Our Inquiry, Our Practice: Undertaking, Supporting, and Learning from Early Childhood Teacher Research(ers)

Inspiring and supporting innovative thinking

Young children have great capacity for creativity that thrives when it is nurtured. Early childhood teachers have the opportunity to inspire children’s innovative thinking and doing by: 

• Including creative opportunities across all domains of learning
• Designing a beautiful space that encourages children’s experimentation and play
• Extending children’s learning and challenging their thinking
• Documenting children’s thought processes and displaying their work
• Involving families and the community in children’s creative endeavors
• Reflecting on your beliefs and practices about creativity and nurturing your own creativity

Learn how to support children as they problem-solve, explore and share new ideas, and collaborate with others, and watch their confidence and capableness grow.

Rebecca Isbell is an early childhood consultant and professor emerita of early childhood education at East Tennessee State University. She has authored numerous books and articles and presents on topics related to young children, creative thinking, storytelling, and the creative arts.

Sonia Akiko Yoshizawa is a PhD fellow in early childhood education at East Tennessee State University. A coauthor of STEM Learning with Young Children: Inquiry Teaching with Ramps and Pathways, she conducts inquiry-based STEM trainings and presentations for teachers.