Curiosity is a powerful catalyst for learning. But it can be a challenge for teachers to carve out space for it within an already crowded K-12 curriculum.
Jennifer Kreps Frisch, an associate professor at the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD), is innovating in this arena. An advocate for inquiry-based learning, her science teacher education harnesses rather than stifles student curiosity.
“The most meaningful moments in my schooling came when I got to find answers to my questions, versus the questions the teacher came up with,” she says.
Frisch was the lead editor on “Wicked Problems in PreK-12 Science Education.” She also contributed a chapter to the book, along with Suki Mozenter, a former UMD assistant professor, and education students Mandy Bogle, Olive Hollander, Liz League, and Josh South.
The book is a resource to help science teachers and teacher educators navigate “wicked” problems, according to Frisch. “There are a lot of complicated problems, especially in science education, for which there is no one solution,” she explains, citing climate change as a prime example that is both complex and politically charged.
With set syllabi and strict learning standards, it can feel daunting for teachers to “incorporate student voices and choices,” she acknowledges. She hopes the book can be a model that helps educators engage with students on big topics while creatively fulfilling learning requirements.
Inquiry-based education in action
In 2022, Frisch and Mozenter integrated their respective science methods and multilingual literacy classes to demonstrate inquiry-based education methodology. They wanted to empower the future educators to think less conventionally and less colonially, to break down siloes in education.
The class incorporated Indigenous readings and a field trip to UMD’s Bagley Nature Area. Students were prompted to act as citizen scientists, taking photos, identifying items of interest, and formulating place-based questions.
South, ‘24, was a student in the class and a contributor to the chapter. He appreciated how the faculty encouraged them to think outside the box. “It made me want to be a science teacher!” he says of this influential experience.
At Bagley, the class learned about the different types of edible plants and fungi and then narrowed their focus for the semester down to fungi. The chapter, “Be Like Fungi: Mycorrhizal Pedagogy,” chronicles this class process.
Mycorrhizal fungi “grow between the trees and connect the trees and help them to send hormones, messages, and nutrients,” Frisch expounds. “Sometimes teaching is like that; you can help to make those important connections.”
South is now a special education teacher at Hermantown Middle School and is incorporating inquiry-based education into his daily lessons. He’s been pleased with the results.
“I give as little lecture as possible and then try to make it student-driven,” he says. “I introduce a topic, but I let them ask questions. That really helps to identify what they don’t know, so that we can explore and dive deeper into a topic.”
This nontraditional approach can be challenging for teachers and students alike. “Kids don’t always love it,” he admits. But more often than not, South has seen how it engages students and facilitates active learning. “Plus, it makes my day more fun,” he quips.