Timetable
From Mentor Monday to Future Friday, a rhythm of inquiry, collaboration, adventure, deep work and enterprise.
The Agentic Entrepreneurship Inquiry Cycle
Not a rigid timetable. A responsive rhythm. Every stage is intentionally designed so learners experience both the security of structure and the autonomy of real choice, and a glowing Metacognitive Core of self-efficacy and reflection fuels every move a learner makes, from first wonder to launching a venture.
Wonder & Provoke
Mentor Monday
Connect and imagine.
Inquire & Collaborate
Team Tuesday
Collaborate and inquire.
Explore & Discover
Wild Wednesday
Explore and discover.
Deepen & Create
Thinking Thursday
Deepen and create.
Reflect & Launch
Future Friday
Reflect and contribute.
Every inquiry begins with carefully designed provocations and expert guidance. As confidence grows, children gradually take increasing ownership of the questions they ask, the investigations they pursue and the actions they choose to take. Families, educators, community partners and expert practitioners enrich the journey throughout, ensuring every inquiry remains both academically rigorous and deeply human.
One unit of inquiry = 6 to 8 weeks. Eight clear milestones. A cycle that loops back and forth, even within a single day, so learners revisit, refine, and go deeper. Every learner reaches Stage 08 · Enterprise to share their learning before the unit closes.
Grounded in the work of Kath Murdoch and H. Lynn Erickson, two of the most cited voices in inquiry-based and concept-based learning worldwide.
Stage 01 · Week 1
Wonder · Notice. Question. Imagine.
The cycle loops back and forth
A learner might revisit Tune In after Experiment, or move from Make back to Investigate. This looping can happen in a single day or across a whole unit. What matters is that by the end of each 6–8 week unit, every learner reaches Stage 08 · Enterprise to share their learning with the community.
Different learners · Different paces · Same inquiry
Same cycle, listed linearly for clarity.
Wonder
Notice. Question. Imagine.
Week 1
Tune In
Connect to prior knowledge & passions.
Week 1–2
Investigate
Research, interview, observe, gather.
Week 2–3
Experiment
Test, prototype, iterate, reflect.
Week 3–4
Make
Build, design, write, compose, code.
Week 4–5
Share
Exhibit, perform, publish, present.
Week 5–6
Act
Service, advocacy, real-world change.
Week 6–7
Enterprise
Execute. Launch. Make a venture of it.
Week 7–8
Children gradually move from supported inquiry towards increasing independence, ownership and leadership.
01
Teacher Designs
02
Shared Inquiry
03
Guided Choice
04
Child-Led Inquiry
05
Agency in Action
Hover or tap a node
The curriculum provides the destination. Our community shapes the journey.
The Programme of Inquiry defines the concepts every learner explores. The people within our learning community, children, families, educators and partners, bring those concepts to life through their questions, strengths, experiences and contributions.
No two years at ISI will ever be identical, because no two communities are ever the same.
The research behind the cycle
Kath Murdoch
Author, The Power of Inquiry (2015)
"Inquiry is a stance, not a strategy."
Murdoch's cycle, tune in, find out, sort out, go further, make conclusions, take action, is recursive. Returning to earlier stages isn't a detour; it's where the deepest thinking happens.
Why it matters for our children: they learn to think in cycles, not lines. They get comfortable revisiting ideas, refining them, and acting on what they discover.
H. Lynn Erickson
Co-author, Concept-Based Curriculum and Instruction for the Thinking Classroom
"Facts are the foundation. Concepts are the transfer."
Erickson's Structure of Knowledge shows learning becomes transferable only when facts and skills are synergistically linked to concepts and generalisations. Each cycle lifts thinking up the structure.
Why it matters for our children: they don't just complete a unit. They build durable, transferable understanding they carry into MYP, into enterprise, into life.
Sources
At a glance
Mentor Monday
Connect and imagine.
Set goals and establish purpose.
Team Tuesday
Collaborate and inquire.
Co-construct understanding.
Wild Wednesday
Explore and discover.
Learn in context.
Thinking Thursday
Deepen and create.
Apply what we know.
Future Friday
Reflect and contribute.
Act, celebrate and grow.
The learning garden
Our garden is a living classroom, kitchen beds, a sundial for tracking time and direction, and a guinea pig hut that teaches care, observation and responsibility.
Small groups lead their own inquiry, reading maps, observing shadows on the sundial, sketching plans, and documenting discoveries, in a calm, natural studio garden where direction, place and time are explored hands-on.
In depth
Tap a day to read more.
For families
A relaxed conversation with Nichola, before anything is decided. Ask about the studios, the daily rhythm, the fees, or what your child would find here.
Every enquiry is answered personally, usually within two working days.
How we measure our success
We can only learn when we are willing to take risks, and we can only take risks when we feel confident and known. That is why belonging and rigour are not opposites at ISI. Academic excellence is a key driving indicator of how we measure our success as a community.
Curiosity is what we light first. Our unique PPPP™ compass, Purpose, People, Place and Practice, is how we keep learning relevant, meaningful, significant and challenging for every child, so rigour is felt as wonder, and challenge becomes something children learn to meet with growing skill, stamina and confidence.
01
High expectations in literacy, numeracy and conceptual understanding for every child, assessed against international IB-aligned standards and tracked with evidence over time.
02
We begin with what a child can already do. Strengths-based teaching is linked to higher engagement, persistence and achievement, so we build from strength towards stretch.
03
Learning happens at the edge of what we know. Children who feel safe to be wrong attempt harder problems, and mistakes become information, not judgement.
04
Self-efficacy is one of the strongest predictors of achievement. We measure growth in what each child can do, and in how confidently they choose to keep learning.
Research · Bandura on self-efficacy · Hattie, Visible Learning · Seligman & positive education on strengths-based practice · Dweck on learning from mistakes
Our Mission
Three commitments
“We hold one standard above all others: that every child belongs, deeply, visibly, and before anything else is asked of them. Three studios, flexible ages, one question that guides every decision: does this genuinely serve the child, the family, and the wider community, over time?”
In partnership with DeMontaigne Life Design ↗