Early Childhood Building Blocks Introducing Science to Young Children Kimberlee Kiehl Whaley Vice President for Education and Guest Operations at COSI Introduction As adults, we often think of science as a subject that children don t encounter (or need to) until later in elementary school. We see it as being too formal and too abstract for young children. We also think of science as being teacher directed the opposite of what we often feel is appropriate for young children. But science is a way of looking at the world rather than a collection of abstract facts or a static body of knowledge (Gallenstein, 1999). True science is at the heart of what young children do naturally every day. What s Inside Rationale Developmental Theory and Science Learning What Is Early Childhood Science?
Rationale Spend just a few minutes with any young child and listen to how many times he or she asks Why? and you are seeing science in action. Ross (2000) has said that kids are scientists at play, making early childhood settings just the right place for science to happen. Early childhood classrooms are the perfect places to build a love of science and an understanding of the most basic concepts of science that underlie all the more abstract concepts to come later. When early childhood teachers nurture the basic skills needed to do science curiosity, observation, and questioning, among others they lay the groundwork for children to be successful in later school science. Developmental Theory and Science Learning While some believe that young children are not capable of the seemingly formal processes of science, in reality young children make and test hypotheses all day long from very early in life. A newly walking baby gingerly reaches for an unknown item on the table after having been burned by something hot. A toddler dumps and fills a bucket and then moves on to the sifter with holes, looking curiously to see why the water flows right through it. In both cases the child clearly holds some type of hypothesis and tests it through his or her actions. Thus the process of doing science is well established by age three. Developmental researchers such as Piaget and Vygotsky have stated that learning is best accomplished through manipulation of objects and materials and through interaction with others in the world. In addition, Piaget believes that children have their own ways of looking at the world. For example, children often attribute the characteristics of animate objects to natural phenomenon they believe the sun is following them or that it hurts rocks when you throw them. It is exactly these different ways of thinking that serve as evidence for the idea that children do, in fact, form theories about how the world works and apply these theories, whether correct or not, to new situations. Babies and toddlers build and test theories all the time by dropping toys repeatedly, covering their head with a blanket and pulling it off, stacking blocks and knocking them down, and dumping and filling toys. In fact, research shows that babies come into the world with a set of rules for how the world works and in experiments will stare at something longer when those expectations are not met (Marcus, Mulrine, & Wong, 1999). Between birth and five, children are constructing many basic concepts and processes. Research has found that young children are capable of reasoning about concepts (Johnson, 1998) and that babies reason from very early in life. Before they can use language, they can think, draw conclusions, make predictions, look for explanations, and do mini experiments such as dropping a toy off the side of a highchair 100 times (Gopnick, Meltzoff, & Kuhl, 1999). In fact, researchers now know that babies form categories that are similar to those of adults and that they use these categories to extend their knowledge from what they already know about the world and how it works (Gelman, 1990). Most important is that these concepts are only acquired through experiences. Without the foundation of early experiences what scientists call physical knowledge there can be no development of the conceptual knowledge of science (Ansbacher, 1987).
What Is Early Childhood Science? Many think of science as a collection of abstract facts to be memorized, and early childhood teachers often do not feel comfortable with science content, thinking that they don t really know or understand the facts of science. Early childhood teachers must let go of the image of themselves as the suppliers of the answers and begin to see themselves as co-explorers in the search for understanding. The teacher in the early childhood setting should be offering children opportunities to think critically, solve problems, make good decisions, be curious and open-minded, and develop a positive approach to failure. Especially during the early childhood years, science is much more about these skills (known as process skills) than it is the facts, and teachers don t always need to know the answers to be good science teachers. Instead they need to know how to ask the right questions and how to explore alongside their children. In early childhood classrooms, extending the possibilities for exploration of ideas, and thus the amount of physical knowledge a child has, should be the main focus of the teacher (Ansbacher, 1987). Skill and concept development begin to come into play more during the early elementary years. So teachers who are worried about their lack of knowledge about science content can relax, knowing that giving children the opportunity to use and practice process skills is the most important science education they can provide. By using process skills, young children are also developing inquiry skills that are so vital to truly successful science learning. The sections below introduce each process skill briefly, followed by an example of how it might look in an early childhood setting taken from a long-term project in a preschool classroom. Observing Describing the world around you. Using the senses and other tools to gather information about an object or event. Identifying similarities, differences, and details. Observing may include the process skills of: Measuring. Comparing Finding similarities and differences. Categorizing/classifying Grouping things according to certain characteristics. Counting. The children observe that the snow on the playground from the last big snowfall has begun to melt, and they begin to ask questions about what is making it melt. Children use yardsticks to measure the snow every day and generate questions about what is making it melt. Inferring Reading between the lines, making assumptions. In early childhood these assumptions are often false, but it is important to let the children continue in their thinking rather than to correct them. Making preliminary conclusions that have not been actually observed, by looking at what is already known about the object or event. The children infer that it is the light from the sun that is making the snow melt. They come to this conclusion based on their observations while being on the playground. Young children are just developing this skill they tend to jump to conclusions based on quick observations.
Questioning Raising questions about objects, events, or phenomena. Good questions often begin with What causes...? How does? What makes? What if? Why? The teacher in the classroom records their questions. Why does the snow melt? How could we find out if it is the light that makes it melt? Does the snow still melt at night? Hypothesizing Giving possible explanations. Forming a preliminary explanation or testable statement, based on experience. Based on their observations and questions, the children form a hypothesis that it is the light from the sun that makes the snow melt. Encourage explanations with I think What do you think? Why do you think? Planning Devising investigations to test a hypothesis. Designing one s own investigation using procedures to collect information. Planning is not always formal. Together the teacher and the children plan some experiments to see if their hypothesis is correct. They make various plans for how they will bring snow inside and place it under lights to see what happens. How can we find out?
Predicting Using ideas or evidence to predict an outcome. Stating the outcome of a specific future event based on a pattern of evidence or an explanation. Often involves an action and a reaction or an if-then statement. A prediction is not a wild guess. Before each of their experiments, the teacher asks the students to predict what they think will happen. These predictions and the results of the experiments are put on a chart for the children to use to make new predictions. You may have several predictions. What do you think will happen when? If we do, then what will happen? Investigating Conducting an experiment, testing your ideas. Carrying out a planned experiment based upon your hypothesis. In early childhood, experiments may be spontaneous, but as children get older (three years and up), we can help them be more thoughtful about planning their investigations. Investigations use most of the previous process skills. The students bring snow in from the playground in a bucket, place it under a light in the classroom, and carefully observe what happens. When the snow melts, they insist that their hypothesis was right. The teacher pushes them to investigate and be sure that it was really the light that caused the snow to melt by asking them how they can be really sure that it was the light and not something else. The children then decide to put the snow in the closet where there is no light and see what happens. When the snow again melts, they decide that some light must have slipped in and place another bucket of snow in the closet, this time taping all the possible space where light could slip in. At the end of each experiment, the teacher takes them back to their predictions, and they compare the results with the predictions and ask a new set of questions.
Interpreting Considering evidence, evaluating, and drawing a conclusion. Drawing conclusions by looking at the data or what happened. Finding a pattern or other meaning in what you saw. Allows you to answer the questions What did you find out? and What did you see/hear/etc.? The teacher asks the children at the end of every experiment what they found out. In the first two experiments, the children believed that they found out that light was indeed what made snow melt. But the last experiment called those ideas into question, and the teacher helped the children brainstorm about what other factors might have caused the melting. When the children determined that the heat from the room, the light, or the sun could have been what caused the melting, they decide to try to melt snow on the stove. When they see it very quickly melt, they decide that they have reached a conclusion. Communicating Presenting reports, using secondary sources. Representing observations, ideas, conclusions, or models by talking, writing, drawing, etc. Can you tell me what happened? Can you draw a picture of what you saw? Relating and Applying Connecting knowledge to other situations. Relating makes parallels to similar concepts. Applying uses the knowledge gained to help solve a challenge. Where else do you see? What if we did this with? Throughout the project the teacher is helping children to record their ideas and observations in journals, on charts, and with drawings. As well, children are encouraged to talk about their ideas in a large group after each experiment. The teacher extends the learning by helping the children think through various ways these same ideas apply to other situations. For example, they investigate what else melts with heat and how the heat from the sun contributes to other factors such as the growth of the grass or the dryness of the dirt. Conclusion Children are naturally curious, and curiosity is at the root of all science exploration. This curiosity reveals itself as a passion for learning. It is our job in early childhood settings to ignite and fuel this passion. If this passion turns into drudgery, one out of four children will leave school before they graduate (Johnson, 1998). Some of the most important theories of appropriate early childhood education (Reggio Emilia, Montessori, High Scope) say that the role of the teacher is to be the facilitator of learning to encourage children to ask questions and find ways to answer these questions by doing. This approach is especially suited for early childhood science as children participate in this kind of learning environment, they develop the vital process skills needed for science learning.
Early Learning Content Standards Pre-K Indicators Kindergarten Indicators Grade 1 Indicators Grade 2 Indicators Scientific Inquiry Standard Pre-K 2 Benchmark A. Ask a testable question. Ask questions about objects, organisms and events in their environment during shared stories, conversations and play. Show interest in investigating unfamiliar objects, organisms and phenomena during shared stories, conversations and play. Predict what will happen next based on previous experiences. Investigate natural laws acting upon objects, events, and organisms. Ask what if questions. Explore and pursue student-generated what if questions. Ask what happens when questions. Explore and pursue student-generated what happens when questions. Ask how can I/we questions. Ask how do you know questions (not why questions) in appropriate situations and attempt to give reasonable answers when others ask questions. Explore and pursue student-generated how questions. Pre-K 2 Benchmark B. Design and conduct a simple investigation to explore a question. Use one or more of the senses to observe and learn about objects, organisms and phenomena for a purpose. Explore objects, organisms and events using simple equipment. Use appropriate safety procedures when completing scientific investigations. Use the five senses to make observations about the natural world. Use appropriate tools and simple equipment/ instruments to safely gather scientific data. Make new observations when people give different descriptions for the same thing. Use appropriate safety procedures when completing scientific investigations. Use appropriate tools and simple equipment/ instruments to safely gather scientific data. Use appropriate safety procedures when completing scientific investigations. Use appropriate tools and simple equipment/ instruments to safely gather scientific data. Measure properties of objects using tools such as rulers, balances and thermometers. Pre-K 2 Benchmark C. Gather and communicate information from careful observations and simple investigation through a variety of methods. Begin to make comparisons between objects or organisms based on their characteristics. Record or represent and communicate observations and findings through a variety of methods. Draw pictures that correctly portray features of the item being described. Recognize that numbers can be used to count a collection of things. Measure the lengths of objects using nonstandard methods of measurement. Make pictographs and use them to describe observations and draw conclusions. Work in a small group to complete an investigation and then share findings with others. Create individual conclusions about group findings. Make estimates to compare familiar lengths, weights and time intervals. Use oral, written and pictorial representation to communicate work. Describe things as accurately as possible and compare with the observations of others. Use evidence to develop explanations of scientific investigations. (What do you think? How do you know?). Recognize that explanations are generated in response to observations, events and phenomena. Use whole numbers to order, count, identify, measure and describe things and experiences. Share explanations with others to provide opportunities to ask questions, examine evidence and suggest alternative explanations. Scientific Ways of Knowing Standard Pre-K 2 Benchmark A. Recognize that there are different ways to carry out scientific investigations. Realize that investigations can be repeated under the same conditions with similar results and may have different explanations. Offer ideas and explanations (through drawings, Recognize that scientific investigations involve emergent writing, conversations, movement) of asking open-ended questions. objects, organisms and phenomena, which may Recognize that people are more likely to accept be correct or incorrect. your ideas if you can give good reasons for them. Discover that when a science investigation is done the same way multiple times, one can expect to get very similar results each time it is performed. Demonstrate good explanations based on evidence from investigations and observations. Describe that scientific investigations generally work the same way under the same conditions.
Resources for Early Childhood Teachers Charlesworth, R., & Lind, K. K. (1999). Math and science for children (3rd ed.). Albany, NY: Delmar. George, Y. S. (1995). In touch with preschool science. Washington, DC: American Association for the Advancement of Science. Green, M. D. (1996). 474 science activities for young children. Albany, NY: Delmar. Holt, B. G. (1989). Science with young children. Washington, DC: NAEYC. Lind, K. (1998). Exploring science in early childhood: A developmental approach. Albany, NY: Delmar. Malcom, S. (1998). Making sense of the world. In Dialogue on early childhood science, mathematics and technology education. Washington, DC: AAAS/Project 2061. National Center for Science in Early Childhood, www.cnsm.csulb.edu/depts/scied/ncsec. Ross, M. E. (1995) Sandbox scientist: Real science activities for little kids. Chicago: Chicago Review Press. Science The Early Years Blog, http://science.nsta.org/earlyyearsblog. ScienceStart! Curriculum, Kathleen Conezio & Lucia French, University of Rochester. Young Scientists series, http://cse.edc.org/products/curricula/youngscientistseries/default.asp. The Young Scientist series is a science curriculum for children three to five years old. The series, developed with funding from the National Science Foundation, makes science the work and play of exploring materials and phenomena, while providing opportunities for children to learn from that experience. The series consists of three teacher guides and three comprehensive professional development packages, including a video. The titles in the series are: Discovering Nature with Young Children Building Structures with Young Children Exploring Water with Young Children References Ansbacher, T. (1987). Preschool science at museums. American Association of Physics Teachers/American Physical Society Annual Meeting, San Francisco. Gallenstein, N. (1999). What is early childhood science? Creative construction of mathematics and science concepts in ealy childhood. Washington, DC: Association for Childhood Education International. Gelman, R. (1990). First principles organize attention to and learning about relevant data: Number and the animate-inanimate distinction as examples. Cognitive Science, 14, 79-106. Gopnick, A., Meltzoff, A. N., & Kuhl, P. K. (1999). The scientist in the crib: Minds, brains and how children learn. New York: Morrow. Johnson, F. (1998). Early childhood education in science, mathematics, and technology; An NSTA perspective. Dialogue on early childhood science, mathematics and technology education. Washington, DC: AAAS/Project 2061. Marcus, D. L., Mulrine, A., & Wong, K. (1999, September 13). How kids learn. US News & World Report, 44-52. Ross, M. E. (2000, March). Science their way. Young Children, 6-13. About the Author Dr. Kimberlee Kiehl Whaley is currently Vice President for Education and Guest Operations at COSI. She was previously Associate Professor of Human Development and Family Science and State Extension Specialist at The Ohio State University, Columbus, and Curriculum Coordinator for the A. Sophie Rogers Laboratory for Child and Family Studies (1990 July 2000). She also served as Associate Dean for Academic Programs, College of Human Ecology, and has extensive publications in professional journals. She continues to hold an appointment as Adjunct Associate Professor at Ohio State and regularly teaches undergraduate courses. For more information Contact Nancy Brannon at nbrannon@ohiorc. org or Nicole Luthy at nluthy@ohiorc.org. Visit http://rec.ohiorc.org to see the REC V. Also see other Early Childhood Building Blocks. A collaborative project of