Understanding children’s inquiry often draws on exogenous understanding (i.e., scientists’ inquiry, classroom expectations) without first understanding inquiry in children’s everyday lives. In contrast, we examine young children’s inquiry in their families to better understand their competent engagement in inquiry. Specifically, we develop an endogenous representation of inquiry as a members’ phenomenon (IMP)—a representation formulated by participants in the course of their own activity. IMP highlights key moments in inquiry—beginning by orienting to inquiry, making progress by drawing on sensemaking resources, and orienting to ending inquiry. This representation also allows us to recognize evidence of young children’s competence in managing interactional, affective, and epistemic challenges inherent in these key moments of inquiry; the diverse array of sensemaking resources through which children address those challenges; and a range of children’s interests and concerns addressed within their inquiry. Furthermore, IMP provides a prism for reconceptualizing learning from learners’ perspective: attending to how participants orient to a moment of inquiry, inquire together, and come to what counts to them as a satisfactory end to their inquiry. This representation of inquiry is an important step in basic learning sciences research and informative for the design of science and other domain learning environments.

对儿童询问的理解通常是依靠外在的理解（即科学家的询问，课堂期望），而不是在儿童的日常生活中首先了解询问。相反，我们检查幼儿在其家庭中的询问，以更好地了解他们在询问中的能力。具体来说，我们开发了一种内生的表示为会员现象（IMP）的表示形式-由参与者在其自身活动过程中制定的表示形式。IMP突出了查询中的关键时刻-从面向查询开始，通过利用有意义的资源取得进步，并以结束查询为目标。这种表示方式还使我们能够认识到幼儿在应对这些关键探究时刻所固有的互动，情感和认知挑战方面的能力证据；儿童可以通过各种各样的感官资源应对这些挑战；以及在他们的询问中解决的一系列儿童的兴趣和关注点。此外，IMP为从学习者的角度重新构想学习提供了一个棱镜：关注参与者如何定向到一个探究时刻，一起探究，并得出对他们有意义的作为探究探究的满意结局。探究的这种表示形式是基础学习科学研究的重要一步，对科学和其他领域学习环境的设计提供了信息。关注参与者如何应对某个询问时刻，一起询问，并得出对他们有意义的作为询问结束的令人满意的结局。探究的这种表示形式是基础学习科学研究的重要一步，对科学和其他领域学习环境的设计提供了信息。关注参与者如何应对某个询问时刻，一起询问，并得出对他们有意义的作为询问结束的令人满意的结局。探究的这种表示形式是基础学习科学研究的重要一步，对科学和其他领域学习环境的设计提供了信息。