I think we can be catalysts for students to obsserve and wonder by first modeling our own wonderings. Start with, "Hey, everyone! I saw this _________ yesterday and it made me wonder __________." Then ask them to share about things they see each day that make them wonder. If there is a student who never has anything to share, perhaps you could invite them to make observatiosn at recess and then share any wonderings from there.

As educators, we are the biggest determining factor of the mood and "vibe" of the classroom.  If we aren't excited about the material or content, there is absolutely no way our students will be excited about it.  As a result, I'm not only a content expert and guide, but I am a motivator, or "hype-woman" as well.  Each day, I need to find ways to switch the material up and excited the students into getting the work done. Students also will want to be involved more with the content and material when they feel they are part of the process. When they ask questions and they we follow up with investigations that seek answers to their questions and what they wonder about, they are more willing the do the work when it is something that I put together.

I think that an educator's willingness to be a co-learner and model for students can help students see how they too can observe and wonder.  The educator's willingness to not be the expert and instead to ponder questions that they do not have the answers to creates a safe environment for students to do the same.  We are all so used to needing to have (or find) the answer that we have forgotten the importance of taking the time to observe and then formulate questions without an attachment to how they will be answered.

This is something I have not done very much of. This was a surprising realization. For example, I used to do a fermentation with yeast and had students repeat it while changing a variable of their choosing. I left students to think of these variables on their own as homework, and when they couldn't I would often list off possible variables for them to choose from. I was very focused on them learning the laboratory techniques and the scientific writing components of the project rather than the idea generation, observation, and wonder part. Thinking about this now we could have spent much more time making observations about our results from the first experiment, generating wonder statements and then thinking of questions/ variables to test.

Being outside and allowing time will encourage observation. Younger children are usually curious. I think we stifle that  as they age. Probably by as the earlier article stated by rewarding the "right"  answer the questions, rather than by being able to ask good questions. I need to continue to ask what do you notice? what do you wonder?

I think educators can be catalysts for students to observe and wonder by allowing space for open-ended exploration of areas and materials.  Modeling curiosity with "I wonder" and open ended questions is also important. One of my favorite practices in early childhood is the practice of providing provocations to children to help determine the next course of study.  In doing this, the teacher provides many objects and potential experiences to students and encourages their open explorations of what has been provided.  In watching and recording student questions, explorations, and time spent in play with certain items or experiences, the teacher then knows what activities will best engage their student's curiosity and wonder as they go about learning their literacy, math, etc. standards.

We as educators can be catalysts for students to observe and wonder by tapping into their interests from the start. Although I don't consider myself one, I think master educators are able to read the room and introduce concepts/topics that would appeal to their students. Having students fill out a survey on where their interests lie can help an educator tap into a nerve for students to make their learning more personable and dynamic.

I think going outside is an awesome way to get students questioning their environment. I think it is also important to provide time and space to have students observe and wonder. I know that is always something I struggle with because it feels like we are always on a tight timeline. One goal for this upcoming school year is to slow down and explore. My school encourages this so it is important that I take advantage of it! In MS I think it is also important to help students learn how to ask open ended questions and know that sometimes there will not be an immediate answer provided. I hope this is a process that I can do along side my students and they can also watch me model these behaviors.

I think that bringing them outside regularly and showing them images of the natural world in their local environment can help students take ownership of their learning.  Starting the "I Wonder" board would be a great kick-0ff activity for the school year after bringing them outside.  Asking them to bring a field journal or post it notes as they walk around the school grounds and their own homes is a great way to get their questions down on paper and promote discussion back in the classroom.  From there, this can open doors to volunteer opportunities in their community as well as citizen science projects where they will learn even more about their surroundings through investigation and deeper thinking.

Simply being present can set up educators as the best possibly catalyst for their learners. As humans, we re already naturally curious. We ask questions and challenge everything around us. An educator's presence can push learners to ask deeper questions about their curiosities. We can provide specialized environments to spark wonder and we can be a guide as they follow their own path to answers. We may not always have the answer as educators but we are always learning as well. Ensuring students know that you are there as a resource and guide can be beneficial to them pursuing their curiosities. For many of our programs we run we end with a "story of the day" where learners will simply share 3 words that described their experiences of the day. This helps them reflect on their wonders of the day and what they have taken away from the programming as well.

Not having all the answers is important, so "wondering" along with students is important to and allows for a journey of discovery together or as a class.  Getting students to relate material to their own lives if my way of making open ended questions.  Whatever we might be covering asking students why should you care about this? or how does this apply to you or your family?  I find students are now more open to realizing what is around them in their own homes and to bring it up in class at a later point.  For my High School students I want them to observe the adults in their life and wonder about what type of person they aspire to be.

I think modelling wonder for students is important - having unstructured time to notice, question, and record your thoughts is not prioritized as soon as students are old enough for standardized state testing. I love the idea of a Wonder board, and I plan on adding one to my classroom.

I really like the idea of having a "Notice" or "I wonder" of the day.  I also really want to incorporate an I Wonder board this year. I agree that one of the most important parts of leading our students to observe and wonder is for us to model those things ourselves.  I need more practice with asking more open ended questions and not always leading them to the answer based on my response. I have to be honest and say that I don't agree with the quote at the end of the presentation although I understand what it is trying to say.  I want to emphasize that school (whether formal or informal) shouldn't make us "periods" at the end but should leave us continuing to be "question marks."  Ideally, questions should lead to questions infinitely.

The part of the video on "Inspiring Inquiry through Open-ended Questions" in which the subject is on approaches to observations (with the photo of a pigeon drinking water from a spout) reminds me of the insertions (breaker or time-out) that I do in my computer programming classes before the pandemic, wherein to break routine and boredom and spark curiosity among my eight-grade students I would show some photo or video documentations of interesting field observations I had in the campus grounds (a wild bird, a plant, or even invasive Finlayson's squirrel). The brief activity insertion is effective in the sense of just achieving the very limited purpose that I mentioned earlier. The shown photo / video documentation will stir students' curiosity and wonder, but verily short-lived. I never framed the subjects shown to my classes using open-ended questions that will spark authentic learner's curiosity and wonder that will increase the likelihood that they will pursue answering their questions through scientific investigations (that they are learning through their natural science subjects like Integrated Science and Earth Science). Haha. I think I should resume doing these insertions (version 2.0) in the forthcoming second year remote learning setup of ours this September.

Taking students outdoors to learn about their local environment is so important.  I know it feels difficult, particularly in an urban environment.  But there are things in every community that can inspire questions and interest in students.

The quotes from the video that resonate with me are, "Want students to pursue their own curiosity," and “Building a positive classroom culture by showing students that you trust them to have good ideas, think for themselves, and to contribute in valuable ways.” In order for students to feel "safe" to share their observations and wonders; I need to model both these skills, give students ample practice opportunities and identify hurdles which are making a lot of students answer "IDK, I don't know" when asked, "What do you notice? What do you wonder?" Not answering their wonders, but praising them for their question and asking a follow up "I wonder," question. For example, showing students a 2 minute video of the bluebird box in my backyard, where I model my observations and wonders. Having students practice the "I notice, I wonder" questions as the opening of 2-3 classes a week. For students who answer, IDK," asking them privately, "What do you see? What do you hear?" And respond, "YES!! Good observation." to encourage them, that yes, their observations are valid. One benefit to reaching my whole class remotely, during the first 5 minutes of class students would respond to a video or photo by answering "I notice, I wonder," on a daily basis. I was able to go through student's observations and wonders and reading them aloud to the class and answering a few, which would elicit follow up "I wonder" questions. It also gave students who were reluctant an opportunity to hear more modeling of observations and wonders. I also love answering students questions with open ended questions.

This summer I taught science one day a week at summer school to K-8 students. I normally teach middle schoolers. The first day we just went on a scavenger hunt. I loved the pure joy the little students had! The were so mesmerized by the different pine cones we looked at. Another day we went to the prairie on our school grounds. They were so excited to go there, like it was a park! I do find myself being a guide and explaining to them what they see instead of asking them questions about what they see. I will work on that this fall with my middle school students.

When students share their experiences, sometimes their peers become intrigued.  I have noticed that there seems to be a couple of students in each class that really show great interest and their excitement usually captivates their classmates.  Along with students sharing their experiences, it is important to continuously use any outdoor opportunity available to promote students experiencing the natural world.

I would agree with below comments that it's very difficult to get both kids and adults alike to just slow down and observe. Even when I take kids on hikes, I have to remind them to look up instead of staring at the ground as they walk. As educators, looking and observing ourselves sets a model for kids. Using comments like, "I noticed ___" and "I wonder". I also think that being really excited and enthusiastic about a topic gets kids psyched up for a program as well. I like to set aside time during hikes for exploration of a specific area with boundaries.

I think for all of us slowing down and observing is a challenge.  Even in our Junior Naturalists, there is an impetus to walk and discover - not stop and discover. Building in moments where we all stop and observe phenomena that maybe we wouldn't normally - a bird sound map, observations in the butterfly garden, prairie, woodlands where we just stop for 5 minutes and sit still would be an excellent practice and habit to develop.

One of the best ways to motivate students is through your own appreciation and excitement for something.  I don’t contain my love and excitement for birds when I introduce Project FeederWatch.  I can’t help but be enthusiastic and passionate about birds!  Students realize that it is just fine to be excited about science.  When it comes to questions and discussions about random topics, I will ask them what they think first and steer them to find out for themselves.  Since my students have 1 to 1 devices, I will turn it over to the class and it becomes a competition as to who can find the answers first.  This always leads to more questions and opens the door for discussing how to navigate the Internet and evaluate what they find.  

I think it begins with modeling how we observe and wonder about the world and by ensuring our classrooms are places where risks are encouraged and not penalized. Ideally if we could go gradeless for this part of the day it would likely lead to less inhibition about wondering and risk taking. It would also help if we could slow down the pace a bit. When you only have 15 min for the science activity, that isn't very conducive to observation. We have to build time into the day and really carve out a space so that observation and wonder can take place.

Isn't this the direction that the newer science standards are heading us towards? The newer standards are about observing phenomenon/a and then asking and answering questions about them. I teach high school students so an "I Wonder Board" might not be to their liking--however, we still do plenty of wondering. I use discrepant phenomena when I can. We discuss graphs (teenage behavior being a favorite source of food for thought) and do plenty of wondering around those. We even look for things that the Internet has wrong and get lots of wonderings done! The teacher has to both model that innate sense of curiosity and provide lessons that students find interesting (note: not all students find all lessons interesting--I aim for most students on any one day).

We can provide the students with interesting videos, curriculums, activities and field experiences to engage with. More variety in activities can spark student interests. Then modeling observing and wondering for your students. Show them that you are also always observing, wondering and learning. Students really respond to enthusiastic teachers. And making sure that students are comfortable sharing their thoughts in the classroom.