Reflecting a belief that people’s beliefs and passions can inspire and sustain learning, connecting them to the wider word, Grade 5 students at ISP engage in the Personal Inquiry Project (PIP), which is an independent inquiry into concepts and topics which have been chosen by each student.
The purpose of the project is to celebrate and showcase the inquiry skills that students have learned throughout their time in Elementary School, explore and area of study that they are curious about and to engage in an independent inquiry over a sustained period of time.
When learning is passionate and personal it sparks motivation to create solutions, research, then take action and make a difference. Topics that students choose are hugely diverse and reflect what each individual student is passionate about. Topics in the most recent PIP, to name but a few, included; Sports and Careers, Technology and the Brain, Endangered Animals, Birdwatching, Refugees and the Homeless, Technology Helping the Future, Medicine, Chemistry and Allergies, and The Power of Sleep.
During the PIP project, students formulate questions that sustain a eight week inquiry, research topics using a variety of sources, write a research paper and present their findings to the ISP community (parents, faculty, staff and students from across the school) at the PIP Expo Event.
Many students will undertake further research and inquiry into their chosen passion outside of the PIP itself. Throughout the process students need to identify skills and behaviours that they feel are helping them to achieve their goals and ones that are more challenging. Students also work in teams with classmates who are passionate about similar or related topics and they support each other in their independent inquiries.
