts.
They use specific language
to describe their thinking and
reflect on their thinking
processes during their
investigations.
They modify and evaluate
their thinking strategies.
They describe and explain
changes that may occur in
their ideas and beliefs over
time.
Level 5
Students use a range of
question types. Locate and
select relevant information
from varied sources.
They use a range of
appropriate strategies of
reasoning and analysis to
evaluate evidence and
consider their own and
others‟ points of view.
They use a range of
discipline-based
methodologies.
They complete activities
focusing on problem solving
and decision making.
Melbourne Museum Philosophy Guides – Middle Years
Page 5
Reasoning, processing
and inquiry
Creativity
Reflection, evaluation
and metacognition
Level 6
Students discriminate in the
way they use a variety of
sources.
They generate questions that
explore perspectives.
They process and synthesize
complex information and
complete activities focusing
on problem solving and
decision making which
involve a wide range and
complexity of variables and
solutions.
Students employ appropriate
methodologies for creating
and verifying knowledge in
different disciplines.
They make informed
decisions based on their
analysis of various
perspectives and, sometimes
contradictory, information.
Students experiment with
innovative possibilities within
the parameters of a task.
They take calculated risks
when defining tasks and
generating solutions.
They apply selectively a
range of creative thinking
strategies to broaden their
knowledge.
Students engage with
contentious, ambiguous,
novel and complex ideas.
When reviewing information
and refining ideas and
beliefs, students explain
conscious changes that may
occur in their own and
others‟ thinking.
They analyse alternative
perspectives and
perceptions.
They explain the different
methodologies used by
different disciplines to create
and verify knowledge.
They use specific terms to
discuss their thinking,
Students select and use
thinking processes and tools
appropriate to particular
tasks, and evaluate their
effectiveness.
Source: http://vels.vcaa.vic.edu.au/downloads/vels_standards/vels_thinking.doc
Question Grid
Two tools provide the backbone to these Trails: the Community of Inquiry and the
Question Grid1.
Before visiting Melbourne Museum, students should know how to participate in a
Community of Inquiry and how to use the Question Grid.
Students will be required to generate their own questions for the grid, based on their
experiences in the gallery. Examples of possible questions are shown in the grids for
each Gallery. These examples can be introduced to students before the visit as
preparation.
Introductory activities could include practice at question types within the grid on any
themes at all so that students become familiar with the characteristics of the different
kinds of questions.
1
Cam, Phil 2006, 20 Thinking Tools, ACER Press
Melbourne Museum Philosophy Guides – Middle Years
Page 6
The Question Grid
CLOSED
QUIZ QUESTIONS
Use your senses
Use common knowledge
Use basic comprehension skills
Observation skills
Thinking Processes:
supports Reasoning, Processing
and Inquiry
supports Creativity.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
Gather new information
Use experts
Test hypotheses
Research skills
Thinking Processes:
Reasoning, Processing and Inquiry
SPECULATIVE QUESTIONS
Imagine possibilities
Tell a story
Make a thought experiment
Make hypotheses
Imaginative skills
Thinking Processes:
Creativity
PHILOSOPHICAL QUESTIONS
Explore big ideas
Evaluate ideas
Evaluate thinking
Philosophical skills
Thinking Processes:
Reflection, Evaluation and
Metacognition
Reasoning, Processing and
Inquiry
OPEN
Classroom example
CLOSED
QUIZ QUESTION
RESEARCH QUESTION
How many people are in the classroom?
How many people have been enrolled in
this school?
Research skills
Observation skills
SPECULATIVE QUESTION
PHILOSOPHICAL QUESTION
What if I was the only girl in this school?
What is schooling about?
Imaginative skills
Philosophical skills
OPEN
Melbourne Museum Philosophy Guides – Middle Years
Page 7
Before visiting the Mind and Body Gallery
Students will get the most out of their visit to the Mind Gallery if they have
already been introduced to some of the basic concepts. Before their visit, the
teacher can assist students to „tune in‟ to topic-relevant questions before they
go on a philosophy trail at the museum. The Question Grid example below is
one way to prepare students.
Teaching and learning materials provided by Melbourne Museum on the
education website can help prepare students. The Resources linked to the
“Education Programs” are particularly useful. See:
www.museumvictoria/MelbourneMuseum/Education
If teachers are planning for group discussion at the Museum, they should
consider finding appropriate quiet places on the lower ground or ground floor
before the visit.
Make sure students have blank Question Grid templates. Students must
generate their own questions for each part of the question grid.
Organise student groupings.
Note: Quiz questions should be answerable from direct observation in the exhibits.
Question Grid example
CLOSED
QUIZ QUESTION
RESEARCH QUESTION
What colour is the brain?
What models of the brain have been used
over the last hundred years?
Research skills
Observation skills
SPECULATIVE QUESTION
PHILOSOPHICAL QUESTION
What kind of person would you be if your
brain were transplanted into my body?
Is the mind different from the brain?
Imaginative skills
Philosophical skills
OPEN
Melbourne Museum Philosophy Guides – Middle Years
Page 8
At the Mind and Body Gallery
Time needed: Allow 1-2 hours in the chosen Gallery to provide students enough time
to frame the problems they will take back to the classroom.
Resources needed
Teachers
Clipboard, notebook, camera
Students
Prepared question grids, pens, cameras, clipboards
Objectives:
1. Each student is to construct one question for each section of the Question grid
in response to his or her experience.
2. They (or the teacher) will take a picture of the particular observation or item
that triggered each question.
Process:
1. In pairs, students construct 2 CLOSED questions – one OBSERVATION and
one RESEARCH question. Remind students that the Observation question
should be able to be answered directly from observation of the information in
the Gallery.
2. Each student should construct one SPECULATIVE QUESTION.
3. In groups of 3-4, students move through the exhibits and construct a series of
PHILOSOPHICAL questions.
Back in the classroom
Individual students prepare four PowerPoint slides with photos of the stimulus to each
of the questions formulated for each part of the QUESTION GRID.
The following activities could be set for all students, or different groups could take on
activities for a specific part of the question grid.
1.
Powers of observation
1. Teacher collates all QUIZ questions and copies them to a new slide for
each student.
2. Teacher tests class on their powers of observation.
3. Teacher facilitates a Community of Inquiry discussion on the idea that
knowledge is gained through our senses. Students challenge notions of
observation, for example, how reliable are our observations or our
memories of our observations?
2.
Finding answers
1. Students visit some or all of their peers‟ PowerPoint presentations.
2. They propose methods for answering the RESEARCH questions on a
new slide.
3. They consider: „How could they find out the answer to this question‟?
4. The original questioner evaluates these proposals and records their
response on this third slide.
5. The questioner can implement, test and reflect on the methods if
resources and time allows.
6. Conclude with a community of inquiry discussion of the idea of
“knowledge”.
Melbourne Museum Philosophy Guides – Middle Years
Page 9
3.
What if…?
1. Individual students write a poem or story in response to their
SPECULATIVE question & paste this into their PowerPoint presentation
as a fourth slide.
2. Students read their texts out loud, and categorise the various genres
e.g. fantasy, science fiction etc
3. Invite students to create questions in response to the readings.
4. Hold a Community of Inquiry discussion of some or several of these
questions.
4.
Philosophical Themes
1. Teacher collects all philosophical questions students have recorded.
2. Students sort questions into themes, e.g. the relationship between mind
and brain, and mental health and illness etc.
3. Students decide which theme to discuss. They then negotiate which of
the relevant questions should be addressed first.
4. Commence Community of Inquiry dialogue.
For large groups:
1. Ask individual students to group themselves according to the theme
they wish to explore.
2. The group brainstorms some possible answers to their cluster of
questions.
3. Each group then has a turn to be in the centre of a fish bowl to evaluate
their ideas and arguments. Remaining students observe the processes
used by the performing group and provide feedback.
4. Swap roles.
References
Museum Victoria Education website
www.museumvictoria/MelbourneMuseum/Education
For information and further teaching and learning
Victoria Ministry of Education VELS Standards
http://vels.vcaa.vic.edu.au/downloads/vels_standards
Cam, Phil 2006 20 Thinking Tools ACER Press
Museum Victoria Community of Inquiry
http://museumvictoria.com.au/Education/Community-of-Inquiry/
Victorian Association for Philosophy in Schools (VAPS) website: www.vaps.vic.edu.au
Melbourne Museum Philosophy Guides – Middle Years
Page 10
Before visiting the Bunjilaka Gallery
Students will get the most out of their visit to the Bunjilaka Gallery if they have
already been introduced to some of the basic concepts presented in the
Gallery. Before their visit, the teacher can assist students to „tune in‟ to topicrelevant questions before they go on a philosophy trail at the museum. The
Question Grid example below is one way to prepare students.
Teaching and learning materials provided by the Museum on the education
website can help prepare students. The Resources linked to the “Education
Programs” are particularly useful. See:
www.museumvictoria/MelbourneMuseum/Education
If teachers are planning for group discussion at the Museum, they should
consider finding appropriate quiet places on the lower ground or ground floor
before the visit.
Make sure students have blank Question grid templates. Students must
generate their own questions for each part of the question grid.
Organise student groupings.
Note: Quiz questions should be answerable from direct observation in the exhibits.
Question grid example
CLOSED
QUIZ QUESTION
RESEARCH QUESTION
Who was having the debate shown in the
video?
What are two differences between Native
laws and contemporary Australian laws?
Observation skills
Research skills
SPECULATIVE QUESTION
PHILOSOPHICAL QUESTION
What if we had to follow Native law at
school?
Are laws necessarily binding?
Imaginative skills
Philosophical skills
OPEN
Melbourne Museum Philosophy Guides – Middle Years
Page 11
At the Bunjilaka Gallery
Time needed: Allow 1-2 hours in the chosen gallery to provide students enough time
to frame the problems they will take back to the classroom.
Resources needed
Teachers
Clipboard, notebook, camera
Students
Prepared question grids, pens, cameras, clipboards
Objectives:
1. Each student is to construct one question for each section of the Question grid
in response to his or her experience.
2. They (or the teacher) will take a picture of the particular observation or item
that triggered each question.
Process:
1. In pairs, students construct 2 CLOSED questions – one OBSERVATION and
one RESEARCH question. Remind students that the Observation question
should be able to be answered directly from observation of the information in
the Gallery.
2. Each student should construct one SPECULATIVE QUESTION.
3. In groups of 3-4, students move through the exhibits and construct a series of
PHILOSOPHICAL questions.
Back in the classroom
Individual students prepare four PowerPoint slides with photos of the stimulus to each
of the questions formulated for each part of the QUESTION GRID.
The following activities could be set for all students, or different groups could take on
activities for a specific part of the question grid.
1.
Powers of observation
1. Teacher collates all QUIZ questions and copies them to a new slide for
each student.
2. Teacher tests class on their powers of observation.
3. Facilitate a Community of Inquiry discussion on the idea that knowledge
is gained through our senses. Students challenge notions of
observation, for example, how reliable are our observations or our
memories of our observations?
2.
Finding answers
1. Students visit some or all of their peers‟ PowerPoint presentations.
2. They propose Methods for answering the RESEARCH questions on a
new slide.
3. They consider: „How could they find out the answer to this question‟?
4. The original questioner evaluates these proposals and records their
response on this third slide.
5. The questioner can implement, test and reflect on the methods if
resources and time allows.
6. Conclude with a community of inquiry discussion of the idea of
“knowledge”.
Melbourne Museum Philosophy Guides – Middle Years
Page 12
3.
What if…?
1. Individual students write a poem or story in response to their
SPECULATIVE question & paste this into their PowerPoint presentation
as a fourth slide.
2. Students read their texts out loud, and categorise the various genres
e.g. fantasy, science fiction etc
3. Invite students to create questions in response to the readings.
4. Hold a Community of Inquiry discussion about some or several of these
questions.
4.
Philosophical Themes
1. Teacher collects all philosophical questions students have recorded.
2. Students sort questions into themes, e.g. the relationship between mind
and brain, and mental health and illness etc.
3. Students decide which theme to discuss. They then negotiate which of
the relevant questions should be addressed first.
4. Commence Community of Inquiry dialogue.
For large groups:
1. Ask individual students to group themselves according to the theme
they wish to explore.
2. The group brainstorms some possible answers to their cluster of
questions.
3. Each group then has a turn to be in the centre of a fish bowl to evaluate
their ideas and arguments. Remaining students observe the processes
used by the performing group and provide feedback.
4. Swap roles.
References
Museum Victoria Education website
www.museumvictoria/MelbourneMuseum/Education
For information and further teaching and learning
Victoria Ministry of Education VELS Standards
http://vels.vcaa.vic.edu.au/downloads/vels_standards
Cam, Phil 2006 20 Thinking Tools1 ACER
Museum Victoria Community of Inquiry
http://museumvictoria.com.au/Education/Community-of-Inquiry/
Victorian Association for Philosophy in Schools
www.vaps.vic.edu.au
Melbourne Museum Philosophy Guides – Middle Years
Page 13
Before visiting Forest Gallery
Students will get most out of their visit to Forest Gallery if they have already
been introduced to some of the basic concepts. Before their visit, the teacher
can assist students to „tune in‟ to topic-relevant questions before they go on a
philosophy trail at the museum. The Question Grid example below is one way
to prepare students.
Teaching and learning materials provided by the Museum on the education
website can help prepare students. The Resources linked to the “Education
Programs” are particularly useful. See:
www.museumvictoria/MelbourneMuseum/Education
If teachers are planning for group discussion at the Museum, they should
consider finding appropriate quiet places on the lower ground or ground floor
before the visit.
Make sure students have blank Question Grid templates. Students must
generate their own questions for each part of the question grid.
Organise student groupings.
Note: Quiz questions should be answerable from direct observation in the exhibits.
Question grid example
CLOSED
QUIZ QUESTION
RESEARCH QUESTION
How many seasons did the Indigenous
people of Australia identify?
Why do we say there are four seasons?
Research skills
Observation skills
SPECULATIVE QUESTION
PHILOSOPHICAL QUESTION
What would it be like if there was no
pattern to seasonal change?
What is a season?
Imaginative skills
Philosophical skills
OPEN
Melbourne Museum Philosophy Guides – Middle Years
Page 14
At the Forest Gallery
Time needed: Allow 1-2 hours in the chosen gallery to provide students enough time
to frame the problems they will take back to the classroom.
Resources needed
Teachers
Clipboard, notebook, camera
Students
Prepared question grids, pens, cameras, clipboards
Objectives:
1. Each student is to construct one question for each section of the Question grid
in response to his or her experience.
2. They (or the teacher) will take a picture of the particular observation or item
that triggered each question.
Process:
4. In pairs, students construct 2 CLOSED questions – one OBSERVATION and
one RESEARCH question. Remind students that the Observation question
should be able to be answered directly from observation of the information in
the Gallery.
5. Each student should construct one SPECULATIVE QUESTION.
6. In groups of 3-4, students move through the exhibits and construct a series of
PHILOSOPHICAL questions.
Back in the classroom
Individual students prepare four PowerPoint slides with photos of the stimulus to each
of the questions formulated for each part of the QUESTION GRID.
The following activities could be set for all students, or different groups could take on
activities for a specific part of the question grid.
1.
Powers of observation
1. Teacher collates all QUIZ questions and copies them to a new slide for
each student.
2. Teacher tests class on their powers of observation.
3. Facilitate a Community of Inquiry discussion on the idea that knowledge
is gained through our senses. Students challenge notions of
observation, for example, how reliable are our observations or our
memories of our observations?
2.
Finding answers
1. Students visit some or all of their peers‟ PowerPoint presentations.
2. They propose Methods for answering the RESEARCH questions on a
new slide.
3. They consider: „How could they find out the answer to this question‟?
4. The original questioner evaluates these proposals and records their
response on this third slide.
5. The questioner can implement, test and reflect on the methods if
resources and time allows.
6. Conclude with a community of inquiry discussion of the idea of
“knowledge”.
Melbourne Museum Philosophy Guides – Middle Years
Page 15
3.
What if…?
1. Individual students write a poem or story in response to their
SPECULATIVE question & paste this into their PowerPoint presentation
as a fourth slide.
2. Students read their texts out loud, and categorise the various genres
e.g. fantasy, science fiction etc
3. Invite students to create questions in response to the readings.
4. Hold a Community of Inquiry discussion of some or several of these
questions.
4.
Philosophical Themes
1. Teacher collects all philosophical questions students have recorded.
2. Students sort questions into themes, e.g. the relationship between mind
and brain, and mental health and illness etc.
3. Students decide which theme to discuss. They then negotiate which of
the relevant questions should be addressed first.
4. Commence Community of Inquiry dialogue.
For large groups:
1. Ask individual students to group themselves according to the theme
they wish to explore.
2. The group brainstorms some possible answers to their cluster of
questions.
3. Each group then has a turn to be in the centre of a fish bowl to evaluate
their ideas and arguments. Remaining students observe the processes
used by the performing group and provide feedback.
4. Swap roles.
References
Museum Victoria Education website
www.museumvictoria/MelbourneMuseum/Education
For information and further teaching and learning
VELS Standards
http://vels.vcaa.vic.edu.au/
Cam, Phil 2006 20 Thinking Tools1 ACER
Museum Victoria Community of Inquiry
http://museumvictoria.com.au/Education/Community-of-Inquiry/
Victorian Association for Philosophy in Schools
www.vaps.vic.edu.au
Melbourne Museum Philosophy Guides – Middle Years
Page 16
Before visiting Melbourne Gallery
Students will get most out of their visit to Melbourne Gallery if they have
already been introduced to some of the basic concepts. Before their visit, the
teacher can assist students to „tune in‟ to topic-relevant questions before they
go on a philosophy trail at the museum. The Question Grid example below is
one way to prepare students.
Teaching and learning materials provided by the Museum on the education
website can help prepare students. The Resources linked to the “Education
Programs” are particularly useful. See:
www.museumvictoria/MelbourneMuseum/Education
If teachers are planning for group discussion at the Museum, they can book
one of the Museum‟s conference rooms before the visit.
Make sure students have blank Question Grid templates. Students must
generate their own questions for each part of the question grid.
Organise student groupings.
Note: Quiz questions should be answerable from direct observation in the exhibits.
Question grid example
CLOSED
QUIZ QUESTION
RESEARCH QUESTION
Who planned the city of Melbourne?
What design principles governed the
planning of the city of Melbourne?
Observation skills
Research skills
SPECULATIVE QUESTION
PHILOSOPHICAL QUESTION
How would you have designed the city of
Melbourne in the 1830s?
What makes a city a good city?
Imaginative skills
Philosophical skills
OPEN
Melbourne Museum Philosophy Guides – Middle Years
Page 17
At the Melbourne Gallery
Time needed: Allow 1-2 hours in the chosen gallery to provide students enough time
to frame the problems they will take back to the classroom.
Resources needed
Teachers
Clipboard, notebook, camera
Students
Prepared question grids, pens, cameras, clipboards
Objectives:
1. Each student constructs one question for each part of the Question grid in
response to his/her experience.
2. They (or the teacher) take a picture of each object or event that triggered the
questions.
Process:
1. In pairs, students construct TWO CLOSED questions – one OBSERVATION
and one RESEARCH question. Remind students that the Observation question
should be able to be answered directly from observation of the information in
the Gallery.
2. Each student should construct ONE SPECULATIVE QUESTION.
3. In groups of 3-4, students move through the exhibits and construct a series of
PHILOSOPHICAL questions.
Back in the classroom
Individual students prepare four PowerPoint slides, each with photos of the stimulus to
each of the questions formulated for each part of the QUESTION GRID. The following
activities could be set for all students, or different groups could take on activities for a
specific part of the question grid.
1.
Powers of observation
1. Teacher collates all QUIZ questions and copies them to a new slide for
each student.
2. Teacher tests class on their powers of observation.
3. Facilitate a Community of Inquiry discussion on the idea that knowledge
is gained through our senses. Students challenge notions of
observation, for example, how reliable are our observations or our
memories of our observations?
2.
Finding answers
1. Students visit some or all of their peers‟ PowerPoint presentations.
2. They propose Methods for answering the RESEARCH questions on a
new slide.
3. They consider: „How could they find out the answer to this question‟?
4. The original questioner evaluates these proposals and records their
response on this third slide.
5. The questioner can implement, test and reflect on the methods if
resources and time allows.
6. Conclude with a community of inquiry discussion of the idea of
Melbourne Museum Philosophy Guides – Middle Years
Page 18
“knowledge”.
3.
What if…?
1. Individual students write a poem or story in response to their
SPECULATIVE question & paste this into their PowerPoint presentation
as a fourth slide.
2. Students read their texts out loud, and categorise the various genres e.g.
fantasy, science fiction etc
3. Invite students to create questions in response to the readings.
4. Hold a Community of Inquiry discussion of some or several of these
questions.
4.
Philosophical Themes
1. Teacher collects all philosophical questions students have recorded.
2. Students sort questions into themes, e.g. the relationship between mind
and brain, and mental health and illness etc.
3. Students decide which theme to discuss. They then negotiate which of
the relevant questions should be addressed first.
4. Commence Community of Inquiry dialogue.
For large groups:
1. Ask individual students to group themselves according to the theme
they wish to explore.
2. The group brainstorms some possible answers to their cluster of
questions.
3. Each group then has a turn to be in the centre of a fish bowl to evaluate
their ideas and arguments. Remaining students observe the processes
used by the performing group and provide feedback.
4. Swap roles.
References
Museum Victoria Education website
www.museumvictoria/MelbourneMuseum/Education
For information and further teaching and learning
Victoria Ministry of Education VELS Standards
http://vels.vcaa.vic.edu.au/downloads/vels_standards
Cam, Phil 2006 20 Thinking Tools1 ACER
Museum Victoria Community of Inquiry
http://museumvictoria.com.au/Education/Community-of-Inquiry/
Victorian Association for Philosophy in Schools
www.vaps.vic.edu.au
Melbourne Museum Philosophy Guides – Middle Years
Page 19