The Importance of Teaching and Learning Nature of Science in the Early Childhood Years.
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| Title: | The Importance of Teaching and Learning Nature of Science in the Early Childhood Years. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Akerson, Valarie1 vakerson@indiana.edu, Buck, Gayle1, Donnelly, Lisa2, Nargund-Joshi, Vanashri1, Weiland, Ingrid1 |
| Source: | Journal of Science Education & Technology. Oct2011, Vol. 20 Issue 5, p537-549. 13p. 1 Diagram, 1 Chart. |
| Subject Terms: | *Science education (Early childhood), *Early childhood education, *Kindergarten, *Kindergarten teaching, Literature & science |
| Abstract: | Though research has shown that students do not have adequate understandings of nature of science (NOS) by the time they exit high school, there is also evidence that they have not received NOS instruction that would enable them to develop such understandings. How early is 'too early' to teach and learn NOS? Are students, particularly young students, not capable of learning NOS due to developmental unreadiness? Or would young children be capable of learning about NOS through appropriate instruction? Young children (Kindergarten through third grade) were interviewed and taught about NOS in a variety of contexts (informal, suburban, and urban) using similar teaching strategies that have been found effective at teaching about NOS with older students. These teaching strategies included explicit decontextualized and contextualized NOS instruction, through the use of children's literature, debriefings of science lessons, embedded written NOS assessments, and guided inquiries. In each context the researchers interviewed students prior to and after instruction, videotaped science instruction and maintained researcher logs and field notes, collected lesson plans, and copies of student work. The researchers found that in each setting young children did improve their understandings of NOS. Across contexts there were similar understandings of NOS aspects prior to instruction, as well as after instruction. There were also several differences evident across contexts, and across grade levels. However, it is clear that students as young as kindergarten are developmentally capable of conceptualizing NOS when it is taught to them. The authors make recommendations for teaching NOS to young children, and for future studies that explore learning progressions of NOS aspects as students proceed through school. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Journal of Science Education & Technology is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Education Research Complete |
| FullText | Links: – Type: pdflink Text: Availability: 0 |
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| Header | DbId: ehh DbLabel: Education Research Complete An: 66142457 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: The Importance of Teaching and Learning Nature of Science in the Early Childhood Years. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Akerson%2C+Valarie%22">Akerson, Valarie</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><i> vakerson@indiana.edu</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Buck%2C+Gayle%22">Buck, Gayle</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Donnelly%2C+Lisa%22">Donnelly, Lisa</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Nargund-Joshi%2C+Vanashri%22">Nargund-Joshi, Vanashri</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Weiland%2C+Ingrid%22">Weiland, Ingrid</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Journal+of+Science+Education+%26+Technology%22">Journal of Science Education & Technology</searchLink>. Oct2011, Vol. 20 Issue 5, p537-549. 13p. 1 Diagram, 1 Chart. – Name: Subject Label: Subject Terms Group: Su Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Science+education+%28Early+childhood%29%22">Science education (Early childhood)</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Early+childhood+education%22">Early childhood education</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Kindergarten%22">Kindergarten</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Kindergarten+teaching%22">Kindergarten teaching</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Literature+%26+science%22">Literature & science</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: Though research has shown that students do not have adequate understandings of nature of science (NOS) by the time they exit high school, there is also evidence that they have not received NOS instruction that would enable them to develop such understandings. How early is 'too early' to teach and learn NOS? Are students, particularly young students, not capable of learning NOS due to developmental unreadiness? Or would young children be capable of learning about NOS through appropriate instruction? Young children (Kindergarten through third grade) were interviewed and taught about NOS in a variety of contexts (informal, suburban, and urban) using similar teaching strategies that have been found effective at teaching about NOS with older students. These teaching strategies included explicit decontextualized and contextualized NOS instruction, through the use of children's literature, debriefings of science lessons, embedded written NOS assessments, and guided inquiries. In each context the researchers interviewed students prior to and after instruction, videotaped science instruction and maintained researcher logs and field notes, collected lesson plans, and copies of student work. The researchers found that in each setting young children did improve their understandings of NOS. Across contexts there were similar understandings of NOS aspects prior to instruction, as well as after instruction. There were also several differences evident across contexts, and across grade levels. However, it is clear that students as young as kindergarten are developmentally capable of conceptualizing NOS when it is taught to them. The authors make recommendations for teaching NOS to young children, and for future studies that explore learning progressions of NOS aspects as students proceed through school. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Journal of Science Education & Technology is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
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| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1007/s10956-011-9312-5 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 13 StartPage: 537 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Science education (Early childhood) Type: general – SubjectFull: Early childhood education Type: general – SubjectFull: Kindergarten Type: general – SubjectFull: Kindergarten teaching Type: general – SubjectFull: Literature & science Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: The Importance of Teaching and Learning Nature of Science in the Early Childhood Years. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Akerson, Valarie – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Buck, Gayle – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Donnelly, Lisa – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Nargund-Joshi, Vanashri – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Weiland, Ingrid IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 10 Text: Oct2011 Type: published Y: 2011 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 10590145 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 20 – Type: issue Value: 5 Titles: – TitleFull: Journal of Science Education & Technology Type: main |
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