Preschoolers’ explanations during an experiment : A study of children´s questions, descriptions, experiences and analogies

The purpose of the study is to contribute with knowledge about how preschoolers´ communicate the scientific content during a chemistry experiment. In order to answer questions and strive towards the aim, qualitative semi structuredinterviews have been used as a method during the experiment. The purpose of the experiment in the study was to contribute to read out what types of communication the children used to approach the content. The result shows that the children 's questions during the experiment were not about the scientific content, but about what they could or couldn´t do. The children in the study used previous experiences when talking about content and events during the experiment. They described the content with different types of words such as verbs, adjectives and nouns. It was further made clear that the children compared the contents and the properties of the contents to drinks, food and to dishwashing. The result of this study can serve as a contribution to developing the preschool's science education. If preschool teachers know how children communicate scientific content and what they do not talk about, they can adapt the teaching so that it contributes to a development according to the educational realm