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Awakening the Questions Within:
Inquiry research in an elementary classroom
Beverly Falk and Linda Margolin
Children are naturally full of questions. "Why is the sky blue?" "What happens to the sun at night?" "Where do butterflies go in the rain?" They continually and actively inquire and explore. But something happens to these questions as they get older and school begins. The wonder of the questions from their early years is replaced by questions from others, often presented in isolation from their experiences or understanding.
Questions in schools frequently focus on facts that easily fade away with time. "How do you spell_____? "What is the formula for_______?" "What is the definition of______?" These are the types of questions often found on the standardized tests that dominate classrooms and limit opportunities for children to ask personally meaningful questions. As a result, by the time children enter the fourth or fifth grade their natural inquisitiveness almost seems to disappear. They focus on questions emphasizing "yes" or "no" responses. They seem hesitant to ask questions that lead to deeper thinking.
In real life, however, the pursuit of personally important questions is what leads to new discoveries, creations, or realizations (Arnold, 1995; Gardner, 1998). Many educators have called for schools to serve as better preparation for this reality: John Dewey wrote of the need for education to begin with "learners' passions and questions" (1963, p. 3); Jean Piaget of how education should nurture citizens who are "capable of doing new things, not simply repeating what others have done" (in Greene, 1978, p. 80); Eleanor Duckworth (1987) of how education should be an opportunity for the "having of wonderful ideas"; Paolo Freire (1970) of how education should be instrumental in widening horizons, opening perspectives, discovering possibilities, and overcoming obstacles.
In the midst of the unprecedented changes and complexities of our 21st century life, now, more than ever, we need schools to produce avid and thoughtful questioners. We need teaching to be reconfigured to help students tap into their own questions, generate new ideas, pursue answers, and put their knowledge to use. To do this, we must find ways to reawaken and sustain the excitement of learning that is so prevalent in the early childhood years.
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Inquiry research in an elementary classroom