Talking and Doing Science in the Early Years: A practical guide for ages 2-7

This book recognises that children are in intuitive scientists and that most of our actions at home and in other settings have a scientific basis. It is through these early experiences that children formulate their ideas about the world around them. This book introduces the simplest form of the principles and the big ideas of science and provides a starting point for encouraging children to have an interest and experiential understanding of basic science and engineering. It shows how adults can support young children in exploring everyday phenomena and develops their scientific language skills through readily available resources and hands-on experiences. Each chapter focuses on a different aspect of science and includes a summary of 'big ideas' to refresh adult scientific knowledge, numerous activities that encourage young children to observe, question and carry out their own investigations, a useful list of everyday resources and relevant vocabulary

Physical Science learning opportunities at Natural History Dioramas

Traditional view of science museums is that they present a static image of science, a fixed body. Visitors to museums come with pre-existing knowledge and frequently interpret that which they see but particular through using their Owen understanding referring to the labels and other interpretative means not only through the information provided by get museums. Such understanding is based on everyday beliefs. Listening to visitors in natural history museums reveals that few comments are made about science in action but focus on identifying the specimens and commenting on the attributes of the animals. However, physical science is much in evident in these animals although not focused on by natural histoiry museums. I report here the effects of a hands on workshop provided for two 11 year old boys and separately to 8 year old primary children at natural history museums in the south of England. The specimens are displayed don an authentic context in natural history dioramas. The two dioramas focused upon was one of an African Savannah scene with a water hole and at the edge of a forest and a compilation exhibit of primates on rocks and trees. The children were asked to view the main diorama and point out any science that they could recognise. They participated in hands on workshop focusing on forces, balance and stability. The leaners returned to the dioramas and were asked to again any science concepts they could see illustrated by the animal. After the cue provided by the hands on workshop they recognised a number of physical science concepts illustrated by the position in which the animals had been posed. Science in school for them had not been taught in a context

The Understanding of Human Anatomy Elicited from Drawings of Some Bangladeshi Village Women and Children

There are a number of methods to obtain information about a person’s understanding of science (White & Gunston, 1992; Tunnicliffe & Reiss, 1999a). Drawings are considered one useful tool (Haney et al., 2004). Most techniques require respondents to talk or write their answers to questions. Osborne and Gilbert, 1980 used oral questions whilst written responses have been analysed, for example by Lewis, Leach and Wood-Robinson, 2000. Tunnicliffe and Reiss (1999b) elicited children’s spontaneous conversations about learners’ interpretations of brine shrimps

Natural History Dioramas: An opportunity for children to observe physical Science in action in a moment of time

The nature of scientific research goes beyond the learning of concepts and basic manipulation to the key factors of engaging students in identifying relevant evidence and reflecting on its interpretation. It is argued that young children have the ability to acquire viable realistic concepts of the living world when involved in relevant activities (Tunnicliffe, 2000). Visiting a museum of natural history is an educational experience, which offers, children experiences that cannot be obtained within the classroom and research found that museums are excellent sources of cognitive experiences that complement and / or enrich the curriculum of formal education (Dillon et al., 2016). Dioramas have specific context, which give visitors the opportunity to be creative and have more learning opportunities when they engage with them (Achiam et al., 2014). This paper draws upon data that were gathered at a natural history museum. These data were the spontaneous conversations of child visitors and a workshop with structured educational activities with a pre- and post-test research design, which provided the opportunity for children to observe Science in action in a moment of time. These data focused on aspects of historical and experimental aspects of Science in action shown in the positions and environments of the animals featured which may be identified in natural history dioramas

What Plants and Animals Do Early Childhood and Primary Students’ Name? Where Do They See Them?

Children from England and the United States of America have a basic similar knowledge of plants and animals, which they observe during their everyday life. Nine children of ages 4, 6, 8, and 10 years, in each country, were asked to free-list plants and animals. Afterwards, they were interviewed individually about the plants and animals they listed to determine where they were seen. Additionally, children were asked to name animals they knew that were found in specific habitats or had specific characteristics. The results showed that children from the earliest years notice the animals in their everyday lives and 8 year olds were able to name the most animals. Plants were not named as often as animals and children in the USA found it difficult to name plants when questioned. This study shows that children are in touch with their everyday environment to varying extents, and that rich experiences can greatly contribute to their knowledge about plants and animals