Talking and Doing Science in the Early Years

A practical guide for ages 2-7

Sue Dale Tunnicliffe

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2013
• Print ISBN: 9780415690898
• eBook ISBN: 9781136587498
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Early Childhood Education

Young children are intuitive, emergent scientists - they observe, raise hypotheses, experiment and notice patterns. Most of our everyday actions at home and in other settings, inside and outside, have a scientific basis and it is through these early experiences that children formulate their ideas about the world in which we live.

This accessible book introduces the simplest form of the principles and the big ideas of science and provides a starting point for encouraging children to have an interest and experiential understanding of basic science and engineering. It shows you how you can support young children in exploring everyday phenomena and develop their scientific language skills through readily available resources and hands-on experiences. Each chapter focuses on a different aspect of science and includes:

• a summary of the 'big ideas' to refresh your own scientific knowledge;
• numerous activities that encourage young children to observe, question and carry out their own investigations;
• a usefil list of everyday resources and relevant vocabulary.

Providing a wealth of exciting, meaningful ways to promote scientific experiences and learning, this highly practical book will help you to build on children's natural curiosity about the world and develop their understanding through your everyday provision in early years settings and at home.

 

1

About the book

Summary

The function of this book in encouraging talking while doing science activities in the early years is discussed, and a theoretical perspective of the importance of the development of language and observation is put forward. The emergence of the child as an intuitive scientist is first stated, and the role of the adult as essential facilitator is described. The purpose of the book and structure is explained. Learning science in the early years is a collaboration between adult and child.

Introduction

Just as there is a critical period for language acquisition in the early years, I believe that there is one for the development of an understanding of science phenomena. The first observations and hands- on experiences of children in the everyday world, which are science in action, are crucial for their future learning. The role of the adult in facilitating such opportunities and talking with the children is key, forming the most important part of a child’s education, although these early years are not considered those of formal schooling.

This book provides some experiences and investigations for these early science learners (who spontaneously have an investigative and inquisitive approach to the world around them) that can be carried out in the home, nurseries and playgroups as well as outdoors in playgrounds, parks, gardens or when walking in the streets. These investigations are not examples of formal science teaching. We are not setting out to teach the children science. Rather, we are seeking to provide them with experiences and language so that once the children are being taught they might understand the theory, having had relevant experiences. Tracing backwards from the advanced concepts of school and even later science learning, it is easy to identify the very first or fundamental ideas on which this later theory is based. These ideas or concepts are what this book sets out through various experiences for the children. Often, people qualified in science know too much and find it difficult to undo this later learning to focus on the basic ideas.

Expensive equipment is not needed to provide hands- on experiences in science in these essential early interactions. Items that are available in an ordinary home or setting provide the necessary equipment, as do the everyday varied environments that a child encounters.

The adults do not need to be formal science educators. All adults working with young children are science educators because they are aware of the experiences and observations that there are for the developing child to encounter. Talking about these, with the child asking questions, wondering what and why, is a vital element in the development of understanding, communication and social skills. Without these early first encounters the child misses crucial experiences. They are the most important in the child’s science learning.

About this book

This book is designed to provide educators who interact with young children aged seven and under with starting points to help them develop play and talk with the children in their care. It is not about teaching the theory of science but about noticing and experiencing everyday science in action. Science is based on observations that give rise to learning language, formulating questions and further investigations, as well as developing communication and social skills. However, many parents, carers and early years educators feel that they don’t know enough science to be able to effectively introduce their charges to this area of learning.

This book introduces any educator of preschool children to the simplest form of the principles and big ideas of science (Harlen, 2010). It is an essential start to encouraging children to have an interest and experiential understanding, at a basic level, of science and engineering and links the foundation upon which formal school studies are built.

Organization of the book

The first three chapters, including this one, set the scene for Talking and Doing Science. Information is provided about language, with some vocabulary suggestions as well as prompts for asking questions and developing dialogue with these young learners. Chapter 2 focuses on language and everyday science, talking with children and their intuitive behaviours as emergent scientists. Chapter 3 has some suggestions for resources that are useful in the learning setting and readily available, at low cost. The areas of science that each chapter deals with are indicated below:

• Biological Science
  Chapter 4: Ourselves
  Chapter 5: Other animals
  Chapter 6: Plants
  Chapter 7: Other living things
• Physical Science
  Chapter 8: Forces
  Chapter 9: Structures
  Chapter 10: Changes
  Chapter 11: Materials
• Environmental Science
  Chapter 12: Built environment
  Chapter 13: Outside

Each chapter begins with a summary and the key words associated with the topic, so that you can look them up for further clarity should you wish to. A section on ‘Big Ideas’ follows. These sections are designed to refresh your memory about the scientific background to the topic on which the activities for the children are focused. They are not intended for you to tell to the children.

These early learners need the hands- on experience together with the relevant everyday words and dialogue about the topic, but not the theory. Other people can develop that later. Following these first sections, each chapter contains a series of ‘Talking and Doing’ activities that can be presented to children, starting with the simplest. The resources required are those readily available, from everyday locations. Refer to the equipment list in Chapter 2 for ideas, if you need any.

Activities may be whole group, a small number of children or one- to-one, depending on the number of children, the organization of the area and the situation.

In the activities section, ‘Talking and Doing’, the initial activities are for the youngest children, so they can hear the relevant words associated with what they refer to. Key words are provided in vocabulary lists. Select words from here if you want further ideas to follow on from those you already have. Without this language relationship to objects and actions, the children are hampered from making further progress. Talking to them is the most important start in science and engineering learning.

It is hoped that the adults working with the children will integrate the activities with others, such as drawing, painting, modelling, story reading and telling, drama recording and communicating, so that the science is part of a holistic experience. I hope that this book will help you, the reader, to support your children’s scientific learning, with enjoyment for all of you.

2

Background to early years science

Emphasis of early years science

There has been a paradigm shift from focusing on secondary pupils to encourage them to study science to a realization that a sound basis from the earliest years is the most effective route to educating children in science. Research (e.g. Lyons Report, Tytler Report from Australia) shows that children in their early teens have already made up their minds about science, and the work of Tymms and Harlen (2009) in England suggests children have formed their attitudes towards science by the age of nine. Most often they are not enthused by the subject encountered in school. Alison Gopnik’s (2009) book shows, from extensive research, that children are intuitive scientists in their early years before formal schooling; they observe, raise hypotheses, experiment and notice patterns, the basis for statistics and evidence.

Development of the child as a scientist

During their early years, children acquire an understanding of occurrences, behaviours and objects and acquire basic science skills of observing, questioning and investigating, known as process skills (Eshach & Fried, 2005). These fundamental skills begin in infancy as the new being starts developing, and prowess in these skills and processes increases as the child ages (Lind, 1999; Piaget & Inhelder, 2000). In these early years, children develop a feel- and experiential- based understanding of everyday science and engineering phenomena, and such these years are deemed of great importance by researchers, e.g. Eshach and Fried (2005). However, it has been found (Sackes et al., 2011) that science experiences in formal early years education are not reliable forecasters of future achievement in formal science learning in later schooling. Furthermore, the attitude of preschool teachers towards science influences children. If the teacher displays wonder and excitement, children think science and its associated subjects are exciting too (Spektor-Levy et al., 2011). Presumably the same effect is noticed in the behaviours of any adult with whom these early learners are in contact. It is thus important to remember that it is not the content knowledge of the adult that is important, but the curiosity and enthusiasm that s/he shows.

Talk with doing

Young children need first- hand, concrete learning experiences with appropriate talk. They need to hear the words of science and engineering in the everyday even before they can talk, as during this period they can still see and hear. Sadly, in today’s world there seems to be little time for quality talk in some homes, and less and less time at school. In recent years the importance of ‘talk for learning’ has been recognized, but we tend to move too quickly into talk relating to abstract learning.

There is an increasing recognition of the importance of the early years of a child and the inte...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• List of figures
• Acknowledgements
• 1. About the book
• 2. Background to early years science
• 3. Resources, language and skills for everyday science
• 4. Living things – ourselves
• 5. Other living things – animals
• 6. Other living things – plants
• 7. Other living things – fungi, bacteria and algae
• 8. Forces – pushes and pulls
• 9. Structures
• 10. Changes
• 11. Materials
• 12. The built environment
• 13. Outside – the natural environment: soils, sky, weather
• References and further reading
• Index