Curiouser & curiouser

Curiosity, or an eager desire to know, is the key to the joy of learning.

Curious children want to investigate and to explore - attitudes that bring benefits to children's learning across the Foundation Stage curriculum.

Children's curiosity about the world around them is evident from the day they are born. Babies quickly use all their senses to explore themselves and their surroundings in their efforts to make sense of the world. Long before they can talk they are clearly investigating, asking questions, solving problems and making choices as they play, eat and interact with others around them.

Early years practitioners have a responsibility to support and reinforce this innate curiosity to give children the confidence to develop their own theories about the world and how it works.

Children need opportunities to find out about themselves, significant people in their lives, their immediate environment and the natural and man-made world.

As children grow they are constantly adding to their store of knowledge about the world. Every new experience, wherever it takes place - indoors, outdoors, in the home or in the early years setting - presents a new learning opportunity.

In very young children, curiosity is largely impulsive, as they are attracted to new and interesting things. They express their curiosity through all their senses by asking 'What does it look like?', 'What does it feel like?' 'What does it sound, taste or smell like?'. As their curiosity develops they will demonstrate closer attention to detail and their questions will focus on seeking explanations.

By the time they reach the Foundation Stage, children's interest in the world around them and their desire to investigate will vary. Some will be naturally curious and may have been encouraged to be so from a very early age. Others may need more support and encouragement and need to feel they are given permission to take risks and try things out in a secure, supportive environment.

We would be making a mistake if we only judge a child's level of curiosity by the questions they ask. Curiosity can be expressed by facial expressions and stance, listening and watching intently, touching, smelling and tasting, looking at pictures and photographs, and using books.

Curiosity can be fostered through everyday activities, play and involvement in all six areas of learning. Successfully encouraging children to be curious and explore the world around them depends on the ethos, organisation and relationships within a setting.

Children should feel respected for the knowledge and understanding that they have about the world, and they must be free from the threat of being ignored or ridiculed.

To develop as self-confident learners, children need to feel secure in their approach to new experiences. They need to know that it is all right to ask questions, that their questions are important and that adults will take them seriously.

ADULT SUPPORT

Many children in the Foundation Stage have reached a point where they enjoy working independently but still occasionally need a little adult help. This can be a difficult situation to manage.

As a practitioner, you play a crucial role in supporting children's curiosity while remaining on hand for guidance. To do this you need to judge the moment for appropriate intervention in the children's discoveries by 'active listening'.

This means standing back and watching, listening to children's conversations and waiting for the cues which invite your participation. You need to maintain sensitivity to individual children's need for support, while knowing how to intervene in a way that does not inhibit their thoughts and actions.

There will, inevitably, be occasions when the children need to 'borrow' the skills, knowledge and expertise of adults. This brings us full circle back to the importance of recognising when and how to share your skills, knowledge and understanding with the children in a way that does not restrict their personal discoveries.

Some children will enjoy exploring and investigating on their own; others will prefer to be with a friend, an adult or part of a group. It is important to recognise the variety of learning styles and to provide opportunities that cater for all.

Reviewing your organisation of space, of how resources are made available to children, and how they are involved in the management of these resources will all support practitioners in designing an environment for curiosity and discovery.

TIME

As children become involved in their investigations, they will become more absorbed and concentrate for long periods of time. They may need, and want, to revisit some activities several times to develop, talk about and execute their ideas, and so consolidate their learning. It is important for practitioners to value time by keeping as flexible an approach as possible that will support curious children in a long-term exploration of things that interest them.

Valuing time for extended activities, and designing your classroom schedules accordingly, will maximise the learning opportunities you provide for the children.

In providing an environment for curiosity, practitioners must be aware that children need to be confident that they are not always under pressure to complete their explorations to a certain deadline imposed by adults or fixed routines. When, unavoidably, deadlines must be set, the children should be involved in agreeing these so they can understand their responsibilities.

ROLE MODEL

In a setting that encourages curiosity, investigation, awe and wonder, practitioners will be aware of the importance of acting as role models in all that the children do. By being curious yourselves, by thinking out loud, by saying 'I wonder why...?' and 'What would happen if...?' you are conveying important messages the children will pick up. By not 'knowing all the answers', but instead by being enthusiastic explorers alongside the children, you are playing a vital role in building their confidence as independent learners.

Not only is it important that adults ask good questions; you also need to encourage children to ask questions themselves (see box). You can do this best by:

* valuing and providing lots of opportunities for children to ask questions

* valuing the answers that they give

* modelling a questioning mind

* allowing children time to think and then respond

* listening to children's answers before asking the next question.

You may like to use a 'question box' or 'question display' to capture all the interesting questions that your curious children have asked, and the investigations and explorations that their questions have prompted and which have challenged their thinking.

Careful thinking lies behind children's ideas. Their theories may not always be built upon accepted adult reasoning, but they are valuable because they make sense to the children at the time. It is important that you trust the children to come up with good ideas and that you take these ideas seriously.

Talking with children about their ideas helps them to develop creative and critical thinking skills.

Placing conversations at the centre of your work with children celebrates their natural curiosity and wonder about the world and how it works.

THE RIGHT APPROACH

Children's curiosity is valued in different specialised approaches to early years education.

Reggio Emilia

When describing the philosophy underpinning the approach to early childhood in the Reggio Emilia early years settings, Loris Malaguzzi said, 'We want to be sure that the desires, interests, intelligences and the capacity for enjoying and seeking - which are a child's inborn resources - do not remain buried and unused.'

Steiner Waldorf

In the Steiner Waldorf approach to early years education, 'Teachers are conscious of being role models, and use imitation and example, rather than instruction and direction, as educational approaches. Children who are valued and not hurried through their early childhood will become enthusiastic, motivated and active learners,' says Janni Nicol, Steiner Waldorf Schools Fellowship.

Montessori

In defining the role of the Montessori teacher, Maria Montessori said, 'And so we discovered that education is not something which the teacher does, but that it is a natural process which develops spontaneously in the human being. It is not acquired by listening to words, but by virtue of experiences in which the child acts on his environment. The teacher's task is not to talk, but to prepare and arrange a series of motives for spontaneous activity in a special environment made for the child.'

TEN POINTS FOR FOSTERING CURIOSITY

1 Provide interesting resources that stimulate curiosity and invite investigation.

2 Invest in good-quality tools and equipment that help children develop their skills of enquiry.

3 Use mirrors and light sources to allow children to see things differently.

4 Provide equipment and special areas for construction, performance, communication and large-scale investigations outdoors.

5 Make sure children can access a wide range of sources of information - books, photographs, videos, CD-Roms - to support their enquiries.

6 You may like to use a 'question box' or a 'question display' to capture all the interesting questions that children have asked.

7 Value time for longer periods of exploration by keeping routines as flexible as possible.

8 Practise the skill of asking good questions yourselves and help the children to ask good questions.

9 Help parents to understand the importance of supporting the curious child, however difficult that may seem at times.

10 Be a model of curiosity yourself.

LINKING CURIOSITY TO THE FOUNDATION STAGE

Young children:

* are active learners who use all their resources to build concepts and ideas from their experiences

* explore, investigate, discover, create, practise, rehearse, repeat, revise and consolidate their developing knowledge, skills, understanding and attitudes

* initiate activities that promote learning and enable them to learn from each other when learning effectively

* need time to explore if they are to be satisfied with a piece of learning * learn the same thing in different ways, as progression in their learning happens at different times and rates

* are captivated by certain ideas which steer their learning

* are quick to learn relevant new vocabulary, however difficult it seems to adults

* give voice to what they know and practise thinking, and new vocabulary, by reflecting on what they have done and explaining it to others

* will learn to investigate, be curious, experiment, solve problems, and pose questions, if they see the practitioners around them operate in this way.

QUESTIONS AND CONVERSATIONS

Good questions

* Asking questions is a good way to establish what the children already know and what their ideas and theories may be.

* Good questions are often open-ended and invite children to express their thoughts and ideas and seek explanations.

* Good questions will help you involve all the children in your setting by encouraging them to talk about their experiences.

* Good questions pose problems that invite further investigation and exploration.

* Not all questions are open ended - for example, measuring and counting questions have a correct answer, and they can be used to build children's confidence as they check answers for themselves.

Good conversations

* Opportunities for having good conversations that build on children's natural curiosity should be planned in advance.

* It is important to value the time spent in conversation and to provide a comfortable environment where discussion is encouraged.

* In group discussions, you need to provide opportunities for all children to express their curiosity, not just the more confident members of the group.

* When discussing ideas, you may find that the children decide they want to investigate something that you haven't planned - and this will be far more interesting to them, as it builds on their own curiosity.

0 * Spending time discussing with children what interests and intrigues them will give plenty of opportunities to practise speaking, listening and thinking skills.