‘Almost everything we do includes inquiry’: fostering inquiry-based teaching and learning with preschool teachers

ABSTRACT

Given the increased emphasis on science in early learning standards, two studies were conducted to investigate preschool teachers’ efficacy for teaching science and their inquiry-based teaching practices. Fifty-one teachers completed a survey of their efficacy for teaching science and understanding of inquiry methods. Teachers reported moderate confidence in their abilities, but only 25% of respondents indicated knowledge of most steps of the inquiry process. In a follow-up study, a small group of teachers participated in training sessions followed by in-depth interviews. Most teachers reported implementing the beginning steps of inquiry, such as observing and questioning, within an activity, but rarely reported next steps, such as making predictions and evaluating evidence. Participants identified lack of materials, scheduling, and time constraints as challenges to inquiry-based teaching. Findings highlight the need for professional development, emphasising the integrated, sequential, cyclic nature of the inquiry process to support preschoolers’ complex thinking and reasoning.

KEYWORDS:

• Preschool
• early childhood education
• inquiry
• science
• professional development
• teachers

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Heidi L. Hollingsworth (Ph.D.) is an Assistant Professor of Education and Program Coordinator for Early Childhood Education at Elon University. Her research interests include children's early math and science development, family-teacher partnerships in early childhood contexts, and personnel preparation, particularly preparation involving academic service-learning.

Maureen Vandermaas-Peeler (Ph.D.) is a Professor of Psychology and Director of the Center for Research on Global Engagement at Elon University. Her scholarly interests include children's learning in collaborative, authentic experiences; adult guidance of children's inquiry and discovery; socio-cultural and global contexts of learning; and undergraduate research mentoring. She directed the Honors Program at Elon University from 2008 to 2013, and is currently co-leading a research seminar on Excellence in Mentoring Undergraduate Research with the Center for Engaged Learning.

Additional information

Funding

Funding for this project was provided by Elon University with a faculty research grant to the second author.