The Construction of Scientific Knowledge at an Early Age: Two Crucial Factors
Affiliation(s)
1 Department of Education, University of the Aegean, Mytilene, Greece. 2 Aristotle University, Mytilene, Greece.
1 Department of Education, University of the Aegean, Mytilene, Greece. 2 Aristotle University, Mytilene, Greece.
ABSTRACT
This article presents and justifies a proposal for the priority of two activities in the early childhood curriculum, namely, those of “storytelling” and the “movement of objects”. Given, on the one hand, the growing interest in science activities for very young children, and the notion of “developmental appropriateness” on the other, the concern about early experiences in physical science is both pressing and legitimate. In the light of such concern, the idea that children should simply participate in interesting activities or in activities that in general enrich their experiential background, needs to be reconsidered. Given that the construction of scientific knowledge involves the construction of relationships among concepts and ideas, and presupposes curiosity and affective imagination, science stories with a science content that captures the imagination of the child, and activities involving the movement of objects appear to be more pedagogically appropriate than other activities. Therefore they should be given priority in the curriculum.
This article presents and justifies a proposal for the priority of two activities in the early childhood curriculum, namely, those of “storytelling” and the “movement of objects”. Given, on the one hand, the growing interest in science activities for very young children, and the notion of “developmental appropriateness” on the other, the concern about early experiences in physical science is both pressing and legitimate. In the light of such concern, the idea that children should simply participate in interesting activities or in activities that in general enrich their experiential background, needs to be reconsidered. Given that the construction of scientific knowledge involves the construction of relationships among concepts and ideas, and presupposes curiosity and affective imagination, science stories with a science content that captures the imagination of the child, and activities involving the movement of objects appear to be more pedagogically appropriate than other activities. Therefore they should be given priority in the curriculum.
KEYWORDS
Scientific Knowledge, Young Children, Early Childhood Education, Logico-Mathematical Thinking, Narrative Thinking, Movement of Objects, Imagination, Storytelling, Science Stories
Scientific Knowledge, Young Children, Early Childhood Education, Logico-Mathematical Thinking, Narrative Thinking, Movement of Objects, Imagination, Storytelling, Science Stories
Cite this paper
Anastasiou, L. , Kostaras, N. , Kyritsis, E. and Kostaras, A. (2015) The Construction of Scientific Knowledge at an Early Age: Two Crucial Factors. Creative Education, 6, 262-272. doi: 10.4236/ce.2015.62025.
Anastasiou, L. , Kostaras, N. , Kyritsis, E. and Kostaras, A. (2015) The Construction of Scientific Knowledge at an Early Age: Two Crucial Factors. Creative Education, 6, 262-272. doi: 10.4236/ce.2015.62025.
References
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[1] Atkinson, S., & Fleer, M. (1995). Science with Reason. London: Hodder and Stoughton. [2] Ausubel, D., Novak, J., & Hanesian, H. (1978). Educational Psychology: A Cognitive View. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. [3] Basseches, M. (1980). Dialectical Schemata. Human Development, 23, 400-421.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1159/000272600 [4] Berg, C. (1993). Perspectives for Viewing Intellectual Development throughout Life. In R. Sternberg, & C. Berg, (Eds.), Intellectual Development. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. [5] Berk, L., & Winsler, A. (1995). Schaffolding Children’s Learning: Vygotsky and Early Childhood Education. Washington DC: NAEYC. [6] Bornstein, M. (1989). Sensitive Periods in Development: Structural Characteristics and Causal Interpretations. Psychological Bulletin, 105, 179-197.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.105.2.179 [7] Brown, S. (1981). Bubbles, Rainbows and Worms. Mt Rainier, MD: Gryphon House Inc. [8] Browne, N. (1991). Science and Technology in the Early Years. Buckingham: Open University Press. [9] Bruner, J. S. (1963). The Process of Education. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. [10] Bruner, J. S. (1966). Toward a Theory of Instruction. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. [11] Bruner, J. S. (1985). Vygotsky: A Historical and Conceptual Perspective. In J. Wertsh (Ed.), Culture, Communication, and Cognition: Vygotskian Perspectives. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. [12] Bruner, J. (1986). Actual Minds, Possible Worlds. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. [13] Bruner, J. (1992). Acts of Meaning. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. [14] Carey, S. (1986). Cognitive Science and Science Education. American Psychologist, 41, 123-130. [15] Case, R. (1985). Intellectual Development: A Systematic Reinterpretation. New York: Academic Press. [16] Chaille, C., & Britain, L. (2003). The Young Child as Scientist: A Constructivist Approach to Early Science Education (3rd ed.). New York: Harper Colins. [17] Chalmers, A. (1982). What Is This Thing Called Science? Milton Keynes: Open University. [18] Chalmers, A. (1990). Science and Its Fabrication. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. [19] Clocksin, W. (1995). Knowledge Representation and Myth. In J. Conrwell (Ed.), Nature’s Imagination: The Frontiers of Scientific Vision. Oxford: Oxford University Press. [20] Copple, C., Sigel, I. E., & Saunders, R. (1984). Educating the Young Thinker. New York: D. Van Nostrand Co. [21] Driver, R., Guesne, E., & Tiberghien, A. (Eds.) (1985). Children’s Ideas in Science. Milton Keynes: Open University Press. [22] Driver, R. (1994). The Fallacy of Induction in Science Teaching. In R. Levinson (Ed.), Teaching Science. London: Routledge. [23] Duschl, R. (1990). Restructuring Science Education. New York: Teachers College Press. [24] Egan, K. (1979). Educational Development. New York: Oxford University Press. [25] Egan, K. (1986). Teaching as Story Telling. London, Ontario: Althouse Press. [26] Egan, K. (1988). Primary Understanding. New York: Routledge and Kegan Paul. [27] Egan, K. (1994). Young Children’s Imagination and Learning: Engaging Children’s Emotional Response. Young Children, 49, 27-32. [28] Egan, K. (1997). The Educated Mind: How the Cognitive Tools Shape Our Understanding. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
http://dx.doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226190402.001.0001 [29] Egan, N. (1999a). Children’s Minds, Talking Rabbits and Clockwork Oranges. New York: Teachers College Press. [30] Egan, N. (1999b). Supplement to Teaching as Story Telling.
http://www.educ.sfu.ca/people/faculty/kegan/supplement1.html [31] Egan, K. (2005). An Imaginative Approach to Teaching. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. [32] Egan, K., Cant., A., & Judson, G. (Eds.) (2014) “Wonder-Full Education”: The Centrality of Wonder in Teaching and Learning across the Curriculum. New York and London: Routledge. [33] Egan, K., & Nadaner, D. (Eds.) (1988). Imagination and Education. New York: Teachers College Press. [34] Eisner, E. (1985). Aesthetic Modes of Knowing. In E. Eisner (Ed.), 84th Yearbook of NSEE: Learning and Teaching the Ways of Knowing. Chicago, IL: Chicago University Press. [35] Entwistle, N. (1987). Understanding Classroom Learning. London: Hodder and Stoughton. [36] Epstein, H. (1978). Growth Spurts during Brain Development: Implications for Educational Policy and Practice. In J. Chall, & A. Mirsky (Eds.), Education and the Brain. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. [37] Fleer, M. (2009). Supporting Scientific Conceptual Consciousness or Learning in a “Roundabout Way” in Play-Based Contexts. International Journal of Science Education, 31, 1065-1089.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09500690801953161 [38] Fleer, M. (2013). Affective Imagination in Science Education. Determining the Emotional Nature of Scientific and Technological Learning of Young Children. Research in Science Education, 43, 2085-2106.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11165-012-9344-8 [39] Fleer, M., & Pramling, N. (2014). A Cultural-Historical Study of Children Learning Science. Dordrecht and New York: Springer. [40] Gardner, H. (1985). The Mind’s New Science. New York: Basic Books. [41] Gerde, H., Schachter, E., & Wasik, B. (2013). Using the Scientific Method to Guide Learning. Early Childhood Education Journal, 41, 315-323.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10643-013-0579-4 [42] Gilbert, J., Osborne, R., & Fensham, P. (1982). Children’s Science and Its Consequences for Teaching. Science Education, 66, 623-633.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/sce.3730660412 [43] Gilbert, J., & Watts, M. (1983). Concepts, Misconceptions and Alternative Conceptions: Changing Perspectives in Science Education. Studies in Science Education, 10, 61-98.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03057268308559905 [44] Ginsburg, H., & Opper, S. (1969). Piaget’s Theory of Intellectual Development. Englewood Cliff, NJ: Prentice Hall. [45] Hadzigeorgiou, Y. (1997). Relationships, Meaning and the Science Curriculum. Curriculum and Teaching, 12, 83-90.
http://dx.doi.org/10.7459/ct/12.2.08 [46] Hadzigeorgiou, Y. (1998). Science Activities for Preschool Children: Criteria of Their Selection. Unpublished Paper, Rhodes: University of the Aegean. [47] Hadzigeorgiou, Y. (1999). Problem Situations and Science Learning. School Science Review, 81, 43-48. [48] Hadzigeorgiou, Y. (2001). The Role of Wonder and “Romance” in Early Childhood Science Education. International Journal of Early Years Education, 9, 63-69. [49] Hadzigeorgiou, Y. (2002). A Study of the Development of the Concept of Mechanical Stability in Preschool Children. Research in Science Education, 32, 373-391.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1020801426075 [50] Hadzigeorgiou, Y. (2014). On the Value of Wonder in Science Education. In K. Egan, A. Cant., & G. Judson (Eds.), “Wonder-Full Education”: The Centrality of Wonder in Teaching and Learning across the Curriculum. New York and London: Routledge. [51] Hadzigeorgiou, Y. (2015). Young Children’s Ideas about Physical Science Concepts. In C. Trundle, & M. Sackes (Eds.), Research in Early Childhood Science Education. Dordrecht and New York: Springer. (In Press) [52] Hadzigeorgiou, Y., & Savage, M. (2001). Α Study of the Effect of Sensorimotor Activities on the Understanding and Application of Two Fundamental Physics Ideas. Journal of Elementary Science Education, 31, 9-23.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF03176216 [53] Hadzigeorgiou, Y., Anastasiou, L., Prevezanou, B., & Konsolas, M. (2009). A Study of the Effect of Preschool Children’s Participation in Sensorimotor Activities on Their Understanding of the Mechanical Equilibrium of a Balance Beam. Research in Science Education, 39, 39-55.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11165-007-9073-6 [54] Harlan, J. (1988). Science Experiences for the Early Childhood Years. Columbus, OH: Merrill. [55] Hammer, D. (1999). Physics for First Graders? Science Education, 83, 797-799.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1098-237X(199911)83:6<797::AID-SCE9>3.0.CO;2-Y [56] Hirst, P. (1974). Liberal Education and the Nature of Knowledge. In P. Hirst (Ed.), Knowledge and the Curriculum: A Collection of Philosophical Papers. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. [57] Hodson, D., & Hodson, J. (1998). From Constructivism to Social Constructivism. A Vygotskian Perspective on Teaching and Learning Science. School Science Review, 79, 33-41. [58] Holt, B. (1993). Science with Young Children. Washington DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children. [59] Hong, S. Y., & Diamond, K. (2012). Two Approaches to Teaching Young Children Science Concepts, Vocabulary, and Scientific Problem-Solving Skills. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 27, 295-305.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2011.09.006 [60] Howe, A. (1996). Development of Science Concepts within a Vygotskian Framework. Science Education, 80, 35-51.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1098-237X(199601)80:1<35::AID-SCE3>3.0.CO;2-3 [61] Kamii, C., & DeVries, R. (1977). Piaget for Early Education. In M. Day, & R. Parker (Eds.), Preschool in Action. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon. [62] Kamii, C., & DeVries, R. (1993). Physical Knowledge in Preschool Education: Implications of Piaget’s Theory. New York: Teachers College Press. [63] Kokoski, T., & Downing-Leffler, N. (1995). Boosting Your Science and Maths Programs in Early Childhood Education. Young Children, 51, 35-39. [64] Landry, C., & Foreman, G. (1999). Research on Early Science Education. In C. Seefeldt (Ed.), The Early Childhood Curriculum. New York: Teachers College Press. [65] Leuchter, M., Saalbach, H., & Hardy, I. (2014). Designing Science Learning in the First Years of Schooling. International Journal of Science Education, 36, 1751-1771.
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