The NSW Quality Teaching model is an encompassing framework that details the elements of quality classroom pedagogy. It has three dimensions that include intellectual quality, quality learning environment and significance; which are detailed below:
Intellectual quality refers to pedagogy focused on producing deep understanding of important, substantive concepts, skills and ideas. Such pedagogy treats knowledge as something that requires active construction and requires students to engage in higher-order thinking and to communicate substantively about what they are learning.
Quality learning environment refers to pedagogy that creates classrooms where students and teachers work productively in an environment clearly focused on learning. Such pedagogy sets high and explicit expectations, and develops positive relationships between teachers and students and among students.
Significance refers to pedagogy that helps make learning meaningful and important to students. Such pedagogy draws clear connections with students’ prior knowledge and identities, with contexts outside of the classroom, and with multiple ways of knowing or cultural perspectives.
(NSW Department of Education and Training, 2008)
When looking through the lens of the Quality Teaching model, it is evident that inquiry learning and project-based learning approaches are ideal in their ability to authentically fit within this Quality Teaching framework. Inquiry and project-based learning provides opportunities for students to gain deeper knowledge and understandings through meaningful and relevant tasks and activities. They allow teachers and also teacher librarians to become facilitators of learning as students take ownership and have a vested interest throughout the various stages of the inquiry process or project.
Reference
NSW Department of Education and Training. (2008). Quality teaching to support the NSW professional teaching standards. http://currentreforms.weebly.com/uploads/2/6/9/9/26999857/quality_teaching_to_support_the_nsw_professional_teaching_standards.pdf