Have you ever noticed how children never stop asking questions? “Why is the sky blue?” “Where does the moon go at night?” “How do birds know how to fly?”
That relentless curiosity isn’t just adorable—it’s fundamental to how children learn and make sense of their world. And guess what? Educators have been fascinated by children’s questions for nearly a century!
Susan Isaacs: Listening to Children’s Thirst for Understanding
Back in the 1920s, British psychologist Susan Isaacs did something revolutionary at the Malting House School in Cambridge. She carefully documented the questions children asked during their play and exploration. Why? Because she believed that these questions revealed something profound: a genuine thirst for understanding.
Rather than dismissing children’s questions as simple or trivial, Isaacs recognised them as windows into children’s thinking. Each “why” and “how” represented a child actively constructing their understanding of the world around them.
Want to know more about Susan Isaacs and her groundbreaking work? Check this article https://storykate.com.au/tag/susan-isaacs/
Vivian Paley: Understanding Before Teaching
Fast forward to the 1980s, and American kindergarten teacher Vivian Paley carried this torch forward. Paley spent her career listening carefully to children’s questions and conversations. She famously wrote something that should be on every educator’s wall:
“I must know what questions they are asking before mine will be useful.”
Think about that! We can’t guide children’s learning effectively if we don’t first understand what they’re genuinely curious about. Their questions reveal their current thinking and show us where they’re ready to grow. Brilliant, right?
Reggio Emilia: Questions as Windows to Children’s Theories
The educators of Reggio Emilia, Italy, inspired by Loris Malaguzzi’s philosophy, took this listening stance even further. Malaguzzi encouraged teachers to pay close attention to the questions children ask. Why? Because through these questions, children develop theories about their world—about how things work, about relationships, about emotions, about everything they encounter.
In Reggio-inspired classrooms, documentation of children’s questions becomes a vital teaching tool. It helps educators understand children’s developing theories so they can plan meaningful learning experiences.
The Theory Behind the Questions: Constructivism
Here’s where it gets really interesting! All of this connects deeply to constructivist learning theory.
Constructivism, championed by theorists like Jean Piaget, Lev Vygotsky, Jerome Bruner, and Barbara Rogoff, tells us that children don’t passively receive knowledge—they actively construct it through experience and social interaction.
Social constructivism (which I strongly support as an educator!) tells us that construction happens through dialogue and relationship. From infancy onward, children engage in conversations with parents, family members, and others. They learn first to respond to questions, and then—crucially—to ask their own.
Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development
This brings us to one of Vygotsky’s most important contributions: the zone of proximal development (ZPD). This is the sweet spot between what a child can do independently and what they can do with guidance and support.
As teachers, our most important skill isn’t just answering children’s questions—it’s learning to ask questions that move children’s thinking forward into this zone. Questions that challenge them just enough. Questions that invite deeper thinking. Questions that scaffold their understanding without simply giving them answers.
https://youtu.be/jmBGzQcrn7A?si=jdWiGBlebtLc5fAu
Questions as a Teaching Strategy
Asking effective questions is an art form! It requires us to:
- Listen carefully to what children are genuinely curious about
- Observe closely to understand their current thinking
- Respond thoughtfully with questions that extend rather than close down inquiry
- Create space for children to develop and test their own theories
When we do this well, we honour children’s natural capacity for learning while gently guiding them toward new understanding. Pretty amazing!
3 questions you should ask children today
Why This Matters
Questioning isn’t just something children do—it’s how they learn. And learning to ask better questions is one of the most powerful ways we can support that learning.
From Susan Isaacs in the 1920s to Vivian Paley in the 1980s to the Reggio educators and beyond, we’ve learned that children’s questions—and ours—truly matter. They’re not interruptions to learning; they ARE the learning.
Coming Soon!
I’m going to dive deeper into specific questioning strategies in upcoming posts. We’ll explore different types of questions and their purposes, and I’ll share practical examples from real classrooms. Because if there’s one thing Susan Isaacs, Vivian Paley, and the Reggio educators have taught us, it’s this: children’s questions deserve our full attention.
What questions are the children in your life asking? I’d love to hear about them in the comments below!
