of frogs and explained her artwork to one of the two teachers, who then shared Mila’ s ideas about frogs with the rest of the class. When filming began, Mila recorded her part of the movie in a comfortable area of the room with the help of a teacher. Another child, Eric, had developed a deep interest in frogs and had ideas he wanted to share as well, but he was hesitant to speak. Instead, Eric dramatized the frog’ s life cycle and used gestures to show how frogs eat. He also pointed to different stages of the frog life cycle as another child, Colin, described them verbally.
Incorporating Low-Tech Inquiry- and Project-Based Approaches
Some early learning settings have limited access to technology or may have restrictions around technology use. Technology should primarily be used to enhance children’ s firsthand explorations( Wang et al. 2010). High-tech tools are optional when implementing the project approach. The intentional use of low- and no-tech materials( light tables, nonelectric coding tools, audio recorders, loose parts, and role-playing props) can provide rich learning opportunities for children. Educators can plan for low- and no-tech items to build foundational STEM thinking and skills by
› Providing nonfiction resources( books, magazines, pamphlets, diagrams, models, photographs)
› Inviting guest speakers › Creating a play or live drama
› Creating a public service announcement using photographs that children can sequence
› Planning observations and experiments
Conclusion
When educators intentionally plan STEM activities that exercise learners’ agency, children feel engaged, supported, and able to take ownership of their educational journeys( Figueras-Daniel & Vasquez 2024). Throughout the frog project, Ms. Evelyn and Ms. Kelly integrated the children’ s perspectives and real-life experiences into intentionally scaffolded content and activities.
Educators can consider the following ideas as they integrate elements of inquiry- and project-based learning into their curriculum:
› Identify topics for children to explore in a project by observing their interests and questions.
› Integrate inquiry throughout the learning day by asking open-ended questions and encouraging children’ s thinking about a topic of interest.
› Look for segments of time( during transitions, outside walks, centers, self-directed play, and lunchtime) to embed questions and activities connected to a whole-class topic of study or project.
› Plan learning experiences that provoke children’ s deep exploration of a topic by setting up provocations during choice time.
About the Authors
Victoria Damjanovic, PhD, is an associate professor in the early childhood education department at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona. She is also the current president of AzAEYC. victoria. damjanovic @ nau. edu
Stephanie Branson, PhD, is an assistant professor of literacy at Northern Arizona University. Her research explores agentic literacies in early childhood education, focusing on how young children develop literacy skills through inquiry-based, environment-driven approaches. stephanie. branson @ nau. edu
54 Young Children
Summer 2025