Teaching science in early childhood

In this study the effect of a didactic method for preschool science was tested and implemented into the normal teaching courses during 7 consecutive weeks. Children of 3–6 years were encouraged to explore different materials and situations in rich and multivariate contexts with the aid of 15 activities. The activities consisted of three phases, an introduction phase, an exploration phase and a trigger phase (where a teacher asked a series of probe questions). Four preschool classrooms of two different schools participated in the experiment (N=75). The effectiveness of the method was assessed with the aid of a pre- and post-test design and a control group. Compared to controls, results showed that after the intervention was finished, children executed more informative and less uninformative explorations during their spontaneous play. Experimentals were more able to generate particular interventions that isolate variables and maximize the potential for information gain. These children, were more inclined to pay attention to the underlying structure in which a complex of variables was embedded.status: publishe