This document discusses science education for young children. It defines science as using processes like observing, classifying, experimenting and communicating to make discoveries about the natural world. Science is present everywhere in children's environment and should be accessible and engaging for them. The goal of teaching science to young kids is to help them develop skills like problem solving and acquiring knowledge that they can build on throughout their lives. Some examples of preschool science activities provided include exploring blocks, collecting natural items, and planting seeds. The document emphasizes that children learn concepts through active exploration and that both naturalistic play and structured but informal lessons are effective ways to introduce scientific thinking to young learners.

1. SCIENCE FOR YOUNG
CHILDREN

2. What is science for young children?
 The definition of science:
Science is the body of knowledge people build when they use a group of
processes to make discoveries about the natural world.
The processes include observing, classifying, experimenting,
hypothesizing, and communicating . According to Holt (1989), "with
young children, science is continuous wondering, finding out, knowing.
Where is science?
Science is everywhere, such as the air we breathe, the foods we eat, and
the flowers we grow and etc.
Science needs to be available, appealing, and appropriate so young
children can get fully involved and better understand their world.

3. The goal of teaching science for young
children?
 The goal for teaching science with young children is to help them
develop their ability to apply scientific knowledge and learning
processes that they will continue to develop across their lifetime.
 Science experiences also help young develop their ability to solve
problems, acquire scientific knowledge and information, keep an
interest and appreciation children in science happenings around
them, and develop positive attitudes toward science (Leeper,
Skipper, & Witherpoon, 1979)

4. Preschool Science (3 – 6 years)
Early exposure to science and nature helps pre-schoolers
learn to ask questions.

5. Interacting with the pre-schoolers
 Talking is the key factor, it helps children internalize their
observations and start to involve in higher or complex level of
thinking, which enables them to see the big picture.
 Children this age, loves to ask questions.
 They will begin to understand the scientific method, how to develop
hypotheses and find ways to test, record and compare the datas.
 Through exploration and discussion, pre-schoolers learn that
science is part of their lives and – its’ fun.

6. Making science activity outside class
 Teachers can bring kids outside, make use of the environment
surrounding them.
 Teachers can bring kids out in the park or playground and let children
explore themselves.
 Children will be curious enough to ask
many questions.

7. Video sample of science activity

8. Pre-schoolers science activities
 Sample of activities that teachers can consider:
a) Block assembling
Children uses all kind of block shapes and build tall towers,
bridge, exploring the gravity and etc.
b) Collecting leaves & sticks
Teacher can ask kids to collect leaves, flowers and sticks.
Later on asking them questions about trees, which part
does the item they collected belongs to and etc.
c) Planting seed in a pot
Each child can have their own pot with their name on it.
Teachers can assist kids to put seed in a pot, and watch
them grow everyday.

9. Science in the Early Childhood Years
What is science:
- A way of thinking.
- A way of investigating.
- An inquiry & but facts do not stay the same over time.
How children learn in their early childhood?
 Science is learned through play, in the early childhood.
 Children learn science everyday in their world though
natural phenomena. (Eg: thunder, rainbow, tornado,
floods and etc.)

10. Development of Science Concepts
 Children learn specific science concepts at different
ages.
 Birth to age 2 – children will learn:
- Observation, problem solving, number, shape, 1 to 1
communication
 Age 2 to 9 – children will learn:
- Sets, classifying and applying the concepts.

11. What Are Inquiry Skills?
Francis is a teacher who likes to keep her students engaged and learning
actively. She knows that children learn best when they use high order
thinking skills, things that require them to think critically, creatively, and
reflectively. She designs lessons that allow them to use these skills in all
subject areas throughout the day, like in reading, math, and science. How
does she do this?
Francis capitalizes on students' natural curiosity by designing lessons
that ask them to use inquiry skills. Also known as the inquiry process or
inquiry learning, the basis of this method is to follow a circular process
that asks questions, researches answers, interprets information, presents
findings, and reflects.

12. Benefits of Using Inquiry Skills
Inquiry skills are important for student learning. It requires them to be active
participants as they gather information, analyze their findings, and apply
critical thinking of what they learn. Using inquiry skills for learning can:
 Foster curiosity
 Develop critical thinking
 Increase student responsibility
 Encourage independent thinking
 Support reasoning skills
 In other words, teachers like Francis, who use inquiry skills in subjects like
math, science, or social studies, are weaving in important skills students
need in addition to their core learning. Let's see what this looks like in
practice.

13. Inquiry Learning in Action
In other words, teachers like Francis, who use inquiry skills in
subjects like math, science, or social studies, are weaving in
important skills students need in addition to their core learning. Let's
see what this looks like in practice
Steps for using inquiry learning are:
 Ask a question
 Investigate answers
 Create new understanding
 Communicate findings
 Reflect

14. Science in Early Childhood: Developing & Acquiring
Fundamental (forming a base) Concepts & Skills
How fundamental concepts & skills develop:
 Any scientist would know, the best way to “learn science is to do
science”.
 It seems to be the only way to get the business of asking quetions,
conducting investigations.
 Children need to have the chance to ask & answer questions, do
investigations and applying it to a problem solving skills.
 Eg: Kids may ask how bubble are formed when they are taking
bath? We can make an experiment in the class, so that they can
see for themselves how bubble are formed.
 Kids gets a chance to be hands-on and see the result.
 Child-centered inquiry is at the core of good science experiences

15.  Concepts (an abstract of ideas) are the building blocks of knowledge, where they allow people to
organize & categorize information.
 In early childhood, children actively engage in acquiring fundamental concepts and learn
fundamental process skills.
 As we watch children doing their daily activities at various stages of development, we can observe
them constructing and using concepts. Below are some examples in different methods:
a) 1 to 1 correspondence
Passing an orange to each child seated at the table;
b) Counting
Counting the no. of pebbles needed for every child
seated at the table;
c) Classifying
Placing square shapes in a pile, round shapes in
another pile;
d) Measuring
Pouring water or liquid from 1 container to another.

16. Babies explores the world with their senses:
 They touch, look, smell, hear and taste.
 All children born are curious to know about their environment.
 From crawling, standing & walking, once the are grown, they
are free to discover more freely onn their own.
 When they learn about sizes, they will realize why are they
small? This will make them go over & under where they
discover larger objects.
 They learn grasping power, where they can catch something
and fit into their tiny hands.

17. Infants learn about:
Weight - when they cannot lift items of the same size
Shape - some shapes stay put, others roll away
Time sequence - They wake up feeling hungry and wet
(Baby cry-caretaker comes-change diaper-feed)
Space - They discover small and bigger space as they learn to
crawl
Spatial sense - They are placed in a crib or playpen in a center of
a room

18. Toddlers sort things:
 Toddlers are able to sort shapes following individual
colours, same goes to sorting our colours or sizes. They
can stack blocks into high tower too.
 They are also able to pour sand & water into containers.
 The exploring and experimentation done in the first 2
years, will help develop muscle coordination and the
sense of taste, smell, sight & hearing.
 This skills are basis for their future learning.

19. In preschool & kindergarten:
 Exploration continues to be the 1st step in dealing with new situations.
 They also learn to apply basic concepts to collect and organize data.
 To be able to collect data, basic skills such as; observation, counting,
recording & organizing is needed.
 Example of a situation; as seen in the picture
all the children are planting seed in a pot.
They will observe each of their pot on daily basis
and water the plant. This experiment will give them ability to observe, count,
record, observe and organize the data.

20. How Science concepts are acquired
 Children acquire fundamental concepts through active involvement with their
environment.
 When their explore their surroundings, they construct their own knowledge.
 Specific learning experiences with younger children may be naturalistic or
spontaneous, informal or structured.
Naturalistic Experiences:
- is initiated spontaneously by children as they go about they daily activities.
- The child controls the choice and action.
- These experiences are the major mode of learning for children during the sensorimotor
period (birth to 2 years)

21. How Science concepts are acquired
 Naturalistic Experiences:
- With naturalistic experiences, the adult's role is to
provide and interesting and rich environment for the
child, like as many things as possible for the child to
touch, taste, smell and hear.
- The adult should observe the child's activity, note
how it is progressing, then responding it with a glance,
a nod, a smile, or a word of encouraging to the child.
- The child needs to know when she or he does the
appropriate things.

22. Examples of Naturalistics Experiences:
 Sarah takes a spoon from the drawer and says, “This is big” and mom says, “Yes”.
 Lila sits on the floor and is sorting out colour rings into plastic cups.
 Philip is painting, dabbing a yellow on top of a blue paint, He says, “Hey! Ive got green
now”.

23. Informal Learning Experiences:
 Is iniatiated by adults as children are engaged in naturalistic experiences.
 It is not pre-planned.
 When the child maybe doing the right thing in solving a problem, but needs a little cue
or encouragement.
 The adult might take advantage of a teachable moment to reinforce certain concepts.
Example of Informal Learning Experiences:
A child has 4 balls with her, when ask her to show up, how many fingers she need to show
4, she actually shows 3 fingers. Here an adult may correct her by pointing out another
finger.

24. Structured Learning Experiences:
 Are planned lessons, activities and experiences that occur in many ways.
 Usually this experience are chosen by adults who then gives direction to the child.
 Adults or teachers can offer structured experiences in the following examples.
Situation A:
A teacher helps a child with the concept of shape, by suggesting a game to play and gives
her the direction to play the game.
Situation B:
After the children draw a painting of their hand on a board, later the teacher ask questions
regarding the colour, shape and numbers.

25. Structured vs Unstructured Play

26. Bronfenbrenner’s Bioecological Model
 Urie Bronfenbrenner, formed a Ecological Systems Theory to explain how the inherent
qualities of a child and his environment interact to influence how the child will grow
and develop.
 Through the Bronfenbrenner Ecological Theory, Bronfenbrenner stressed the
importance of studying a child in the context of multiple environments, also known as
ecological systems in the attempt to understand his development.
 A child typically finds himself simultaneously enmeshed in different ecosystems, from
the most intimate home ecological system moving outward to the larger school system
and the most expansive system which is society and culture. Each of these systems
inevitably interact with and influence each other in every aspect of the child’s life.
 The Urie Bronfenbrenner model organizes contexts of development into five levels of
external influence.

27. Bronfenbrenner’s Bioecological Model

28. Bronfenbrenner’s Bioecological Model
Five Distinct Systems
1.Microsystem: Interactions in the child's immediate environment (e.g., parent—child, child—
teacher, etc.) and those between significant others
2.Mesosystem: Involves connections between settings. The relationships between home and school
are an important example.
3.Exosystem: Describes settings in which the child is not directly involved, but which nonetheless
affect that child. For example, parents' work and their relationships with friends and family…
4.Macrosystem: Concerns societal and cultural practices and norms that have an impact on
children's development by setting expectations for parent and child behaviour, and by shaping the
other settings.
5.Chronosystem: The influence of time on each of the settings and interactions in the system….As
children develop, different settings and systems have differing effects, and impact in different ways.

29. SUMMARY:
Key Principles to guide the learning of science among young
children
 Children have the capacity to engage in scientific practices and develop
understanding at a conceptual level.
 Adults play a central and important role in helping young children learn
science.
 Young children need multiple and varied opportunities to engage in
science exploration and discovery.
 Young children develop science skills and knowledge in both formal and
informal settings.
 Young children develop science skills and knowledge over time.
 Young children develop science skills and learning by engaging in
experiential learning.

30. Why Attracting Young Children to
Science Is Important
 So why is it important for us to recognize and make changes to early-
childhood science education? Let us count the ways.
1. Young children are primed for learning.
Try spending a few hours with the childre, millions of questions they will ask
you. So when we do not spend time on science in this early years, we will
miss out on our prime thinking.
2. Young children are already hands-on learners.
True project-based learning is about hands-on activity. Learning through play
is a perfect opportunity for these kinesthetic and tactile learners to experiment
with simple scientific processes such as cause-and-effect.

31. 3. Science allows young children to develop life skills.
Science involves a lot of talking and listening to others; it develops patience too. Scientific
inquiry requires communication, perseverance, organization, and attention to detail. All of
these are skills that early childhood educators long to cultivate in their students. Yes, these
skills can be developed outside of science; but for a true well-rounded education, why not
start young children early, helping them to practice these traits in a cross-curricular
manner?
4. Children’s early interests directly influence their interests later in life.
Caught in the interplay between nurture and nature, children, even the young ones, are
busy discovering who they are. Starting science education early ensures that scientific
interest are in the mix as these young people begin to develop passions and desires of their
own.