Inquiry dialogue in the kindergarten: A teacher action research study

Inquiry, and particularly inquiry dialogue, is often missing in today's schools. This was an action research study by a teacher-researcher who investigated inquiry dialogue in both his morning and afternoon kindergarten classrooms. During a classroom context called Thinking Time the teacher-researcher used five methods (a) children's literature; (b) pictures/photos; (c) artifacts; (d) abstract questions; and (e) students' own questions to prompt his kindergartners to ask wondering questions and to become engaged in exploratory talk. Three research questions were answered: (a) How might a kindergarten teacher best establish a context for inquiry dialogue to take place in? (b) How can a kindergarten teacher best facilitate inquiry dialogue while simultaneously taking the role of co-inquirer? and (c) What appear to be the best methods for fostering inquiry dialogue with kindergartners that result in increased cognitive demand? The teacher-researcher used the components of Powerful Teaching and Learning pertaining to cognitive demand as a framework in evaluating the efficacy of each of the methods investigated. The study revealed that weaving inquiry dialogue into the standard kindergarten curriculum can help meet state and district essential learning goals centered on both critical thinking and communication.