The "A+ Inquiry" Capstone course has been taught at Minot State University every spring and fall term since the fall 2019 semester. Like a thesis, the course requires students to write a proposal paper describing their study, form a committee and propose their study to their committee, obtain Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval,…

Integrating STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) in authentic ways is often overlooked in early childhood spaces, despite young children having the ability to engage with the world around them through STEM practices. This piece showcases the work of children in a prekindergarten classroom as they explored an integrated STEM…

This research project explores the use of 'happy accidents' as agents for facilitating more meaningful and critical exploration in secondary school art. Owing to a preoccupation with standardisation and quantifiable results, the more nebulous and invisible qualities of art have become deprioritised within many curricula. This paradigm creates…

This paper considers educational futures from the perspective of social justice. It takes as its framework futures studies, which looks at what is probable (what is likely to happen), what is possible (what could happen), and what is preferable (what we would like to see/make happen). It also makes the case for science fiction as a method of…

Guided by the questions "What can a dance curriculum look like when it purposefully integrates social-emotional learning?" and "What can we learn from the process of designing curriculum at the intersection of dance and SEL?" we relate the experience of creating curriculum for early elementary students. We build on current…

This paper investigates affect as part of children's sensemaking in the context of a play-based mixed-reality science learning environment. We build on theories of affect as disciplinary work by investigating the multiple layers of affect that are essential to children's scientific inquiry and to identify pedagogical moves that recognize, value,…

This article describes preservice art education students who curated an exhibition for a university gallery, using description and analysis as aesthetic inquiry processes. The students curated an exhibition that placed 1977 Central and Latin American and contemporary children's artworks in dialogue with each other. They constructed themes that…

Following the frameworks for research and inquiry-based learning, this paper describes a series of activities that can be used in undergraduate management classrooms to expose students to management research. The focus of these activities on finding reputable article summaries allows instructors to introduce management research, explain how to…

They thought they felt "something," perhaps. The wisp of an outline not distinct enough to trace. Good. They circled it, at times, and at other times found themselves within. As they walked (a sort of walking. Figurative but real. Digital, but here. Over months of events), it curled open and headed in several directions. Foldings in the…

This dissertation is aimed at articulating and empirically characterizing an expansive orientation to field-based socio-ecological systems learning that elevates participatory and ethically-engaged approaches to teaching and learning. Grounded in relational ways of knowing, this dissertation works to expand and transform normative educational…

This conversation analytic study investigates the use of the Japanese contrastive marker "demo" "but" as a preface to responses to polar questions. "Demo"-prefaced responses are one type of nonconforming answers, that is, responses that provide (dis)affirmation to preceding questions without yes/no-tokens. This study…

Purpose: Poetic inquiry is an approach that promotes alternate perspectives about what research means and speaks to more diverse audiences than traditional forms of research. Across academia, there is increasing attention to decolonising research. This reflects a shift towards research methods that recognise, acknowledge and appreciate diverse…

As understanding of STEM education pedagogy deepens, traditional lecture-based courses evolve to include new philosophies, such as active learning, project-based learning, and inquiry-based learning (IBL). Additionally, hands-on educational experiences at the early stages of an undergraduate program are seminal in propelling students into the…

The disappointing results of the 2022 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in Civics and U.S. History have further fueled the call for consistent, high-quality social studies instruction. The response by the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) highlighted the imperative for early grades, claiming "the lack of a solid…

This article describes the use of clusters in facilitating inquiry and expanding learning opportunities for advanced and gifted students. Options are presented that extend or reinforce the central focus of curricular investigations. These clusters enhance the gifted students' understanding of the connections that reinforce and/or extend the impact…