1. RE network meeting for subject leaders
Creating big questions for enquiry based learning
Why and how?

2. Why enquiry based learning in RE?
Discuss Diamond 9

3. What is our core purpose when teaching RE?
To enable our children to be religiously literate.

4. ASKING THE BIG QUESTIONS
What stops us sometimes from asking the big questions?
Potential issues/barriers to asking the big questions?
Strengths of asking the big questions?
Discuss

5. What do we mean by theology?
‘Reasoning and discussion concerning the Deity.’ (Augustine) ‘Discourse on God.’ (Plato) ‘Systematic and rational study of concepts of God and of the nature of religious truths.’ (Wikipedia) ‘The study of God. His nature, His will and how Christians apply this to themselves.’ (Slick)

6. What do we mean by theological enquiry?
Going beyond the mere collecting of information about religion and belief.
Enabling children and young people to encounter and wrestle with fundamental questions about God.
Engaging children and young people with the core beliefs and ideas in the Christian faith e.g salvation, incarnation, creation
Involving children and young people in exploring inner meanings and interpretations of texts.

7. The art of theological enquiry
Creating the big question which focuses on theology.
Enquire – creating further questions – always ask ‘is this question going to help us answer our big question?’
Exploring/investigating the concept in depth. How deep can we go?
Evaluate and draw conclusions. Focus here should be on the impact of the belief or practice on the religious or belief community being studied.
Ensure the pupils reflect and express an understanding of the enquiry question. It should be focused on knowledge and understanding, not values or SMSC development!!

8. Trigger words linked to Bloom’s taxonomy
Level
Trigger words
Knowledge
What, who, when, name, list, define, show identify
Comprehension
Compare, distinguish, illustrate, tell, predict, explain
Application
Apply, select, solve, choose, consider, connect, plan
Analyse
Analyse, classify, relate, support, compare/contrast
Synthesis
Propose, formulate, draw together, invent
Evaluation
Judge, measure, defend, evaluate, decide, assess

9. Creating the big question for enquiry
What makes a big question and theological one? Group activity

10. Creating the big question: Things to consider:
Is it a theological question?
Does the question have a religious concept at the heart of it?
Will the question lead to a study of religion?
Will it lead to exploring what ultimate meaning and truth is?
Will it lead to a deeper understanding of self and others in relation to religion and belief?
Is the question engaging, broad and will it lead to deep thinking?
Who has ownership of the question- ie do the learners own it?

11. Ways to create the big question
A stimulus is required:
Using Godly play
Using P4C
Using a visit – a sense of place
Using sacred texts
Using artefacts
Using visualisation to spark the imagination
Using music
Using art or sculpture

12. What possible big questions could be asked from the stimulus?
Table 1 and 2: EYFS and Year 1 - The Nativity scene Table 3: Year 2 - Set of objects linked to Christmas Table 4: Year 3 - The wise men Table 5: Year 4 - Icon of the Trinity Table 6: Year 5 - Icon of Christ Table 7: Year 6 – advert for Christmas

13. From the big question, operational questions are developed to help drive the enquiry.
Big question: Is forgiveness always possible?
Concept: atonement
Examples of operational questions:
Which beliefs are central to Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur?
What happens during the ten days of repentance?
What happened in the Holocaust, and can something so terrible ever be forgiven?
Why is forgiveness important to Christians?
Why is atonement an important idea for Christians?
How is the death of Jesus an expression of forgiveness?
What does the Bible teach about forgiveness?
How do Christians and Jews work for peace and reconciliation?

14. Purpose of operational questions
They ensure that the knowledge and understanding you expect pupils to develop are central to the enquiry.
They ensure the focus of learning is clear, and you know where you are heading!
The questions the children raise in the next part of the enquiry can be used alongside these operational questions to ensure ownership.

15. What possible operational questions could be asked from your one big question?
Discuss

16. Strategies that can be used at the enquiry stage.
A stimulus is required:
Using Godly play approach
Using P4C
Using what we already know, and what we want to find out
Using sacred texts, images or film encouraging children to ask questions about it.
Ask children to put questions on post it notes, they categorise them. You can use your operational question to help sort them out into areas of learning.
Using artefacts
Using visualisation to spark the imagination
Using music
Using art or sculpture
Inviting a speaker in to launch the big question
Setting up an enquiry along the lines of ‘mantle of the expert’

17. Questions to always ask yourself…
Do I know where the learning is going?
What knowledge and understanding would I expect to see in the enquiry I am currently teaching?
What skills would I hope for the pupils to develop and be able to use with efficiency?
Can I create outcomes that will enable me to assess pupils according to their ability to express their knowledge and understanding of the concept. Are they able to answer the big question from the perspective of the faith and belief tradition that they have encountered?

18. Final food for thought as a leader of RE
Is my school a ‘questioning school?’
Does talk permeate teaching and learning in RE?
What types of questions and how many questions do teachers typically ask in my teaching?
Who is in control of the questions we explore in the learning process?
Do the questions the teachers ask, target higher order thinking and raise the cognitive sakes?
Are the questions teachers ask and the children generate in RE theological, and do they lead to deep thinking and enquiry?

19. My next steps
This week……… This half term……. When I next monitor and evaluate the subject…………….