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In 1965, American conservationist Rachel Carson published, The sense of wonder, an account of her adventures with her young nephew, Roger, as they explored the nature reserves in Maine, United States. In her book, she wrote, ‘A child’s world is fresh and new and beautiful, full of wonder and excitement. It is our misfortune that for most of us that clear-eyed vision that true instinct for what is beautiful and awe-inspiring, is dimmed and even lost before we reach adulthood.’
This week, spend a minute on inquiry-based learning and explore the effects wonder can have on children’s learning and development.
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1. What is inquiry-based learning?
Consider these questions:
- When you watch children play, what are the things that you respond to? What touches you?
- When you don’t know the answer to a child’s question, what do you do? What steps do you take? Why?
Inquiry-based learning allows children to develop skills that enable them to question, investigate and report their findings to their peers.
Early years’ education at Scotch Oakburn College in Launceston, Tasmania, is inspired by the Reggio Emilia Education Project and strongly fosters inquiry-based learning in its educational approach. Read about its approach to inquiry-based learning.
Explore more with Neville Dwyer in the online learning module, Supporting child-led inquiry.
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2. How do we facilitate inquiry-based learning?
In a video interview recorded for ECA, early childhood consultant Ann Pelo challenges us to change our outlook and our practices. She urges us to:
- 'fall into moments’ with children and to ‘join our attention’ to theirs and what they are doing
- put down the pen and pad to listen more deeply to what children are saying
- look at the world with a child’s eyes, so that everything is new
- be curious and open to what is possible for a child.
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3. Challenges for inquiry-based learning
The challenges for adults include to be quiet, to be immersed in the child's world, to see things from the child’s perspective and to make meaning from it. Sometimes we smother children, and ourselves, with information. Even when we find an answer, we can ask, ‘Was it enough?’ or ‘Should we look for more?’
Furthermore, sometimes it can be easy to jump in at every instance in children’s play and help children to ‘unpack’ the learning, asking questions such as, ‘What colour is that?’ or, ‘How many can you see?’ If we are to let children lead and build their skills of inquiry, creativity and other higher-order thinking that we know they will need, we have to resist making every moment a teachable one.
Learn more about inquiry-based learning with Little Scientists in the new professional learning module, STEM inquiry: co-constructed environments for curious minds.
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4. Sharing wonder
Finally, in her work, Carson noted, ‘If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder without any such gift from the fairies, he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement and mystery of the world we live in’ (pg. 55).
Explore these resources on inquiry-based learning:
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References: Carson, R. (1965). The sense of wonder. New York: Harper & Row.
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