Theory: The Developmental Stages of Inquiry

         After graduating from York University’s education department in June of 2014, I was faced with the challenge that many teachers are currently dealing with – finding a job. Very fortunately for me I was able to secure a private teaching position with a wonderful family, educating their one three-year-old daughter. She had just turned three when I started working with her in September and I learned very quickly that my vast experiences with kindergarten aged children (4-6yrs) was not going to do me a whole lot of good teaching a just turned three-year-old.

         While the learning curve for me was steep, I was able eventually figure out how this little one learns best and match her interests to the educational content I wanted to cover. One of my goals was to base our daily learning off off of a curriculum that was co-created and based mostly on inquiry.

         Having taken my Kindergarten AQ - Part 1 in the summer, I believed I had a very solid understanding of inquiry and play-based learning.  However, while I was able to pick out topics she was interested in and create engaging provocations based on these ideas, I felt that the inquires never really went anywhere. My student could tell me what she saw and sometimes thought about the materials and resources provided, but creating meaningful, “wonders” (questions) wasn’t happening naturally.

After consulting my mother-in-law who is a long time Early Childhood Educator she enlightened me to the fact that developmentally my student may not be ready for these types of concepts. An idea so simple but extremely frustrating at the same time.

If inquiry is supposed to be the most accessible, user-friendly method of education, why can’t my student learn from these types of activities and experiences?

For months we followed her interests from: bugs and horses to currently fashion and dresses. While she was able to sustain interest in these topics for extended periods of time (2+ hours some days for an extended period of 3 months) the typical model of inquiry: creating, researching and answering questions never surfaced. Often when posed with a questions or wonders she would reply with an “I don’t know" response.

So when do we start doing inquiry with our kids? Is three too young? Are they getting anything out of following a personal interests, or are themes that expose them to a wider assortment of topics better for this age group?

After speaking with various educators and consulting a variety of articles on constructivism and inquiry-based learning, I have created the following theory: The Developmental Stages of Inquiry.

I believe that all inquiry begins with the interest of the child. It is up to the child to develop an interest and in some way communicate that interest to an educator (parent, ECE, OCT). 

	Stage of Inquiry Development	Those Involved	Specifics of Stage	Example
1		Student	- At all stages of inquiry the interest comes from the students - It is up to the student to recognize and communicate this interest in some form that the available educators (parents, ECE, OCT) can understand.	-Student has an interest in dresses and fashion
2		Student Communicates & Teacher Listens	- Student communicates interest to educators in some form - Student’s interest in topic is prolonged (interest in communicated to educators over several days/weeks/months) - Child repeats certain types of play and/or project work that relate back to topic.	- Student begins making dresses for dolls out of paper - Student vocalizes interest in her own clothing (specifically dresses) - Student draws figures wearing different dresses and talking about her preferences in colour and design - Student interested in conversations surrounding: what constitutes a fancy dress and if boys are allowed to wear dresses

Once an interest in a topic is expressed it is up to the educator to use one of the following models to support the child’s interest at the level they are developmentally ready for. I have divided these models into three categories: Supported Exploration of Interest, Inquiry and Independent Inquiry. I have explored these ideas to cover the ages of about 3 years of age and up. However, I do recognize that exploration of children's individual interests can happen much earlier in their educational journey.

	Stage of Inquiry Development	Those Involved	Specifics of Stage	Example
3	Exploration of Interest with Support from Teacher	Student Explores and Responds to Materials and Experiences Provided by the Teacher	- Process is more about the exploration of a given topic - Questioning is mostly adult lead – Students typically respond orally - Student is capable of forming some “what” questions with the support of educator - Student is not yet interested in developing deeper questions to be researched and answered but is generally interested in talking about information presented to them (through read alouds, provocations, projects, fieldtrips, etc.)	- Student is exposed to information that will deepen their understanding of the topic - Student will be given opportunities to develop skills that will enhance their experience with the given topic - Example: student interested in drawing figures wearing dresses is taught about the design process (sketching to garment construction), fabrics, sewing, how to use a glue gun, etc.

This is the developmental stage of inquiry that my student is currently at. She will design and construct dresses for her dolls everyday, read book after book about clothing and talk to me about what a fancy dress is over and over. While she is clearly interested in this topic I would hesitate to call it an inquiry. She does not have any deep burning questions about dresses that she is trying to find the answers for. She is however, taking full advantage of every opportunity I provide her to learn about fabric, sewing, fashion and art. 

The following categories of my theory of the Developmental Stages of Inquiry encompass ages from around Kindergarten up to the highest levels of education. Of course every student develops at their own pace, but after the Exploration of Interest stage has been mastered the following are natural extensions of inquiry based learning. 

	Stage of Inquiry Development	Those Involved	Specifics of Stage	Example
4	Inquiry	Student and Teacher	- Students are capable of forming I wonder questions that go beyond simple “who” and “what” themes - Students investigate provocations set up by teacher to further interest and understanding - Students begin to express their interests and questioning through: conversations, writing, drawing, investigations and experiments - Students are actively involved in discoveries and meaning making	- Student is asking more detailed questions about dress construction or ideas about gender and clothing choices - They are interested in actively seeking out answers to their own questions - Student works with teacher to deepen understanding of questions and topic.
5	Independent Inquiry	Student	- Student is able to form questions about topic of interest without the direct support of classroom educator. - Student understands possible ways to obtain information that will answer their questions (internet, experiment, books, etc.) - Students use teachers as resources to extend and deepen their thinking about the given topic - Student is able to find answers to questions largely on their own	- Student’s interest in dresses provokes questions that go beyond “what” and “who” - Student uses known research strategies and classroom resources to expand on and make thinking visible. - Student answers own questions about dress topic, typically resulting in the completion of some sort of project, which is then shared with teachers and peers.

So does that mean that I should stop trying to do inquiry with a three year old? Maybe three is too young?

Absolutely not! While my student is not yet ready for the typical inquiry model it doesn't mean that she is not gathering extremely useful skills by exploring her interest to its fullest. Throughout our past exploration of her interests she has learned to draw what she sees, seek out information in fiction and non-fiction texts and gather resources (texts and photographs) to help explain her thinking orally. In our current inquiry on fashion she has learned about the design process (making a plan on paper and following through to the construction of a garment), sewing fabric together, how to use a glue gun, how to sew on buttons, make lists and go shopping for fabric, pattern making, the list goes on and on.

If i've learned anything from my experiences in the past six months working with this amazing student, it's that it is never too early to explore topics that your students love. Use their passions as a way to teach them solid skills such as: orally explaining their thinking, how to plan, build and draw. While three year olds might not be ready to "do inquiry" it is never to early to learn how explore topics of interest and explain your thinking. 

What do you think? Is three years old too young for inquiry? Are JK and SK learners ready for inquiry just because they come into school at a certain age?

Some Interesting Links to Explore:

- Three Year Old cognitive Development:

http://preschoolers.about.com/od/development/ss/Your-3-Year-Old-Development-And-Milestones_3.htm#step-heading

- Helping Children's Development of Inquiry Skills

http://prisci.net/ipse/papers/3%20IPSE%20Volume%201%20No%201%20Wynne%20Harlen%20p%205%20-%2019.pdf