Joint Nordic Study Module

Children’s Learning of Science Concepts The NatGrep Network

26.04.13 Merete Økland Sortland merete.sortland@hsh.no

It concists of

• 2 parts

– Theoretical fundament

– Practical task

– https://sites.google.com/site/natgrep/home

Why focus on Children’s Learning of Science Concepts

• uncertainty, the natural sciences have the content and volume - curriculum

• evaluations • take children’s curiosity seriously • starting understanding for the importance of

sustainable development • a child friendly meeting • well founded bases for further education in

Science • kindergarten not school

Principal

• The children's perspective – the preschool teacher has to be curious in and taking care of children’s curiosity

• Children’s participation – the child’s right to express their views concerning it’s own learning

• The preschool teacher’s knowledge and ability to improvise

• The children learn in interactions with children and grown-ups (curiosity in focus)

• The everyday conversation – has to give opportunities for the child’s communication and reflection

• The surroundings shape children's play and learning

The children's perspective

• the preschool teacher has to be curious in and taking care of children’s curiosity – experiences, the whole situation

– the child is connected to and a part of the world

– create insight through it’s own activity

– something that is different, basis for attention and learning

– the children’s ideas, important to discuss with the children, to stimulate

– create order in the world, similarities and differences

– play/experimentation – wonders - talking about – try to find out – report something to others

Example 1, black ice

4 years old

On our way back to the kindergarten, we discovered a small puddle which had frozen a little bit up. One of the children has a question: «You, why isn't this ice black? When we made green water, the ice turned green. But this ice is not black».

Example 2, starfish

5 years old (fictitious names) student (shows a picture of a star fish). (-) talk about the legs of the starfish (-) student: Yes, they are small, an it walks a little bit, the whole time. What do you think is it’s food? Heidi: it eats sharks. Andrea: No, it ‘s too small. Leander: Crabs Silje: Fish Maria: It eats starfish Leander: It easts plants which are under the sea. student: Yes, it’s quite richt. It eats something called algae. They are tiny and the starfish eats them. Malene: Can we see them? student: If thera are very nmany we can see them. But star fish is easy to see. It’s a star. The star fish belong to a group

called echinoderm Maria: Star. Justin Bieber is a star! (everyone is laughing) student: But he isn’t a star? Leander: Yes The girls cries out: Nooo Silje: Justin Bieber had drowned in the bottom of the sea. (everyone is laughing)

The children’s participation

• the child’s right to express their views concerning it’s own learning – democratic ideal of formation, the Nordic countires

– Klafki : self-determination, co-determination, solidarity

– it’s not contrary to the pedagogue's responsibility and knowledge, the children have not the grown-ups overview

– the questions develop over time, because of knowledge and experience

– the preschool teacher, has to be that one who “ knows and can” and be able to adjust the children’s contributions

Example 3, ice raft

Students in Iceland It was a boy who got Vanja’s attention. He walked

around, looking through an ice raft he had found. The Icelandic pedagogue explained to the students that the boy said it was a window. The students could not see that the pedagogue gave any attention to the boy’s curiosity around the ice raft.

Vanja walked to him with her ice raft, and they start to watch each other through their respective ice raft.

The other children joined this game and started to watch through theirs ice rafts, as well. We had no dialogue, just looking though the ice rafts on each other.

The preschool teacher’s knowledge and ability to improvise

• focus on the children’s curiosity – ”du you remember” questions, the answer is

taken for granted

– stimulate interest and curiosity

– the children have to get enough time to getting interested

– play perspective, an anthropomorphic way of expression

– have knowledge, and be able to communicate it with the children

Example 4, fish eggs

The students had planed to talk about fins and and gills. Children, 4 yeas old Student: This is a breast fin.(-) They talk about fins Student: (-) Oj, look here! This is a girl fish, do you see?

Come and see! Do you see them? Boy 1: Why is it a girl fish? Student: Look her, it is fish eggs (rogn). They have not

become so big yet. Shall we remove them? Girl 3: Yes! Is that the mummy? Then they continue talking about the fish eggs in different types of fish the have.

The children learn in interactions with children and grown-ups (curiosity in focus)

• learning of language, a result of social interaction and depends of the children’s cognitive, cultural and social knowledge and experience

• the meaning of a word, used for thinking, early start, better results later

• important with social community, joint activity and goal • challenge the child, learning is not painless,

intersubjectivity • the same meaning, conflicts, several voices , very important

in the child’s learning and development • child – subject, need the grown-up’s support – specific

content

Example

• Student: demonstrated the gills to the children and explained how the water came into the mouth and out through the gills

• Student: hmm what is this? Wondered the student and took eggs (rogn) out of the fish ---: it’s a star fish! ---: No, it’s a cephalopod! answered another, all the children are laughing Student: The name of this is eggs (rogn). It’s the eggs of the fish. ---: is it tadpole eggs? One child is wondering Student: they are quite similar to tadpole eggs, but these eggs become small fish and the tadpole eggs develop to frogs. All the children are fascinated and want to touch the eggs (rogn)

Example

5 years old

When we were outside, it started to hail, when one of the children burst out: See, it is coming solid substance from the sky, from the clouds

Example

5 years old Andrea: I know how one can fish for fish

and crabs. Student: Good. Because I have a picture

of a crab. The crab is a arthropod (joint animal). It’s consists of several joints

Silje: Joints (thinking), is that such as thigh, leg, foot and toes?

Student: Yes, that was a good explanation.

2-3 years old

• Photo: Kjersti Karlsen

The everyday conversation

• has to give opportunities for the child’s communication and reflection

• central, common

• Gjems (2011) seldom used for cognitive challenging conversations. Adjusting seldom the children's answers. Everything were acknowledged

• same study – the grown-ups want to lead the talk, but it is the children who include the children who not participate

• children in the kindergarten has to meet preschool teachers who are qualified talking partners

• the children us scientific concepts as common concepts, develop the ability to use the concept correct even if they are not fully understood

• the language development comes earlier than thinking since words and concepts are in meaningful relations, important with correct names on objects and phenomena

Example

• 3 years old

• It was time for lunch after the activity. It was talked about the worm during the meal among the children.

• The children have to learn before they can wonder

Example

We experienced the engagement from the children when we got the dipping net on land. They paid a lot of attention when we separated the fish from the net. Even the youngest children were very eagerly. The children were also very interested joining the cleaning and cutting of the fish

The surroundings shape children's play and learning

• “The third pedagogue.”

• … children get experiences other then drawing rainbows and suns, as they have done before. The children should be offered materials, objects and stories which can give them tools to interpret and reconstruct experiences in new ways (Østrem, 2007)

• see opportunities for scientific adventures and presentation through activates outside in the wood and at the sea

• ground plan, interior decoration and available equipment for exploration, to stimulate the children to scientific adventures and reflections, simple actions, stimulating for the personnel

• Fischer & Madsen (2001): With a tool in the hand, the learning situation lasted much longer

Example

2-years old: I and the children poured the soap water on the ground (-) Two worms came up, and the children got mad (positive). Everyone wanted to hold it, and after a couple of rounds in small children’s hands, the worms were pretty crashed. (-) Then we had a funeral.

Example

2-3 years old:

«why do you thing that the worms came up?

«it doesn’t seem that it likes it».

«correct». (-)

The student showed the children how the worms feel it by tickling the child’s hand. (-) «åååh» said the children (Student, 2012).

Aim for the students

• The students shall train in using scientific words, concepts and working methods with the children.

• The students must prepare activities which stimulate the children’s curiosisty. Contribute to the student as an active and competent participant.

• The student must have sufficient knowledge about theire theme. It is also an advantage if som of the students know the children in beforehand.

Aims for the children

• The children should get the first meeting with scientific words, concepts and working methods. This should be planned for the children.

Gjennomføring

• Alternativ 1 (små og store barn) • Dere skal planlegge, gjennomføre og redegjøre for en til to

naturfaglige aktiviteter i en barnehage. Aktivitetene kan velges innen hele naturfaget, og de skal formidles til både store barn, 3-6 år og til små barn, 1-3 år dersom det er mulig. Opplegget må tilpasses aldersgruppen.

• • Alternativ 2 (to ulike formidlingsmetoder) • Dere skal planlegge, gjennomføre og redegjøre for en

naturfaglig aktivitet i en barnehage. Aktiviteten skal formidles på to forskjellige måter. Aktivitetene kan velges innen hele naturfaget.

When a child realice that his thoughts are wrong

• P.g 5 years said ”we should put the toys into the water, and I said that all the toys would float, but I did not really say that ” (Student, 2010).

www.hsh.no

Example from the news, yesterday

• Talking about washing hands in the kindergartens to prevent spreading diseases

• The child, interviewed, said bacteria

• The journalist said «baselusk» (A Norwegian word for microorganisms, often used together with children)

www.hsh.no

The knowledge from the kindergarten

• A resource or a problem in the school?

– Teachers who don’t handle well-informed children

– Take the task from the school

– Is school engaged in what is happening in the kindergarten?

– The preschool teacher education has practice in school

– Teacher education – kindergarten practice?

28

Thank you:

• Stord/Haugesund University College

• The Nordic Council of Ministers

• All my good preschool teacher students

• All engaged and experimenting children

Thank you for your attention!!

www.hsh.no