Inquiry-based implementation of a mathematical activity in a kindergarten classroom

International audienceAlthough inquiry-based education is an approach that supports student-centered ways of teaching involving students in the development of their own learning, it seems that inquiry-based instruction has not been employed broadly in the subject area of mathematics and the few studies that have been conducted are not focused on very young children. In this paper an inquiry-based implementation of a mathematical activity in a kindergarten classroom is presented investigating the way it was applied by the teacher and the way students participated into it. The activity was related with plane geometrical shapes as a mathematical construct that cause difficulties to young students. From the results it emerged that even though the inquiry-based implementation is a demanding approach it had many benefits for both teacher and students