Enhancing Science Education for Young Children: A Contemporary Initiative

Abstract

A major challenge facing teachers is how they can help children to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary to become scientifically literate citizens. Early childhood teachers are often hesitant about teaching science because they lack confidence in their conceptual knowledge and understandings. This paper describes a professional development initiative which enhances teachers’ understanding of science concepts, and supports their teaching of the subject. The workshops adopted a ‘child-centred’ approach that was scaffolded by teacher educators. Thus, the teachers’ learning paralleled those exemplary experiences advocated for children. Feedback from teachers was overwhelmingly positive and they reported an increased motivation for teaching science coupled with a better understanding of contemporary strategies. By capitalising on personal experiences of investigation of everyday phenomena in the workshop, teachers were able to identify those contemporary approaches consistent with effective science teaching and to understand why these approaches are effective.