The best teachers are those who show you where to look, rather than telling you what to see. Experts agree that when parents take their children to the park, they should view it as an exciting experience, from lakes and rivers to beaches, forests, meadows, and other natural landmarks. The possibilities for exploration are virtually limitless. So how does childhood exploration lead to the development of research skills in students, and how are the two connected? This is what experts and specialists explain.
When children are exposed to a variety of plants and animals in the great outdoors, they learn about the wonders of nature and develop a deeper respect for it. We can encourage all children to become explorers of their environment using the following strategies:
Encourage Play
Every child’s day should include both scheduled and unscheduled playtime. Organized play refers to activities planned and managed by an adult, such as swimming lessons, while unstructured play involves spontaneous activities like collecting acorns or building forts, often outdoors. Structured play helps children improve physical fitness, agility, and coordination, but unstructured outdoor play nurtures creativity, curiosity, the ability to take acceptable risks, and teamwork negotiation skills. Children need both types of play.
Cultivate Your Child's Curiosity
Curiosity is what drives explorers, and it must be encouraged, nurtured, and celebrated if we want to inspire future explorers. You may notice a stage in your child’s development where they continuously ask questions like "Why?" This is the seed of exploration. Instead of simply explaining what something is when a young child asks, try responding with your own question. Ask them what they observe about colors and patterns, how they think it moves, or why they believe something happens. There are no right or wrong answers—just encourage them to reveal what’s in their mind. This kind of interaction fosters nature observation and helps children develop their own conclusions based on what they notice. By guiding them in this way, you’re promoting the development of a self-confident young explorer.
Take Them Outdoors into Nature
Spending time outdoors and engaging with nature benefits both the body and mind. It’s a perfect environment for creative, unstructured play, offering opportunities for walking, hiking, and riding horses—activities that promote exploration, creative thinking, and social and emotional development. Integrating outdoor time into your daily routine—whether playing outside or bringing nature into the home through arts and crafts—makes the experience more enjoyable for your child. Nature is a playground that offers endless opportunities for learning. In every forest, there’s a story to tell; every butterfly waits to be discovered; and every tree stump can be turned into a magical wand. Just being in nature allows children to learn and grow in countless ways.
How Does Exploration Lead to Research Skills?
Once your child reaches the middle school stage, it’s essential to teach them research skills, which is one of the core responsibilities of educators. This allows students to take a more proactive role in their learning, a skill that is useful both in and outside the classroom. Good researchers know how to learn, and this is a skill they can use throughout their lives.
It's important for students to become proficient in finding and evaluating sources, analyzing arguments, and navigating between printed and digital media. Children need to understand the difference between a dictionary, an encyclopedia, a journal, a newspaper, and a magazine—often, students don’t know these distinctions. Analyzing types of sources is an important first step for beginner researchers.
Experts recommend bringing physical examples of sources to students—show them printed copies of dictionaries, encyclopedias, and other resources they may not have encountered before, and discuss how these resources have transitioned online (e.g., Encyclopædia Britannica, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, and Oxford Research Encyclopedias).
Next, talk with students about the different parts of any source—such as the title, author, publishing information, numbering, and abstracts for journal articles. This is source dissection, where students learn to identify parts of books and articles in order to improve the efficiency of their research.
Understanding the components of sources enables students to quickly access information via indexes or tables of contents. While many students rely on citation generators, it’s valuable for them to understand how to write a reference page or bibliography without the help of a website. Understanding the parts of sources helps them with this task.
How to Cultivate a Love for Exploration in Your Teenager?
A good researcher knows how to navigate a library—whether it’s a public, academic, or school library. There’s no alternative, especially given the vast amounts of information available in today’s society. Libraries are more important than ever, and it’s crucial for students to become confident and skilled users of libraries. Here's how you can foster curiosity in your teenager:
You must teach students the role of libraries in organizing and disseminating valuable digital and physical information. In many cases, libraries also preserve this information. Some students may have never visited a library before!
Provide a lesson on different library classification systems, based on country, and pair this with a visit to your school library or a field trip to a public or academic library. Take a tour of the library and encourage students to explore its physical space and resources.
Invite a librarian to speak to your class, and ensure they review the digital resources and electronic databases available through the library. Librarians are happy to assist students in signing up for library cards as well.
Introduce students to the philosophy and purpose of proper citation. We cite sources to be honest and transparent with our readers, while also providing additional information for students who wish to explore our subject more deeply. Explain the role of evidence and citations in various fields of study, and show how they serve as a roadmap for students to discover further research. If they come across something useful or convincing in a book or article, they can find its source by exploring the citations.
Teach students to look at footnotes, endnotes, and references to find additional sources.
Encourage students to critically evaluate sources and ask, "How does this source fit with my research project?" This helps them plan ahead.
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