Children’s Think Tank

Project Overview:The Children’s Think Tank is research initiative for and run with children ages 5-10. Developed as a workshop to explore integrative action research practices with children, the Children’s Think Tank is a place of experimentation for future methods of researching critical questions in collaboration with children.

The Children’s Think Tank works with children on researching obscure topics of their own interest and assists them in acquiring the proper research and venues to publish their ideas. Currently, the children choose their own depth research topics which should be something that they have questions or curiosities about, usually topics which are not covered in the course of regular education. At the end of each research session each child in the think tank produces a resulting project in a medium of their choosing (depending on the topic).

The Children’s Think Tank provides: advocacy, individual + group discussion, research facilities + materials, help in research and visiting lectures provided by professionals in topics of interest. In cases of children who cannot read or write yet, assistance is provided to document and record research in a format that is appropriate for the topic.

Outcomes: We are working on an in-depth article on the outcomes of our first session of the Children’s Think Tank. In the meantime, you may download our Research Summaries .pdf or view the following posts which showcase some of the raw outputs of the pilot study. They will show you videos, images and writing from the children during their time. We will be updating this information as it is entered into our system!

Projects from Session 1
These articles showcase some of the research meetings, results, notebooks and videos from our first session in the fall of 2010. They are indepth looks into the kinds of research the children do (it is best to read in chronological order!):
Meeting 1 // Meeting 2 // Meeting 3 // Meeting 4 // Abigail’s Question // Ellie on Astral Projection // Warner’s Life, Death and Reincarnation Essay // Excerpt on “Mythology and the Fates” from Lia’s Notebook // Life, Death and Reincarnation Presentation // Clips from some Final Presentations by the Children .

Select Documentation from Final Show

Info for Participants
If your child is participating in the Children’s Think Tank pilot studies, please download the following forms and return on your child’s first day of research. Thank you for participating!
Download Forms >> Overview // Location & Map // Waiver