What We Know

Young children enter school with a sense of wonder, filled with excitement at the opportunity to learn about the world around them. Effective science education for children in preschool through third grade captures this sense of wonder and capitalizes on it by encouraging children to ask questions, manipulate materials, make discoveries and discuss their new knowledge with those around them. Children at a very young age can develop scientific attitudes and skills that will guide them through future science courses and a lifetime of learning, problem-solving and critical thinking.

What is the role of scientific inquiry in early science education?

Within any elementary school class, there may be a wide range of physical and cognitive development (National Science Resources Center, 1997). Teaching science through inquiry is effective with a developmentally diverse group of young children. Scientific inquiry practices in early childhood education focus on scientific behaviors such as observing and making predictions and providing opportunities for children to express themselves and their findings as scientists do through writings, drawings and presentations. 

Children are naturally inquisitive and have a desire to learn about their world through exploration and conversation (Loucks-Horsley & Kapitan, 1990). This innate urge to understand their world is acted out in play. Curious exploration contributes to a better understanding of science and provides children with opportunities for manipulation of materials and investigation of how things work. Exploration also encourages observation, predictions and explanations. Scientific inquiry allows students to use their five senses, facilitating different learning styles. Appealing to the senses and accommodating different learning styles is important in conveying the broad scope of scientific thinking.

Essential goals of early childhood science education include: developing a positive attitude about science; learning to be skeptical; using data to support or refute questions; cooperating and collaborating with others; accepting uncertainty; and recognizing the necessity to alter explanations. When teachers encourage children’s natural curiosity and quest for knowledge, they are more likely to assist young students in reaching these goals (Loucks-Horsley & Kapitan). (For more information on teaching science through inquiry, see Scientific Inquiry.)

What teaching strategies are appropriate for science in the early grades?

Children develop understanding by integrating pre-existing knowledge with new information. Teachers of young children have the responsibility of monitoring student understanding as it develops, ensuring that accurate scientific concepts are connected with prior knowledge (Loucks-Horsley & Kapitan). Karplus (1979) advocates the teaching of simple concrete concepts in the early elementary grades, followed by elaboration in later education. This learning cycle promotes exploration of new concepts, explanation of these concepts and extension of the concepts into familiar problems. The learning cycle promotes the introduction of concepts in such a way that children can investigate in a social environment, regulate their own learning and receive clarification from the teacher. This educational experience helps children learn how to take ownership of their learning.

It is helpful for students to express their developing understandings, so that they receive clarification and encouragement from teachers and fellow students. Concept mapping facilitates this expression, as students plot the relationships of new terminology and concepts in a visual framework. Concept maps help young children recognize the connections between concepts and create a framework of knowledge that incorporates prior knowledge, eliminates misconceptions and enables students to reframe their understanding as their knowledge increases (Novak & Gowin, 1984). (For more information on concept mapping, see Classroom Assessment in Science Education.)

Young students also may benefit from collaboration and cooperation with their peers (Krajcik, Czerniak & Berger, 1999). Encouraging students to seek answers to questions in groups introduces them to collaborative skills that are used in real-world problem solving. Group learning also may promote interdependence among students, making them responsible for their own and one another's learning. Collaboration and cooperation also may facilitate equity in the classroom, helping reluctant students accept responsibility to speak, question, interact and inquire (Terry, 1996). (For more information on equity, see Equity in Science Education). Teachers of early grades can promote collaboration by assigning individual responsibilities and encouraging a group process for making decisions about procedures, materials and time management (Krajcik et al.).

How can teachers facilitate science education in the early grades?

Integrating science with reading is an effective means of introducing science to students in the early grades. Selection of appropriate and accurate texts is a critical step in early science education. In an examination of literature used in elementary science, Owens (2003) found that students who seemed to know scientific facts in pretests were unsure of their knowledge after listening to stories filled with misconceptions. Illustrated fiction often promotes misconceptions through oversimplifications and anthropomorphism. For example, the characteristics of living creatures may be misconstrued, so that young children believe that the ability to move freely is the most important characteristic for classifying animals, ruling out stationary sea creatures immediately.

Teachers should assume that at least some of the literature that they use in the classroom will promote misconceptions and misunderstandings (Owens). Teachers should regularly question students to help identify misconceptions as they arise (Owens). Children also should be given the opportunity to explore a variety of texts, to talk about what they read and write, to ask questions and to explain meanings (Reardon, 1996). The National Science Resources Center (1997) recommends that teachers use a learning cycle format to address misconceptions. Young students should be encouraged to discuss naïve concepts, devise experiments to investigate these concepts, use the results of experiments to consider misconceptions and construct new knowledge, and apply their new knowledge to other situations. Teaching young readers to ask their own questions as they read science materials helps them reflect on previous knowledge and further develop critical thinking skills. When students are asked to read science passages for comparison-contrast, cause-effect or a problem with a solution, they can think about their reading, monitor their thinking and focus on the meaning of new information (Feldt, Feldt & Kilburg, 2002).

As students learn to read, they develop abilities to apply their learning and convey their ideas in writing. Asking students to express science learning in journals may provide a creative outlet (Hadzigeorgiuo, 2001) and provide teachers with a valuable assessment tool (Shepardson & Britsch, 1997). Shepardson and Britsch and Helm and Gronlund (2000) recommend the use of student journals in science education. Through assessment of children’s writings and supplementary drawings, teachers can focus the attention of students, encourage their creativity and evaluate any misconceptions.

It is important to provide young children with learning experiences that extend beyond reading to excite them and encourage them to communicate verbally or in writing. When science is taught through inquiry, students ask questions and make observations that may answer their questions. By providing opportunities to investigate phenomena and manipulate materials, teachers build upon the sense of wonder innate in young children, helping them develop questions and think scientifically (Saul, 1996). Student-centered classrooms that promote student interests and cooperative investigations provide opportunities for self-directed, thoughtful scientific inquiry (Rakow & Bell, 1998). 

Because science may seem daunting or difficult, children need encouragement as they learn science (Abrams, 1998; Gallas, 1995). Teachers should foster student confidence as they are asked to solve problems and answer questions. When faced with higher-order questions that ask students to label, reconstruct earlier experiences, propose alternatives, make comparisons, classify, enumerate, estimate, generalize, synthesize and evaluate information, teacher support can help young children move beyond what they already know. Creating a non-threatening dialogue among the community of learners can build student confidence and help teachers more easily identify misconceptions.

Assessment plays an integral role in creating a learning environment for students. In a study of first- through sixth-graders in England, Newton (2002) found that more students understand concepts after a structured question series than after questions that require factual recall. A structured question series progressively delves into higher order expectations, requiring students to reveal prior knowledge, explain relevance, focus their thinking, and predict and explain. Embedding such assessment in lessons helps teachers monitor student learning toward established goals, allowing adjustment of lessons to accommodate student progress (Helm and Gronlund). Examples of embedded assessment include evaluating journal or portfolio entries. (For more information on assessment, see Classroom Assessment in Science Education.)