This paper presents an epistemological analysis of typical didactical activities noted in early‐years science lessons, which was carried out in an attempt to diagnose the extent to which the teaching practices adopted by early‐years educators are successful in supporting young children’s understanding in science. The analysis of didactical activities used a framework that allowed us to discover whether they promoted desired connections between theoretical ideas, evidence and the material world. Theoretical ideas, evidence and the material world are entities internal to scientific inquiry and, in educational contexts, connections between them are considered essential in assisting the development of young children’s scientific thinking. The results indicated that in the early‐years science classroom scientific activity was mainly confined to the representational level. Intervention practices into the material world were limited, and were based on collected evidence. No interventions based on ideas were identified in the science lessons. Missing links between evidence and theory and between ideas and the material world suggest that the didactical activities analysed did not promote scientific understanding. 相似文献
In the present study we test the effectiveness of a teaching intervention concerning the phenomenon of floating and sinking as a property of the matter the bodies are made of. The treatment, designed for children aged four to six years, comprises two units of hierarchically sequenced activities. The children experiment with objects having specifically designed characteristics aiming at shifting children's attention from the objects to the material(s) these are made of. Both solid and hollow objects were used. The activities were developed collaboratively by a researcher and early years teachers and were implemented by the teachers of the work group in their own public school classes in a sample of 104 children. Action research processes were used to optimise classroom practices. Teacher preparation took place within the work group before implementation. Concept cartoons were used for the children's final assessment. Analysis of classroom data recorded during the course of the activities showed gradual redirection of the children's attention from the objects to the materials of which they were made. The results of the post-instructional assessment revealed high percentages of pupils understanding the kind of material as the determining factor for the bodies' behaviour in water. 相似文献
In the present study, we test the effectiveness of a teaching intervention aiming at acquainting children aged four to six years with the concept of the sphericity of the earth and the causes of the phenomenon of day and night. The treatment comprised three units of activities that were developed collaboratively by a researcher and early years teachers employing action research processes. In the present study, student knowledge is considered context specific. The selected approach to learning can be characterized as socially constructed. In the activities, children were presented with appropriate information along with conceptual tools, such as a globe and an instructional video. The activities were implemented in a sample of 104 children of the above age group. Children’s learning outcomes were assessed two weeks after the activities. Assessment tasks comprised children’s construction and handling of concrete 3‐D material models, children’s use of pictures and the globe, and children’s verbal explanations. Results revealed awareness of the concepts and events that the activities dealt with in high percentages of children and children’s storage of new knowledge in the long‐term memory and easy retrieval from it. The outcomes suggest that the approach adopted in the present study is fruitful and promising for helping very young children develop their understanding of fundamental astronomical concepts and events considered difficult for their age and for raising their motivation for astronomy. The approach used in the present study could also find application in other areas of science. 相似文献
Science in early childhood is of great importance to many aspects of children's development. Planning for improvement of science instruction should take into consideration the problems teachers encounter in their performance of their task. However, exposition of problems of early years teachers, especially those with many years of experience, is somewhat rare in science education literature. The purpose of the present work was to investigate those factors that hinder experienced early years teachers in the performance of their task in science, and their needs, as perceived by the teachers themselves. The study was carried out in Greece. One take‐home written task and two group interviews were used for data collection. Qualitative approaches were employed for the analysis of the data. The emergent themes related to teachers' problems, teachers' worries induced by these problems, problem consequences and teachers' perceived needs in science.
La science sur la précoce enfance est très importante pour beaucoup des aspects de la développement des enfants. Il faut que le croquis de l'instruction de la science aille considérer les problèmes que les instituteurs affrontent. Mais, dans la littérature de l'instruction de la science, il n'y a pas beaucoup des instituteurs, spécialement des expérimentes, qui exposent leurs problèmes. Le but de présent travail était l'investigation de ces facteurs qui empêchent les instituteurs expérimentes de travailler dans le secteur de la science sur la précoce enfance; et, aussi, leurs besoins, conformément a eux‐mêmes. Le travail était réalisé en Grèce. Un travail, écrit à la maison, et deux interviews des groups étaient utilisées pour la collection des éléments. les résultats concernaient les problèmes des instituteurs, les inquiétudes des instituteurs à cause de ces problèmes, les conséquences des ces problèmes et les besoins des instituteurs de la science sur la précoce enfance.
La ciencia en la primera infancia es de gran importancia en muchos aspectos del desarrollo de los niños. La planificación para mejorar la ciencia de la educación debe tomar en consideración los problemas que encuentran los profesores en la realización de su tarea. Sin embargo, la exposición de problemas de las profesores de primera infancia, especialmente la de los que tienen muchos anos de experiencia, es algo rara en la literatura de la ciencia de la educación. El propósito del actual trabajo era investigar esos factores que obstaculizan a profesores experimentados de primera infancia en la realización de su tarea en la ciencia y de sus necesidades, según lo percibido por los mismos profesores. El estudio se llevo a cabo en Grecia. Una tarea escrita para realizar en casa y dos entrevistas del grupo se utilizaron para la recogida de datos. Se emplearon aproximaciones cualitativas para el análisis de los datos. Los temas que surgieron se relacionan con los problemas de los profesores, las preocupaciones de los profesores inducidos por estos problemas, las consecuencias del problema y las necesidades percibidas por los profesores en la ciencia.
Die Naturwissenschaften sind von großer Bedeutung im früheren Kindesalter bei vielen Aspekten der Kinderentwicklung. BeimPlanen derUnterrichtsvorbereitung müssen die Probleme, mit denen sich die Lehrer auseinandersetzen, mitberücksichtigt werden. Doch die Bekanntgebung der Probleme der Vorschulerzieher, vorallem dermit langer Berufserfahrung kommt selten in der Erziehungsbibliographie der Naturwissenschaften vor. Diese Studie hatte als Ziel die Faktoren zu erforschen, die die Erzieher bei ihrer Arbeit hindern und ihre Bedürfnisse wie sie von den Erziehern selbst wahrgenommen werden. Die studie wurde in Griechenland durchgeführt. Ein schriftliches Referat und zwei Gruppeninterviews dienten der Angabensammlung. Qualitative Annäherungen wurden bei der Angabenanalyse verwendet. Die Themen, die sich ergaben, beziehen sich auf die Probleme der Erzieher, ihre Besorgnis wegen der Probleme, auf die Problemkonsequenzen und auf die Bedürfnisse der Erzieher in den Naturwissenschaften, wi sie von ihnen selbst wahrgenommen werden. 相似文献
In this paper, we present a professional development/upgrading programme in science for early-years teachers and investigate its impact on the teachers’ competencies in relation to their knowledge and teaching of science. The basic idea of the programme was to motivate the teachers by making them members of an action research group aimed at developing and implementing curriculum activities to which they would contribute and thus meaningfully engaging them in their own learning. The programme used a ‘collaborative partnership’ model for the development of the activities. In this model, the collaborative notion is defined as an act of ‘shared creation’: partners share a goal and members bring their expertise to the partnership. Within this context, the partners were a researcher in science education with a background in physics, who also served as a facilitator, and six in-service early-years teachers with a background in early-years pedagogy and developmental sciences, who had many years of experience (classroom experts). These teachers participated in the programme as co-designers, but were involved to a significantly lesser degree than the researcher. The programme procedures comprised group work and individual teachers’ class work. Data sources included teachers’ essays, field-notes, lesson recordings and group-work records. Data were qualitatively analysed. The main results indicate improvement of teachers’ ‘transformed’ knowledge of the subject matter, development/improvement of knowledge of instructional strategies, including factors related to quality of implementation of the activities, knowledge of the pupils and improvement of the teachers’ efficacy. 相似文献
This paper examines how a transnational orientation shapes Dominican mothers’ contradictory attitudes towards education in New York City. Through this ethnographic study, which draws on 36 interviews, community walkabouts, and participant observations in community-led adult education classes, we show how Dominican mothers struggle with conflicting values; on the one hand, they embrace the idea of schooling for individual advancement, integration in the US, and critical thinking, while on the other hand, they regret the diminution of a collective, family orientation and respect for parents. Overall, this study shows that contradictions are not a sign of confusion or denial, but rather a struggle to transform cultural practices that satisfy multiple worlds. A deeper understanding of these contradictions could help educators and educational institutions consider how these transnational tensions motivate parent engagement and their hopes for their children’s education. 相似文献
The present study examines how the overall cognitive achievements in science of the younger children in a class where the students work in small multi-age groups are influenced by the number of older children in the groups. The context of the study was early-years education. The study has two parts: The first part involved classes attended by pre-primary children aged 4-6. The second part included one primary class attended by students aged 6-8 in addition to the pre-primary classes. Students were involved in inquiry-based science activities. Two sources of data were used: Lesson recordings and children’s assessments. The data from both sources were separately analyzed and the findings plotted. The resulting graphs indicate a linear relationship between the overall performance of the younger children in a class and the number of older ones participating in the groups in each class. It seems that the age composition of the groups can significantly affect the overall cognitive achievements of the younger children and preferentially determines the time within which this factor reaches its maximum value. The findings can be utilized in deciding the age composition of small groups in a class with the aim of facilitating the younger children’s learning in science. 相似文献
There is considerable evidence that use of anthropomorphism and animism in science teaching is a common practice in all grades of education. However, not much is known about teachers' own views on the real reasons why they have been using animistic and anthropomorphic formulations or on the issue of whether animism and anthropomorphism should or should not be used in science. The present work, which was carried out in Greece, investigates early years teachers' views on the use of animism and anthropomorphism and on the reasons behind their use of these formulations. The study was designed as a small-scale exploration study. Research data were obtained from recorded group interviews and from written tasks. Results indicate that early years teachers seem to adopt the view that animism and anthropomorphism in early years science can cause cognitive problems in young children, and also that these teachers believe that in special cases use of animism and anthropomorphism can cause emotional problems as well. Results also reveal that, despite their reservations, teachers use animism and anthropomorphism both consciously and unconsciously and that they attribute their conscious use of these formulations to their low levels of content and pedagogical content knowledge in science. 相似文献
