Public education is often taken for granted. With increasing demands on teachers and changing expectations, it can be easy to lose sight of the important role educators play in shaping tomorrow’s democratic citizens and leaders. How can we refocus?

Student-led local investigations

All humans are natural investigators, yet traditional schooling tends to un-train our natural instincts for fully examining our own questions. Local investigations engage students’ natural investigatory instincts while developing their knowledge of core academic content.

In making connections between academic subjects and the world around them, they learn critical thinking skills. Student-led inquiries are a great place for teachers to start empowering their pupils.

How can you encourage a more investigative mindset? We’ve put together a guidebook on how local investigations drive democratic and global learning. Download it to get:

• Methods for guiding effective local investigations with students.
• Examples of simple questions that can lead to great local investigations.
• Helpful dos and don’ts for getting started.