This episode explores how educators can cultivate deep student questioning and compare complex ideas across different subject areas.

Trey Smith and Dr. Chiyedza Small join to discuss inquiry-based STEM teaching strategies, showing how curiosity and scientific investigation can intersect across fields like robotics, physics, and teacher preparation.

Host Dr. Salika Lawrence and Lauren Tecosky discuss how educators can successfully navigate the tension between necessary instructional structure and fostering genuine student curiosity in inquiry-driven, real-world contexts.

Dr. Salika Lawrence talks with Melissa Stanley and Ben Dumbauld about how to use the concept of “failing forward” as an intentional strategy in teaching and curriculum design to encourage student buy-in for new or unfamiliar content.

Dr. Andrea Kolb and Dr. Marisa Castronova break down how to use simple, everyday objects (like an apple) to create accessible, meaningful entry points for deep thinking that ensure all students, especially multilingual learners, can participate in inquiry.

Experts Jacqueline Katz and Marie Donnantuono share concrete instructional shifts that move student learning from passive content consumption to active, observable investigation and discovery, both in the library and the science lab.

This foundational episode explores with Dr. Amber Pabon and Josh Langenberger how to cultivate a classroom where students feel safe to ask the authentic, messy questions that connect content to their real-world experiences.