Fostering Inquiry in Early Childhood: Analyzing Preservice Teachers' Use of Primary Sources to Foster Wonder

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Friday 9:45 am - Gold 1
  In Roundtable Session: Belonging from the Beginning: Intentional Policy, Practices, and Inquiry in Early Childhood Education

Abstract

This study draws on the Wonder-Full Education framework (Conijn et al., 2022) to examine how early childhood preservice teachers (PSTs) use primary sources to foster wonder, curiosity, and disciplinary thinking in K–2 classrooms. Analyzing lesson plans, video-recorded instruction, and reflective annotations from 17 PSTs in a southeastern U.S. teacher preparation program, the study explores how theoretically grounded strategies—such as acknowledging and modeling wonder, and creating enriched environments—are enacted. While participants employed various approaches, including See/Think/Wonder and embodied learning, they encountered challenges in sustaining child-led inquiry and balancing structure with spontaneity. Findings inform how teacher education can support PSTs in intentionally fostering wonder as a core pedagogical aim in developmentally appropriate, inquiry-rich early learning settings.

Authors

• Daria Smirnova, University of South Florida

• Anthony Woode-Eshun, University of South Florida

• Ilene R. Berson, University of South Florida

• Michael J. Berson, University of South Florida