Our Inquiry, Our Practice

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.

"This valuable book makes the case that many schools today may be reducing or eliminating the conditions that foster innovation. Drawing inspiration from many theories and exemplars, the authors clearly and vividly describe creativity and originality in the early years and how to cultivate this distinctive way of thinking, knowing, and making choices."  —Carolyn Pope Edwards, Cather Professor Emeritus,University of Nebraska-Lincoln

• About This BookPart I: What Is Teacher Research?Introduction to Part I1. The Nature of Teacher Research2. Understanding Vivian Paley as a Teacher ResearcherTeacher Research Studies3. Two’s Company, Three’s a Crowd: Peer Interactions in a Preschool Social Triangle4. Encounters with Sunlight and a Mirror Ball5. “Do You Want to See Something Goofy?” Peer Culture in the Preschool Yard6. Exploring the Forest: Wild Places in Childhood7. If I Were President: Teaching Social Justice in the Primary Classroom8. Getting Started and Moving into Teacher ResearchPart II: How Can Early Childhood Professionals Support Teacher Researchers?Introduction to Part II9. Reshaping the Landscape of Early Childhood Teaching through Teacher Research10. Teacher Research: Questions for Teacher Educators11. Developing Professional Insight12. Teacher Research: Improving Practice and Amplifying Teacher Voice among Diverse Students in Early Childhood Education13. Co-Inquiry: Documentation, Communication, Action14. Zooms: Promoting Schoolwide Inquiry and Improving PracticeSupporting Teacher Research in Communities of Practice15. Las Americas Early Education School Teacher Research Initiative in Collaboration with San Francisco State University16. Making Learning Visible at the Lee Academy Pilot School17. The Making Learning Visible/Ready to Learn Providence Peer Network18. Kent State University Child Development Center, Ongoing Teacher Research19. Reflective Early Childhood Educators’ Social Seminar—RECESSAfterword: Some Thoughts on Teacher Research in Early Childhood EducationResourcesFor Further ReadingOnline ResourcesAbout the Authors