By Zachary Pedersen

Carol Stephenson, the Kindergarten teacher at the Dr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study Lab School, recently invited us into her classroom to find out how she begins the process of inquiry at the start of the school year. She and her class are embarking on a study of “Mini Beasts,” which includes arachnids, insects, worms, millipedes, centipedes, snails and other creatures.

In this video, Carol shares her thinking on the following topics:

• The role of teacher in inquiry-based learning
• Collecting initial understandings and questions
• Knowledge building discussions
• Documenting and displaying student work
• Making individual and collective growth of understanding visible new understanding.

Carol was introduced to the term “Mini Beasts” in India while she was involved in a professional development youth placement program. Carol was interviewed by Zachary Pedersen, a researcher with The Robertson Program for Inquiry-based Teaching in Mathematics and Science. The Robertson Program is also located at the Dr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study, which is part of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto.