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Facilitating Child Investigation
August 14, 2014
You see things, and you say, "Why?" But I dream things that never were, and I say, "Why not?"
-George Bernard Shaw
-George Bernard Shaw
In their article "Beyond Nature Hikes and Butterflies," which is part of the new Exchange Essentials, Taking Play Outdoors, Kelly K. Twibell and Diane Harkins note...
"Some parents and early childhood educators avoid science because they think they need to have all the answers to children’s questions. Perhaps they also think children are incapable of comprehending scientific phenomena. Both assumptions are incorrect.... New attention is now being drawn to the importance of wondering alongside children. In particular, older preschoolers are eager to engage in inquiry, often referring to such experiments as ‘real science.’
"When children observe a pattern of outcomes or experience disorder in a perceived pattern, adults can encourage them to form a hypothesis about what they observe to be true and then prompt them to test their idea.... It is important for adults to facilitate, rather than direct, a child’s investigations; quality science experiences develop out of a child’s own interests, not the agenda of an adult."
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Comments (3)
Displaying All 3 Commentsthe grand child care center
chicago, IL, United States
I come across some books and materials written for young children but has so much details information which not appropriate , under the name of 'telling the truth' .
But some times simple explains too is enough. Young children do not need to know about certain things- even though their mind may accept the informations...
House of Neuville Jewels
Dallas, TX, United States
We, as adults, should always be wondering
along children, about our world, and everything in it!
Asking open-ended questions like " I wonder what would happen if..."
Heck, we are 50% of the learning team. The children are the other 50%!
Denver, CO, United States
The article suggests that teachers in early childhood programs may believe that young children are incapable of understanding scientific phenomena. I think they are correct, if we think of how science (and math) used be to taught to young children: a downward extension of school approaches. The secret to teaching science and math to young children is that it must be taught in fundamentally different ways from k-12 approaches. I hope, as STEM has become fashionable, that we never forget this truth! However, I fear otherwise.
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