Reflect on the value (or lack thereof) of science education at the Pre-Kindergarten level
In my preschool field experience I never saw the teachers utilizing books to introduce new concepts with them. Truthfully I never saw the students do anything other than play. There are so many ways to involve the students in science at this age, especially through discovery and play, and I think introducing them to these concepts through literature is a great "hook."
Using Children's Literature to Teach Standard-Based Science Concepts in Early Years
http://search.proquest.com.proxy.kennesaw.edu/docview/228484782/fulltextPDF/13F4A7101B56D953407/1?accountid=11824
Summary: Using different pieces of literature is one of the ways most teachers effectively introduce new concepts to their students. Offering children's literature to them at a young age allows students the opportunity to become engage and interested in a topic because of the how relatable children's literature is to our students. In a student's early years, science based literature supports the development of science concepts and can provide inquiry. There are several limitations the article mentions including: misconceptions in texts, inaccurate illustrations, and anthropomorphism. The study the researchers conducted used 73 children's literature books to demonstrate concepts about life, physical, and earth science. 16 of the 73 reviewed books were not recommended for use in preschool classrooms. Three books had misconceptions, ten books included content and vocabulary that was too advanced for preschool children, three books had inaccurate text, and four books had inaccurate illustrations.
Reflection: Using literature as a hook for my students is one of my favorite ways to capture their attention. It allows for great discussion and new opportunities to explore the content and vocabulary. I was surprised to hear of the misconception this article chose because I think they're great discussion topics. As for the illustrations, I know many students use the pictures to develop ideas and draw conclusions, so this was a great misconception that I had not previously thought about. I'm surprised at the amount of children's literature pieces that could be used to introduce new concepts to preschool children.
AMERICAŹ¼S CHILDREN: PROVIDING EARLY EXPOSURE TO STEM (SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING AND MATH) INITIATIVES
http://search.proquest.com.proxy.kennesaw.edu/docview/1062442552/fulltextPDF/13F4A95C69724AC22B0/15?accountid=11824
Summary: The professional fields that require a degree in one of the areas of STEM is growing rapidly. To spark our students' interests in one of these fields introduction to these concepts at a young age is key to their future success. STEM introduces important skills such as critical thinking and problem solving skills, communication, collaboration, and creativity for all students. Introducing STEM to our students as early as Pre-K allows for more inquiry and can let the students discover which subject area they excel at. The number of students enrolling in advanced math and science courses in high schools can increase if introduced to STEM at an early age.
Reflection: I'm so grateful for being able to learn so much more about STEM education through this course. It's something I wasn't too familiar with it previously but it is so beneficial for our students. There are many ways to introduce this to our students at a young age (particularly Pre-K) through play and discover, which ultimately allows for inquiry. At this young age students are like a sponge and are constantly absorbing the information that is around them and are learning all the time. In my experience students love to learn when they are actively engage and STEM allows for inquiry based learning.
Introducing STEM to pre-K students is a new way of thinking for me too, but really, it shouldn't be. As any parent will know, young children are insatiably curious about the world around them, and what better time to tap into that natural desire to learn. I also read the article about using literature to introduce children to concepts of science and though there were some excellent ideas.
ReplyDeleteTiffany-
ReplyDeleteUsing children's literature in my classroom for teaching Science is something I want to start doing more often, but it is definitely a good idea to read through the book by myself first to ensure it is going to be beneificial for the students. We wouldn't want to read them a book that created tons of misconceptions about the Science content. Starting STEM at an early age is an excellent idea, however from that point forward it needs to be inforced in the child's education through middle and high school as well in order to have a true effect on the child's Science education.
Using literature to teach science is a great idea. When I taught 2nd grade, we didn't have textbooks so I used trade books to teach important information about the concept before experiments. I've learned from experience that you should always read through something first before reading it with your students!
ReplyDeleteYour STEM article is very similar to an article I read about the benefit of introducing STEM at an early age. Continuing with this education allows students to keep interest and work in these professions.