SCIENCE AND LIVING THINGS FOR YOUNG CHILDREN GED 3083

by: Elis Johannes H S

Course Outcomes
At the end of the course , students will be able to:
1. Describe how children learn science 2. Apply the content in science curriculum and the topics for early childhood education 3. Plan lessons that are appropriate for the teaching of science for young children 4. Assess the science skills of young children 5. Apply and implement science lessons in the classroom

Activity 1
1. Explain the basic concepts and skills developed starting sensorimotor until concrete operation. 2. Explain the stages of cognitive development according to Piaget. 3. How do we characterize the logic of the Preoperational Child? 4. Compare the view of Piaget and Vygotsky about how children acquire knowledge and develop concept. 5. Describe the learning cycle and its application in early childhood education.

How children develop concepts

Objectives: Define concept development Identify the concepts children are developing Label examples of Piagets developmental stages of thought Identify cognitive characteristics and behavior of children in preoperational period. Compare the view of Piaget and Vygotsky Explain how young children acquire knowledge.

Early childhood is a period when children actively engage in acquiring fundamental concepts and learning fundamental process skills. As children are doing their activities, concepts are constructed and used (during preprimary period) Concept: the building blocks of knowledge; they allow people to organize and categorize information. Solution to new problem

 Give examples of simple activities for these concepts: One to one correspondence: passing apples, putting car in a garage Counting: Classifying: Measuring:

 During preprimary period they develop the processes that enable them to apply their newly acquired concepts and to enlarge current concepts and develop new ones both in math and science. During primary period, they apply the basic concepts when exploring more abstract inquiries in science and to help them understand more complex concepts in mathematics.

Concepts and skills: Beginning Points for Understanding

Period Section II Fundamental Section III Applied Section IV Higher level Section V Primary

Sensorimotor (birth to age 2)

Observation; Problem solving; One to one correspondence; Number; Shape; Spatial sense
Ordering, seriation, patterning; Informal measurement: weight, length, temperature; volume; time; time and sequence Number symbols; sets and symbols

Preoperationa Sets and classifying; l (2 to 7 years) Comparing; Counting; Parts and wholes; Language

Transitional (5 to 7 years) Concrete operations (7 to 11 years)

Graphing

Concrete addition and subtraction Whole number operations; Fraction; Number facts; Place value: Geometry; Measurement with standard units

 Development refers to changes that take place due to growth and experience. Different children of the same age may be weeks and months, or even a year or two apart in reaching certain stages and still be within the normal range of development. As the children grow and develop, their concepts grow and develop as well.

 Concepts growth and development begins in infancy. Babies explore the world with their senses. They are born curious and want to know all about their environment. Babies begin to learn the ideas of size, weight, shape, time and space. Examples Infants learn about weight, shape, time sequence, Toddlers learn to sort things, Young children learn about measurement Preschool and kindergarten apply the concept to collecting data to answer a question, e.g process of plant growth.

Standards for science education

In 1996 the national research council published the national science education standards, which present a vision of a scientifically literate populace. A prominent feature of the national science education standards is a focus on inquiry. A national consensus has evolved around what constitutes effective science education.

 The NAEYC guidelines for mathematics and science (Bredekamp & Copple, 1997) state that mathematics begins with For three years old: exploration of materials such as building blocks, sand, and water For 4 year olds: Cooking, observation of environmental changes, working with tool, classifying objects with a purpose, and exploring animals, plant, machines, and so on for four five year olds.

 For 5-8 year olds: Exploration, discovery, problem solving Mathematic and science are integrated with other areas such as social studies, arts, etc. These standard take a constructivist view based on the theories of Piaget and Vygotsky.

Piaget Stages of Cognitive Development

Stages Sensorimotor Stage Preoperational Stage Concrete Operational Thought Formal Operational Thought Age Birth 2 Years 2-7 Years 7-11 Years 11 Years and Older

4 Stages of Cognitive Development

Stages Preoperational Stage Age 2 7 Years

Occurs when children are learning to use language to communicate During this stage, children do not yet understand concrete logic, cannot mentally manipulate information, and are unable to take the point of view of other people During this time, children also become increasingly adept at using symbols

4 Stages of Cognitive Development

Stages Preoperational Stage Age 2 7 Years

Some development skills/issues that take place in this stage are:

Symbolic function/symbolic play Egocentrism Conservation

4 Stages of Cognitive Development

Stages Preoperational Stage Age 2 7 Years

Symbolic function/symbolic pay

Uses advanced level of mental representation Using a broom for horse, hat for a cup
Make-believe play
Advances rapidly during early childhood Can create stories, with characters and scenes

4 Stages of Cognitive Development

Stages Preoperational Stage Age 2 7 Years

Make-believe Play
Research has shown children involved in make-believe play show remarkable improvement in memory, logical reasoning, attention, creativity, impulse control.. Research shows make believe play that involves social interaction (drama, creative play) makes children more socially competent as compared to those doing nonpretend social activities (drawing, coloring)

Make-believe Play
Stages Preoperational Stage Age 2 7 Years

How can we enhance make-believe play in early childhood in the classroom?

4 Stages of Cognitive Development

Stages Preoperational Stage Age 2 7 Years

Egocentrism
The inability to take on another persons perspective. Perspective Taking
The 3 mountains The doll experiment

4 Stages of Cognitive Development

Stages Preoperational Stage Age 2 7 Years

Conservation
The ability to recognize that certain physical characteristics fo certain objects remain the same, even when their outward appearance change Conservation tasks
Number Length Mass Liquid Weight

Failure of Conservation

Figure 9.2 Conservation

Why the errors?

Inability to interrelate the different dimensions of a situation.

Failure of Conservation (in number)

Figure 9.3 Conservation of Number

4 Stages of Cognitive Development

Stages Preoperational Stage Age 2 7 Years

Egocentrism The inability to take on another persons perspective. Perspective Taking The 3 mountains The doll experiment

Egocentrism

Figure 9.1 The Three-Mountains Test

What is Class Inclusion?

Including new objects/categories in broader mental classes Requires child focus on more than one aspect of situation at once

Figure 9.4 Class Inclusion

How Do We Characterize the Logic of the Preoperational Child?

Causality Influenced by egocentrism Caused by will Precausal thinking Transductive reasoning Animism; Artificialism Confusion between mental and physical phenomena Believe their thoughts reflect external reality

Believe dreams are true

How Do Children in the Preoperational Stage Think and Behave?

Symbolic thought and play Pretend play 12-13 months familiar activities; i.e. feed themselves 15-20 months focus on others; i.e. feed doll 30 months others take active role; i.e. doll feeds itself Imaginary Friends More common among first-born and only children

Piagets view of how children acquire knowledge

According to Piagets view, children acquire knowledge by constructing it through their interaction with the environment. They are continually trying to make sense out of everything they encounter. Knowledge is divided into three areas: Physical knowledge (learning about objects in the environment and their characteristics , e.g color, weight, size, etc) Logico Mathematical knowledge (include relationship each individual constructs, e.g same and different, more or less, number, classification, etc) Social knowledge (created by people, e.g rules for behavior)

 Constance Kamii, a student of Piaget, has actively translated Piagets theory into practical applications for the instruction of young children. He emphasized that to Piaget, autonomy (independence) is the aim of education. Feel secure in their relationships with adults Opportunity to share their ideas with other children Encouraged to be alert and curious Come up with interesting ideas Have confidence to figure out things Presented with problems to be solved to challenge their minds Work with concrete materials and real problems

Vygotskys view of how children learn and develop

While Piaget looked at development as if it came mainly from the child alone, from the childs inner maturation and spontaneous discoveries, Vygotsky believed this was true only until about the age of two. He believed culture and cultural signs were necessary to expand thought, e.g speech, writing, numbering, etc.

The internal and external forces interacted to produce new thoughts, e.g roles of adult or more mature peer. He developed the concept of Zone of proximal development (ZPD); the area between where a child is now operating independently in mental development and where she might go with assistance from an adult or more mature child.

 Cultural knowledge is arrived at with the assistance or scaffolding provided by more mature learners. Good teaching involved presenting material that was a little a head of development. Children might not full understand it at first, but they would understand in time with appropriate scaffolding. Instruction did not put pressure on development but supported as it moves ahead, Teacher must identify each students ZPD and provide developmentally appropriate instruction.

 Piagetian constructivists tend to be concerned about the tradition of presurring children and not allowing them freedom to construct knowledge independently. Vygotskian constructivists are concerned with children being challenged to reach their full potential. Today many educators find that a combination of Piagets and Vygotskys views provides a foundation for instruction that follows the childs interests and enthusiasm while at the same time providing an intellectual challenge. The Learning cycle view provides such a framework.

 The learning cycle is viewed as a way to take students on a quest for knowledge that leads to the construction of knowledge. It is used as a curriculum development and a teaching strategy. Developers must organize student activities around phases. And modify their role and strategies during the progressive phases. The phases are exploration, concept development, and concept application (Barnan, 1989).

THE LEARNING CYCLE

Exploration phase
Teacher observes and comment or question occasionally, provide appropriate settings. Students actively manipulate materials and interact with each other. E.g. lesson about shapes

Concept introduction phase

The teacher provides direct instruction, begin with discussion of the information the students have discovered, The teacher helps students to record the information, clarify by explanation, print materials, films, guest speaker, and other resources.

Application phase
Provide children with the opportunity to integrate and organize new ideas with old ideas and relate them to other ideas. The teacher and children can suggest a new problem to which the information learned in the first two phases can be applied. Example learning about shapes; ramps and the balls.

ADAPTING THE LEARNING CYCLE TO EARLY CHILDHOOD

The learning cycle for young children encompasses four repeating processes: 1. Awareness: a broad recognition of objects, people, events, or concepts that develops from experience. 2. Exploration: the construction of personal meaning through sensory experiences with objects, people, events or concepts

3. Inquiry: learners compare their construction with those of the culture, commonalities are recognized, generalizations are made that are more like those of adults 4. Utilization: learners can apply and use their understandings in new settings and situations.

 Cycle of Learning and Teaching see Attachment 1

THE END