B.E.S.T. COLLEGE OF POLOMOLOK, INC.

Valencia Site, Polomolok, South Cotabato

Tel No. (083) 500-2258

BACHELOR IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

MODULE 1: WHAT INITIAL INFORMATION SHOULD I KNOW TO TEACH SCIENCE?

Introduction
‘Where there is a child there is curiosity and where there is curiosity there is science’ (Howitt & Blake, 2010).
Young children continually engage in science practices. But they do not call it science – they call it curiosity. This
module describes children’s wonder and curiosity towards the world as it outlines what science looks like in the
early years. As part of the definition of science, the module introduces conceptual, procedural and attitudinal
science knowledge, and outlines important aspects of each for young children’s learning of science. The ability of
science to engage and stimulate children makes it an ideal vehicle to assist in all aspects of child development.

UNIT 1: The Place of Science in the Early Years

UNIT LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of this module you will be able to:

Ø recognize the natural disposition young children have towards science

Ø describe the conceptual, procedural and attitudinal knowledge associated with
science
Ø describe the relationship between science and creativity
Ø list a range of reasons why young children should engage with science
Ø describe young children’s capacity for science at different ages

SCIENCE IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION 1



Do this activity before you proceed to the lesson.

Here are pictures of six-year old John. He really loves to explore outside their garden. Describe what he is
doing in this picture and how he reacts on what he sees. Why does he love to explore? Expound your
answers.

What does science look like in the early years?

Fourteen-month-old Zara has her gumboots on. Holding Dad’s hand tightly, she walks into the edge of the
mud. Zara stands still and smiles, looking down at her feet as they slowly sink. She pulls her gumboots out of the mud,
feeling the resistance. On dry land Zara stands still and looks down at her feet. She then walks back into the mud with
another smile on her face.
Best friends Lily and Sam (both 3 years old) have noticed a caterpillar crawling along the branch of a bush. For
10 minutes they watch the caterpillar move, engaged in their own private conversation about what the caterpillar is
doing, where it could be going, what it might eat and how it might stay dry in the rain.

SCIENCE IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION 2


Every morning 6-year-old Fatima plays with the magnets at the science learning centre. She explores the
different sized and shaped magnets, watching how they ‘attract’ and ‘repel’ each other and a range of materials. When
asked how she thought the magnets worked, Fatima confidently replied: ‘They stick together because they have honey
on the ends. I know this because honey is sticky.’
These three stories illustrate how young children are constantly exploring their world. They demonstrate a
sense of wonder about all things around them and delight in the natural aspects of the world. This is demonstrated by
Zara and her fascination with the feel (and possibly sounds) of the mud, and by the intensity of Lily and Sam’s
engagement while observing the caterpillar.
D’Arcangelo (2000) referred to the term ‘scientist in a crib’ to describe how young children constantly explore
their world through play. She noted that if we look into a crib ‘we find a little scientist peering back at us – a child who is
desperately interested in making sense of the people, the objects, and the languages around him or her, a child doing
mini-experiments to try to sort everything out’ (pp. 8–9).
Children learn as they grow. Through curiosity, play, observation, questioning, trial and error and conversations
with others children develop their own explanations and understandings of the world. This is often termed everyday
science, referring to the way children interpret their science experiences based on their everyday experiences. This is
clearly illustrated by Fatima and her explanation of how magnets work.

Science learning can occur in planned situations or incidentally as

children are involved or engaged in other activities. While the educator
provides set activities for planned learning, incidental learning can occur in the
home environment or early childhood centers as children undertake their
normal play activities. Incidental science understandings can arise through
observation of others or specific things (such as Zara exploring the mud and
Lily and Sam watching the caterpillar), through problem-solving (working out
how to balance on a tree stump) and through social interactions in which
discussions with others may present new information. Incidental learning can
also occur through the mistakes that children make when they adapt or accept
an alternative way of doing or understanding something.

Figure 1.1 Young children

demonstrate a sense of wonder
about all things around them –
such as blowing seeds from a
dandelion

SCIENCE IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION 3


What is SCIENCE?
The word science comes from the Latin word scientia, meaning knowledge. However, science is much more
than just a body of knowledge. Davis and Howe (2003) described science as consisting of conceptual knowledge
(understanding of, and about, science), procedural knowledge (the skills and procedures associated with doing
science) and attitudinal knowledge (attitudes and dispositions to enhance scientific thinking).

Early childhood educators require a basic understanding of key scientific concepts in order to support young
children’s learning. Young children also have a range of understandings of scientific concepts, developed as a
consequence of their everyday interactions with the world. While their initial ideas may be far from the scientifically
correct concepts, these ideas make perfect sense to them. This was illustrated by Fatima’s explanation of how
magnets work.

It can take 12 years, or more, of schooling to reach the correct scientific concept. In the early childhood years
educators should distinguish between the ‘right’ answer and the ‘correct’ answer (Harlen, 2001). A right answer allows
children to answer based on their everyday experiences. While the right answer may be a long way from the
scientifically correct truth, it is important to allow young children to make observations and gain confidence in their
ability to describe what they think is happening and why it might be happening.

Educators play a significant role in helping young children learn science. This role includes preparing the
learning environment; co-constructing knowledge; being a source of expertise, skills and knowledge; encouraging
children to ask questions; asking productive questions; initiating and stimulating talk; and modelling how to think things
through (Blake & Howitt, 2012; Brunton & Thornton, 2010). Materials on their own do not teach scientific concepts.
Rather, the best science learning opportunities occur through conversations between children and adults while
interacting with materials (Fleer, 2009).

Young children’s scientific understanding is also developed through the educator modelling effective scientific
communication. Using appropriate scientific terminology acknowledges children as capable and competent learners
and helps them develop explanations and understandings of scientific concepts (Peterson & French, 2008). Brunton
and Thornton (2010) noted that scientific language provides the tools young children require to describe natural
phenomena, express their ideas and communicate their discoveries. Further, questioning to challenge ideas,
encourage discussion or promote further exploration or investigation assists young children to develop scientific
thinking and investigation.

Young children require many opportunities in a variety of contexts to practice the practical, intellectual,
communication and social skills associated with doing science. These include:

• practical skills of observation, using all the senses, manual dexterity, fine motor control, hand–eye coordination
and construction
• reasoning and thinking skills, such as questioning, speculating and inferring, problem-solving, noticing
similarities and differences, and reflecting
• communication skills, including speaking, listening, discussing, representing, recording and reporting
• social skills of cooperation, negotiation, leadership, following instructions and behaving in a safe manner
(Brunton & Thornton, 2010, p. 15).

SCIENCE IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION 4


The provision of time to explore resources, discover ideas, construct meaning and learn skills, along with
opportunities to re-visit and re-engage with materials and activities to build on their observations and ideas, permits the
development of science skills and knowledge.

Enthusiasm is contagious. Thus, early childhood educators should model and display positive attitudes towards
science. Important scientific attitudes to develop in young children include curiosity, enthusiasm, motivation,
cooperation, responsibility, originality, independence of thought and perseverance. They also include a respect for
evidence, open-mindedness, critical reflection and an ability to accept the provisional nature of knowledge (Brunton &
Thornton, 2010). It is important for young children to see that unusual observations can form the basis for further
investigation and that if something does not work the first time then they should try again.

Science and creativity

Not only are children naturally curious, they are also inherently creative. Science provides an ideal platform for
young children to demonstrate and enhance their creativity. Creativity involves using the imagination to create a
process or product that is original and has value to the user (Niland, 2016). Creativity helps children to better
understand the world around them by supporting questioning, experimentation, problem solving, risk taking and shared
thinking. Creativity also encourages divergent thinking and acceptance of differences.

Creativity has been defined to contain a number of aspects which are both observable and, in some case, actually
measureable (Cropley, 2014) based on seminal research undertaken by Torrance (1966). These factors include:
• flexibility: the ability to produce a large variety of ideas
• elaboration: the ability to develop, embellish, or fill out an idea
• originality: the ability to produce ideas that are unusual, statistically infrequent, not banal or obvious.

An early childhood educator can use her or his understanding of these factors to consider how children are
displaying creativity in their science explorations, construction activities and problem-solving tasks.

The importance of science in the early years

The early childhood years are an important time for learning. These years represent a period of significant social,
emotional, cognitive, linguistic and physical development in children. Research into developmental and cognitive
psychology has highlighted the importance of environmental effects during the early years of development and that a
lack of stimuli may result in children’s development not reaching its full potential (Hadzigeorgiou, 2002). Due to its
ability to engage and stimulate children, science education in the early childhood years offers the capacity to improve
many aspects of child development.

Eshach and Fried (2005) presented a range of reasons for engaging young children in science. As mentioned
earlier, children have a natural tendency to enjoy observing nature and to think about it. Science content and skills are
a natural fit with the way young children explore and try to explain their environment. Young children are motivated to
explore the world around them, and appropriate science experiences can capitalize on this motivation. Quality and
developmentally appropriate science learning experiences can assist children to better understand their world, collect
and organize information, and apply and test ideas. These experiences provide a solid foundation for the subsequent
development of scientific concepts that children will encounter throughout their academic lives. Engaging in science
experiences also allows for the development of scientifically informed language and scientific thinking. Through active
SCIENCE IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION 5


engagement with science, young children can develop increased self-belief as science learners and participants in the
process of science, construct understandings of science as a discipline, and come to view science as interesting and
worth pursuing (Mantzicopoulos, Patrick & Samarapungavan, 2008).

Children’s capacity for science

In terms of science, the developmental domains can characterize what children are capable of achieving (Gopnik,
2012; Johnston & Nahmad-Williams, 2009; Marotz & Allen, 2013). From birth to about 3 years of age, children are able
to focus their attention on particular features of their world. In their explanations and play, they seek meaning for their
experiences. They demonstrate an interest in why things occur and start to use others as a source of information and
learning. This often emerges as children repeat activities over and over again, becoming immersed in their discoveries
of new knowledge. Children’s language begins to reflect their enquiries with questions starting with ‘why, how, who,
when, where or what?’

In the 3–5-year-old category, children show a great deal of curiosity and interest in objects and living things. They
start to demonstrate an understanding of cause and effect, and realize that things can change. Children of this age are
able to articulate their own understandings and ask questions of others. They investigate materials by using their
senses appropriately and begin to identify features of living things and objects they observe. Further, they begin to
notice similarities and patterns in objects and events around them.

Children aged 5–8 develop dispositions for learning. They become adventurous in their thinking and begin to reflect
on their thinking processes. They develop further skills in problem-solving, inquiry, experimentation, researching and
investigating. Increasingly, they are able to transfer information from one context to another, adapt what they have
learnt, and start to develop their own explanations for observations they make based on evidence they have collected.
Finally, they are able to connect people, places, technologies and materials to provide independent resources for their
own learning.

Educators can build children’s science learning by recognizing and scaffolding these capacities in young children.

Watch a child for an extended period of time to see how they are exploring their world.

1. How do their actions reflect curiosity and wonder?

2. How is their whole body engaged in their exploration?
3. What do you think they are learning?

Have a conversation with the child afterwards. Do your observations match up with their experiences?

If not, what does this tell you about learning to see the world from a child’s perspective?

SCIENCE IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION 6



1. Within our Curriculum, science is defined as ‘a dynamic, collaborative and creative human endeavor arising
from our desire to make sense of our world through exploring the unknown, investigating universal mysteries,
making predictions and solving problems’. What is your definition of science, and how does it compare to the
above definition?
2. How is science dynamic, collaborative and creative? Were these words part of your definition? If not, why
didn’t you consider them as part of your definition?
3. How could these three words be applied to Zara, Lily and Sam, and Fatima as they experienced science?

Case study 1.1 Creativity with cardboard tubes and balls

Four-year-old Ethan was fascinated by balls. A range of cardboard tubes (different lengths and sizes) and balls were
placed outside near the sandpit. Ethan quickly started rolling the balls down the tubes, observing how he could direct
the balls by moving the tubes. His friends Coby and Sarah joined in this play. Ethan then suggested, ‘Let’s roll the balls
into the sandpit’, a distance of 3 m away. The three children spent the next 30 minutes devising and trialing many
different arrangements of the cardboard tubes to get the balls to roll into the sandpit. During their play, two main
problems were encountered: making sure the tubes maintained a downwards slope, and working out how to join the
tubes. The former was solved through the use of buckets from the sandpit and boxes from inside the center to provide
height to the tubes. The latter was harder, with suggestions of using hands or string to join the tubes, until they realized
that some tubes fitted inside others.

Reflection:

1. How can you set up an environment where children feel free to take risks and make mistakes?
2. From this case study, identify the link between science and creativity, and describe the indicators of creative
thinking.

SCIENCE IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION 7