Scientific Inquiry and Curiosity

How to Use Scientific Inquiry to Encourage their Curiosity

Whether you are going for a walk in your neighborhood, in a city or even a forest, there are opportunities to discover everywhere.

You can bring in elements from the outdoors into the classroom, whether it is something you have found or a child in your class has found. In the past we have brought in a deer skull (disinfected) or a lichen covered branch.

Following these steps has helped me in creating actionable steps to strengthening their sense of curiosity:

1. Notice

Ask them to share what they notice. What colors, lines or markings do they see? What is its size? Is there anything else interesting that they are observing?

Tool tip: Use a magnifying lens to elevate the noticing experience!

2. Wonder

Encourage them to wonder aloud. You can model for them first to support this step.

"I wonder why it's this color?"

"I wonder what the story of this tree is? How old is it? I wonder how we can tell how old a tree is?"

Document their questions by writing them down. I love to use the Notes app to quickly jot down their questions.

3. Theorize

What is their theory about it? Why is it the color it is? What does that tell us about it?

A theory is an idea about why something is the way it is.

We are helping them come up with an answer to the questions they have about what they are observing.

Invite them to create their own "Theory Drawings".

Can they illustrate their theory? If they are drawing their theory of why leaves change colors, what elements and details can they include in their drawing to help illustrate their theory?

4. Connect and Research

Can they connect their observations or wonderings to something they have experienced in the past?

There are so many ways we can research something!

• Library: Go to your local library and request non-fiction informational books related to that topic. I would e-mail our school librarian and share what we were studying, and she would deliver a stack of books related to that topic!

• Google Lens for a Teachable Moment: If it an insect they want to know about right in that very moment, we can create a teachable moment by using google lens! Teachable moments are empowering, exciting, and they can help solidify the newly acquired knowledge into their long term memory. Have them compare and contrast the photo with what they see from the search.

• YouTube: Create a YouTube search by including key words about what you are studying. There are often universities and other scientific organizations that post quality and helpful information on a variety of topics. It can help for researching more niche topics, like learning about Spittle Bugs, a topic we we explored and studied last year after seeing small bubbles on plants on the school grounds.

• Local Experts: Are there scientists you know of that can help answer your questions? Reach out to your local community (neighborhood listserv or families from your class) to see if they know of entomologists, biologists or geologists that can help answer children's questions!

5. Share the New Knowledge!

Do they have a science journal? Can they create drawings of what they have now learned with beautiful markers? Can it be a drawing that has labels?

Can they create a watercolor painting that illustrates their newly acquired knowledge or understanding about what they are studying?

Depending on where they are, you can help them write about what they now know about this topic!