Early Childhood - Connecticut State Department of Education

Science Chapter 7
CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT
In early childhood education, science curriculum allows
children to investigate their world and to search for
answers to questions that begin with words such as
What? How? Why? and When? Science curriculum can
develop the child’s innate ability to wonder, to discover
new ideas, and to explore the world he or she lives
in. In quality classroom environments, where science
is an integral curriculum component, early childhood
teachers:
• observe, listen, facilitate and question;
• recognize that learning is the process of
exploring;
• believe that the goal of teaching is not
about right answers, but rather about the
development of independent thinking and
problem-solving dispositions;
• know that children need time to explore and
to take risks;
• recognize that learning must be hands-on
and minds-on;
• provide learners of all abilities with
opportunities to experience the wonder
of questioning and discovery by making
accommodations to the environment and to
expectations;
• model enthusiasm for science and discovery
so children can see how exciting these
pursuits are;
• balance child-initiated activities with teacherprompted
ideas; and
• create relationships with families that
encourage involvement in science at home.
The National Academy of Sciences has developed
National Science Education Standards for early
childhood science curriculum as a comprehensive guide
for educators and policymakers. The standards call for
more than “science as process,” where students learn the
skills of observing, inferring and experimenting. They
suggest that, while these process skills are appropriate in
early childhood science curriculum, there is also worthy
and achievable science content for young children to
learn in preschool. (National Research Council, 1996)
This chapter includes:
a. discussion of the teacher’s role in developing
curiosity, including strategies and tips on
preparation of the environment;
b. an overview on the process of developing
inquiry, including thinking skills and
problem-solving abilities; and
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c. making connections with the Connecticut
Core Science Curriculum Framework, PreK-
10 and Connecticut’s Preschool Curriculum
Framework, including ideas for ageappropriate
investigations.
DEVELOPING CURIOSITY
Curiosity can be described as the disposition to know.
From birth infants seek understanding, trying to grasp
objects, exploring their environments and gathering
information. Both environments and experiences
affect children’s dispositions to be curious. A safe and
encouraging atmosphere motivates young children
to take risks, explore and discover. Questioning
children is a strategy adults – educators and parents
– can use to encourage curiosity. Questions may be
either open-ended, encouraging divergent thinking
and brainstorming, or closed, motivating the learner to
gather specific information.
Effective questions stimulate and expand
children’s thinking or promote comparison, sorting or
further experimentation. Questions may be used to:
• Initiate discovery: “How can we learn more
about this machine?”
• Elicit predictions: “What will happen if this
powder is mixed in the water?”
• Probe for understanding: “Why do you
think that block worked better in the ramp
construction?”
• Promote reasoning: “Why is this side a
different color than that side?”
• Serve as a catalyst: “What would you do
differently?”
• Encourage creative thinking: “If you could
be any animal, which one would it be and
why?”
• Reflect on feelings: “Is this your best work?”
A carefully prepared environment also
promotes the development of curious children. The
teacher, through observation, knows children’s abilities
and interests, understands their developmental growth
patterns, and uses this information to create a classroom
that provides safe, interesting and satisfying challenges.
Creating the typical science table with unusual items
contributed by children and teacher is not enough. The
science center must be an area of investigation. This is
accomplished by keeping in mind the main theme in the
science curriculum, “hands-on and minds-on.”