Encouraging Curiosity

“A proud smile stretches across Ava’s face as she pushes her chair across our classroom, creating a scraping noise while maneuvering around furniture and children. As the other toddlers take notice, they leave their toys, following behind with their own chairs and rounds of laughter. At the start of the school year my class of 15- to 19-month-olds took great pride in moving and pushing our child-sized chairs around the classroom. These standard plastic chairs with metal legs become so much more than a place to sit, taking on roles of trains, buses, tunnels and doll beds. In previous years, other toddlers in our program used them for pushing but not with as much determination as this current group. So, I asked myself, ‘What is it about these chairs that draws my toddlers to them? What is happening as they push?’

As teachers it is our role to facilitate children’s natural curiosities. Children are born learners; when they are passionate about, and in control of, the learning process, they feel value in making new discoveries…By making close observations for documentation and reflection we provide materials and rich experiences to feed children’s curiosities and make additional discoveries. At the start of each school year, teachers [in my program] are asked to select an area or topic of interest in their classroom to study. This simple act of pushing a chair would become the basis of my investigation for the year…”

So begins an article by Candace Kastrup that has been used as the basis for one of the newest Exchange Reflections, called “Encouraging Curiosity in Toddlers.”  Kastrup’s descriptions of her role as a “teacher co-researcher” working with toddlers, could actually apply to work with infants, preschoolers or even elementary-aged students. The discussion questions and action steps in the Exchange Reflections encourage deep contemplation of the ways effective educators scaffold children’s natural inclinations to grow as curious, life-long leaners.

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