Inquiry-Based Learning: Preparing Young Learners for the Demands of the 21st Century SUMMARY it is our responsibility to nurture and Learning begins with defend the threads of curiosity and the In this classroom early a sense of wonder wisps of wonder in order to best equip learners are challenged — a sudden spark that ignites a curious our youngest learners with the skills to explore a hands-on mind and propels it into action. to become the future problem-solvers, investigation in science. Children are born with this innate Using inquiry to inform researchers and critical thinkers of the the process, students are sense of wonder. They begin their lives 21st century. led through a carefully already demonstrating the skills of a developed and exciting scientist, observing and questioning the The learners of the 21st century are study on the life of environment in order to make sense of poised to join a workforce that requires worms. Across observa- tions, rich discussions, their place in the world. They totter to them to ask questions, problem-solve and nature journals, a and fro, experimenting, fumbling, won- and think critically, pursue investiga- multi-sensory experience dering and thereby creating their own tion and share and apply their findings unfolds in one urban understandings. Unfortunately, in this through multisensory lenses. Many of classroom. educational climate’s push toward stan- today’s jobs require workers to think dardization and a one-size-fits-all cur- outside of the box and problem-solve riculum, it is all too easy to lose sight of from different angles, always being the natural curiosity piping from young ready to construct and defend a new children. As early childhood educators, way of thinking. In order to provide Melissa Fine is a kindergarten teacher at Manhattan New School in New York City. She has been working in the New York City Department of Education as an early childhood teacher for six years. Fine is an ardent supporter of arts education and embeds art, drama and movement into all areas of curriculum. Lindsey Desmond is a kindergarten teacher at Manhattan New School in New York City, where she has been an early childhood educator for 11 years. She is passionate about validating and nurturing the child’s natural curiosity and sense of wonder. She continues to marvel in the discoveries young children happen upon as they engage with, and investigate, their own environment. Educator’s Voice n Volume VII n Page 2 Melissa Fine, United Federation of Teachers Lindsey Desmond, United Federation of Teachers Many of today’s Inquiry-Based Learning: jobs require Preparing Young Learners workers to the learners of today with the tools to Inquiry-Based Learning think outside participate fully in this challenging Our pedagogical method of choice is of the box and for the Demands of the workforce, the understandings of inquiry-based learning. This approach problem-solve teaching methodology in the classroom invites children to take center stage in 21st Century must be altered. their own learning. Children pose from different meaningful questions and are encour- Gone are the days of regurgitation of angles, always aged to solve problems by experiment- facts and figures or filling in bubbles on ing and evaluating possible solutions. being ready to an examination. John Dewey in Teachers guide children to apply this Education and Experience (1938) construct and newly constructed knowledge to broad- described this rote process of learning en, analyze, critique, and ultimately defend a new as “static,” referring to traditional edu- defend new hypotheses. The teacher’s cation as an “imposition from above way of thinking. role within this framework is that of a and from outside” (p. 16). Instead of facilitator, guiding learners to explore teachers filling young minds with iso- their questions and decide on a course lated skills and required subject matter, of action. Teachers pose carefully craft- Dewey advocated that children should ed, open-ended questions that allow be actively involved in their learning learners to deepen their thinking and and help co-construct knowledge that investigate further, rather than respond has both interest and meaning to them. with one correct or incorrect answer. In order to facilitate this progressive These open-ended questions are a pair- branch of learning, he maintained that ing of the teacher’s goals and learning the image of the role of the teacher objectives but also follow the lead of the should change from that of an “exter- children’s own thinking. Teachers nal boss or dictator” to that of a “leader actively listen and reflect upon the of group activities” (p. 45). It is essen- thoughts of children in order to provide tial that we take a cue from Dewey’s resources and provocations to extend research and begin to transform teach- the learning. They document the pro- ing and learning into two-way dia- cess of learning and make it visible to logues that prompt active participation others through such mediums as pho- for our 21st-century learners. tography, narratives, transcripts, videos, or audio recordings. continued on following page Educator’s Voice n Volume VIII n Page 3 Inquiry-Based Learning: Preparing Young Learners for the Demands of the 21st Century To channel The Benefits of comparison kindergarten group lack- Inquiry-Based Learning ing the inquiry component to the but- this level of Inquiry-based learning is a method of terfly study. Results showed that engagement in teaching and learning that extends learning outcomes were richer and the level of student engagement was higher the classroom, across content areas. Inquiry, as char- acterized by the National Science when teachers allowed students to fol- our youngest Education Standards (1996), refers to low the leads of their own questions students must the multifaceted process of gaining and engage in authentic exploration information through diverse levels of within the inquiry group. Students be actively present investigation. The standards compare were encouraged to make predictions, and instrumental in the inquiry process in the classroom to observe, investigate, and share their the activities and thinking processes of findings through discourse, drawings, their own learning. real-life scientists. Inquiry in both and book readings (Samarapungavan, realms requires all participants to make Mantzicopoulos & Patrick, 2008). observations, pose questions, actively Inquiry-based learning also enables engage in the research process and children to find their individual voice share their findings. In order to chan- (as opposed to that of their teacher) nel this level of engagement in the and critique their own thinking. classroom, our youngest students must Research conducted by Hamlin and be actively present and instrumental in Wisneski (2012) emphasized the pow- their own learning. This inquiry model erful learning that preschoolers echoes the constructivist theories of engaged in when simply responding to Freire, suggesting that children must an open-ended “what if” question be active participants in their learning, posed by their teachers (p. 82). as opposed to vacant minds waiting to be filled with preordained information Conezio and French, designers of a (Freire, 1970). preschool science-based inquiry cur- riculum, also noticed a correlation From the preschool to university set- existed between inquiry and the ting, research points to growing evi- strengthening of literacy and language dence that inquiry-based learning in the classroom environment. When fosters problem-solving, critical-think- students were engaged in a rich dis- ing, and meaningful ways to co-con- course about their learning, both struct knowledge (Wells, 1992). receptive and expressive language skills Samarapungavan, Mantzicopoulos, were exercised (Conezio & French, and Patrick (2008) compared the 2002). A discourse between children learning outcomes from a kindergarten involves the ability to actively listen to guided butterfly inquiry with those of a others and take note of different Educator’s Voice n Volume VIII n Page 4 perspectives or opinions. Ellen Doris Sample facts from the classes included: in Doing What Scientists Do (2010) “Worms help trees.” emphasizes the importance of this “Worms eat in a compost.” exchange of information as children collaborate to deepen their knowledge “Worms eat mud sometimes.” and understandings. “I know about worm’s doo doo. Children examining This is soil.” worms during a nature walk to the park. “Worms can grow a part of their The Beginnings of body back if it gets cut.” A Worm Inquiry “Worms eat dirt.” In our urban public school on the “Worms only live underground.” Upper East Side of Manhattan, an inquiry process unfolded within a Both classes engaged in direct, worm and composting investigation hands-on exploration of a worm bin “Worms eat in done in collaboration with a kindergar- with Red Wiggler worms to allow the compost.” ten and first-grade classroom. Our children to further their observations classes began the year engaging in and begin to pose wonders. The weekly nature walks to a nearby park, children took part in setting up the accompanied by teachers and family habitat and spent time observing and volunteers. The children were tasked interacting with the worms. with collecting samples, sketching interesting findings, and jotting down “I know about worm ideas and observations in their nature Formative assessment interactive chart doo doo. This is soil.” journals. Through the course of several outings and rich discussions about the children’s questions and observations, we noticed a propelling interest sur- rounding worms and the mystery of their life underground. We gathered the children’s initial understandings about worms through conversations, drawings, and written facts. This dialogue served as a forma- tive assessment of the children’s origi- nal understandings about worms. continued on following page Educator’s Voice n Volume VIII n Page 5 Inquiry-Based Learning: Preparing Young Learners for the Demands of the 21st Century During these observation times, we filled our notebooks with the thoughts and questions of the children.