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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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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.

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The Element & Finding Your Element by Sir Ken Robinson

Two books written by Sir Ken Robinson and recommended by Kath Murdoch are: The Element which introduces readers to a new concept of self-fulfillment through the convergence of natural talents and personal passions and Finding Your Element which helps people find their own Element. 

**Finding Your Element: Sir Ken Robinson’s TED talk video

The Element is the point at which natural talent meets personal passion. When people arrive at the Element, they feel most themselves and most inspired and achieve at their highest levels. 

With a wry sense of humour, Ken Robinson looks at the conditions that enable us to find ourselves in the Element and those that stifle that possibility. 

Drawing on the stories of a wide range of people, including Paul McCartney, Matt Groening, Richard Branson, Arianna Huffington, and Bart Conner, he shows that age and occupation are no barrier and that this is the essential strategy for transform­ing education, business, and communities in the twenty-first century.

Sir Ken Robinson’s TED talk video and groundbreaking book, The Element, introduced readers to a new concept of self-fulfillment through the convergence of natural talents and personal passions. 

The Element has inspired readers all over the world and has created for Robinson an intensely devoted following. Now comes the long-awaited companion, the practical guide that helps people find their own Element. Among the questions that this new book answers are:

• How do I find out what my talents and passions are?

• What if I love something I’m not good at?

• What if I’m good at something I don’t love?

• What if I can’t make a living from my Element?

• How do I do help my children find their Element?

Finding Your Element comes at a critical time as concerns about the economy, education and the environment continue to grow. The need to connect to our personal talents and passions has never been greater.  As Robinson writes in his introduction, wherever you are, whatever you do, and no matter how old you are, if you’re searching for your Element, this book is for you.