Scientific base for this class

I did my research paper and here it us for those who are eager to read through it. :-)
Science In Preschool Research paper

To have a student yield high academic achievement learning experiences should start
early. Children in preschool age learn such fundamentals as walking, talking , writing and communication with each other. Science instruction at early age has been overlooked for many years. The current paper has shown that already at this age children are able to start learning science as learning about their everyday world. If science is hands-on and inquiry based then it echoes the natural curiosity if children. All children without any regard to gender are eager to learn science.

This research has shown that even at an early age children are interested in science and have a general positive attitude towards it.

Two sampling groups were selected from two different preschools. Both preschools are affluent with one focusing more on Language Arts and the other having Science included in the curriculum. The selected children are ages 4.5 -5.5. All children have been interviewed and were asked to show a happy face sign, an upset face sign or a neutral face sign to show their attitude towards the question asked. The results show a general positive apprehension of science as well as reminiscence. However, a lot of children report no previous experience in doing science. Results of teachers’ interviews at both schools show a lack of preparedness to teach science in preschool.

 

Later on I will be using LiteraSci curriculum. Here is an excerpt from the description of the curriculum.

Teaching Science with LiteraSci

Language, literacy and mathematics flow naturally from hands-on science, which is the activity of learning about the everyday world. Learning about the everyday world is as fundamental to the early childhood years as learning to walk, talk, and interact with others. With LiteraSci, children build a rich knowledge-base that supports further learning and higher-order skills like classification and drawing inferences. Language, literacy, and mathematics are basic tools for learning that develop as children engage in LiteraSci inquiry activities and share their questions and observations with others.

Preschool children have the abilities to do science.

In fact, “doing science” fits the ways children learn: by exploring, repeating and communicating hands-on, multi-sensory activities. It is crucial that children carry out the activities themselves and that they have opportunities to repeat and vary the activities and to talk about what they are doing and finding out. The goals of science learning in early childhood are to explore, build concepts, and build vocabulary to communicate these concepts. There is an emphasis on trial and error rather than on “right answers” and so teachers do not need to “know all the answers.” Teachers do need to help children ask questions and discover for themselves.

A 4-Step Science Cycle supports systematic guided inquiry, helping children “learn to learn.”

Because learning and doing science relies on children’s firsthand experience, it is always meaningful and provides a motivating context for learning language, literacy, and mathematics.

Hands-on inquiry science fosters a classroom community that easily includes all children.

Because LiteraSci activities can be done in many ways, they engage children who have different learning styles and are at different developmental levels. As teachers observe children doing science activities, they can respond to individuals’ strengths and needs. Because inquiry science emphasizes exploration and trial and error as important ways to learn, children focus on learning rather than on avoiding mistakes.

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