10.3: Environmental Factors in Supporting Science
The indoor and outdoor environments provide the context for children’s physical and social explorations and construction of scientific concepts. The following are strategies for helping teachers set up a physical environment that is rich, stimulating, and conducive to children’s construction of knowledge
- Be thoughtful about what objects and materials to include in the environment
- Provide a variety of natural materials to observe and investigate
- Include objects and materials that allow for creativity and open-ended investigation
- Include living things in the preschool environment
- Include scientific tools for observation, measurement, and documentation
- Make scientific tools available throughout the preschool environment
- Consider adaptations in scientific tools and materials for children with special needs
- Use technology to support children’s scientific experiences
- Present documentation of science-related experiences in the preschool environment
- Include children’s books with science-related content
- Use the outdoors for natural explorations and investigations
- Organize the space in ways that promote children’s explorations
- Allow space for observations and for objects, materials, tools, and resources related to science
- Allow for flexibility in the use of physical space and furniture to accommodate the changing needs of each activity
- In order to promote self-direction and free explorations, tools and materials need to be accessible and consistently available to children
- Social interactions are necessary for conceptual growth and the development of communication skills
- Always be aware of children’s safety
- Foster children’s curiosity and questioning
- Guide children in exploring their questions
- Be an active observer
- Talk with children and engage them in conversations during their investigations
- Provide children with time.
- Know when to intervene and when to stand back
- Model the use of scientific vocabulary[1]
Table 10.1: Scientific Vocabulary[2]
| Words that can be used to describe scientific activities: |
|---|
| Observe, observation |
| Predict, prediction |
| Test |
| Similar, different |
| Compare, contrast |
| Count |
| Measure |
| Investigate |
| Explore |
| Experiment |
| Discover |
| Record |
| Explain |
| Hypothesis |
Table 10.2: Suggested Scientific Tools
| Types of Tools | Names of Tools |
|---|---|
| Observation Tools
|
Magnifying glasses, hand lenses Binoculars Tweezers Microscope Trays (Collectors’ trays) |
| Measurement Tools
|
Tape measures, strings, unit blocks Rulers Scales (e.g., balance scale, bathroom scale) Measuring cups Measuring spoons Thermometer |
| Recording Tools
|
Pencils, markers, crayons Science notebooks/journals, charts Papers, posters Camera, computer Felt board, magnet board Materials to create 3-D models |
Table 10.3: Suggested Open Ended Materials
| Types of Materials | Names of Materials |
|---|---|
| Materials for Building and Construction
|
Sample Materials:
Blocks of various shapes, sizes, and materials (e.g., wood, foam, |
| Collections of Objects and Reclaimed Materials
|
Sample Materials:
Bottles |
| A Variety of Substances/ Materials | Cooking utensils Corn starch Dough Eggshells Flour Liquids Salt Sugar |
| Natural Materials: Earth Materials
|
Clay Crystals Minerals Rocks Sand Seashells Soil Tools to dig and explore soil (e.g., trowels, containers, magnifiers, trays) Tools to explore water (e.g., water table, clear plastic tubes, connectors, funnels, containers) Water |
| Natural Materials: Plant Materials
|
Bark Cotton Feather Fruits Fur Leaves Seeds, seed pods (e.g., pinecones) Tree logs Twigs Vegetables |
Research Highlight
Children bring to science many ideas about how things work. These intuitive understandings or naïve theories that children have constructed often conflict with what is known to be scientifically correct. Children hold preconceptions and misconceptions about different topics of science including forces, changes of matter, light, sound, and earth phenomena. For example, children believe that water disappears when it evaporates or that rain occurs when clouds are shaken. It is important to know how these conceptions differ from the scientific explanation and why children construct these ideas. Children’s misconceptions are intuitively
reasonable, from the child’s perspective, and are used by children to explain the “why” behind physical events. Some of children’s ideas may be cultural beliefs that have been introduced at home. The teacher’s role is to guide children through numerous opportunities to discover and re-create concepts, without overtly correcting their misconceptions. Remember, science is about experimentation, and the goal is to support children’s scientific thinking, not to merely provide the correct answer.[5]
Sources:
C. E. Landry and G. E. Forman, “Research on Early Science Education, in The Early Childhood Curriculum: Current Findings in Theory and Practice, 3rd ed., ed. C. Seefeldt (New York: Teachers College Press, 1999).
N. L. Gallenstein, Creative Construction of Mathematics and Science Concepts in Early Childhood (Olney, MD: Association for Childhood Education International, 2003)