ABSTRACT
Teachers are always concerned to ensure children are intellectually challenged, make good progress in learning and do not waste their time at school. Progression implies both a sequence or series of steps, and development in a non-linear sense. In both senses used here progression also means allowing learning to follow its course. What does this mean: ‘follow its own course?’ It is not a recipe for ‘anything goes’ but rather a concern for responsiveness to the inner dynamics of each class, both as a collective body and as a group of distinct individuals. In philosophical dialogue the interests and concerns of each community of enquiry will determine its course and the degree to which the community is able to evolve as a reflective group. Success often depends on spontaneity in the sense of seizing that which is alive in discussion. Enquiry lessons need to remain responsive to pupil interest, local conditions and events.
