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Dear All,
Join the conversation about engaging young learners in science, as part of the virtual conference's extended online discussion. The virtual conference Engaging Students in Science: PreK-6 is taking place on June 29, starting at 10 am ET. Visit the web page below for more information about the conference:
http://learningcenter.nsta.org/products/online_courses/VC_160629.aspx
1. What ideas can you share on how to engage young learners in science? What strategies and/or resources do you use?
2. What questions do you have about engaging young learners in science?
We look forward to your posts!
Flavio.
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To engage young learners in science, I have found what works best is being able to connect the science topic to something that the students can relate to or are interested in outside of the school environment. For example, if you are going to do a lesson on habitats, maybe begin the lesson by having the students describe or draw a picture of where they live. This will immediately spark their interests because it is something personal to their own lives and it will make the science topic more meaningful to them, thus making them better retain the information. One questions that I do have about engaging young science learners is how to keep their attention throughout the entire lesson or experiment? I often find that about half way through a lesson, my students stop paying attention or engage in side conversations about something completely off topic.
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An important way of engaging young learners in science is to do science with them. I find it more interesting if the person who is teaching does the activities alongside the students so that the students know that it is fun for them to do. A question i may have about engaging young learners in science is how do you make it fun for all students rather than targeting only a few students?
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Some ideas that I have that will engage young learners in science is having activities that are hands on and that is something that the children relate too. I've noticed that the students participate more when they feel related to the subject or topic. Some resources that I use are internet articles, college journals, online videos, and games. I noticed in elementary its mostly experiments that are shown, is that the most effective way to teach young learners?
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In my work in classrooms of preschoolers ages 2-5, and with children in grades K-2, I find that they have a strong interest in exploring the natural and human-made world. Science activities that help them use their curiosity to discover answers to questions that interest them can be planned to support an on-going exploration, and experiments when children are able to understand the concept of a 'fair test.'
I struggle with wanting to 'do it all' but realizing that it's better to pursue one concept or topic in depth so children can use all the science and engineering practices to get the most out of their experiences than it is to 'cover' all the possible science topics I am familiar with.
The NAEYC Early Childhood Science Interest Forum is a group of NAEYC members who share an interest in early childhood science education. Non-members can also find us on the group's Facebook page.
Having a community to check in with for tips and conversation about developmentally appropriate concepts and activities is so helpful!
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I defintely agree with your post. I think it is more important to teach in depth about one topic, and teach it well then try and cover multiple topics but rush through it.
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Hello,
I agree that it can be hard for K-2 students to be interested in some science topics. I think the best way to help those students be more engaged in the lesson is by starting it with some videos that will catch their attention. Also, this would create a sense of wonder and curiosity, which will motivate them to learn the different parts of the lesson.
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Agree, Peggy!
I hope that this forum will continue to be a place to share ideas that you presented in your valuable session during the Virtual Conference.
I especially liked thinking about water!
Water explorations offer so many opportunities for building connections, supporting language development and constructing understanding of how water flows, what can hold water, how to move water and so many other big ideas. There were a lot of questions about how to set up water explorations and this could be a forum to continue to share ideas.
When I have limited resources and no formal water table, I set up smaller tubs on table tops with tarps underneath. I like starting with only a few objects in the water to then listen in on what children are wanting to know... open ended questions, observations and thinking aloud with children give me clues about what comes next. Is it floating? Can you sink it? Does it move? So many engaging ways to facilitate children as they explore!
As the weather changes to warmer temperatures here in Southeast Alaska we can get outside to explore water in the spring and again in the early fall. I like adding tubes and buckets outside as I observe children adding water to the puddles to make a pond! My first graders think of all different ways to move water from one area to another!
I look forward to more sharing from participants!
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1. What ideas can you share on how to engage young learners in science? What strategies and/or resources do you use?
I believe that using different manipulatives can be really helpful to engage young learners in science. They find learning science fun when they can do hands-on experiments and realistically see something with their own eyes. I also think they learn best when they conduct their own experiences because they grow a sense of ownership of the experience and without realizing, they are learning with responsibility as well. I also think using different environments are helpful. Sitting in a classroom or science lab can be typical/boring, so I would bring my students outdoors. Hopefully, we can go on class field trips!
2. What questions do you have about engaging young learners in science?
How do I keep young learners engaged in science?
How do I keep young learners WANTING to learn about science and have interest in it?
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Christine's questions are ones that all teachers think about as we prepare for the new school year or just the next day.
'How do I keep young learners engaged in science?How do I keep young learners WANTING to learn about science and have interest in it? '
One way to keep science learning engaging is to reduce the number of transitions and wait times students have while you prepare materials or they have a turn with with the materials. By preparing ahead of time, teachers plan for students to be engaged in action, documenting, discussing, and sharing their ideas and data. Having some stations where students can work in small groups without a teacher present can make it easier for their continued engagement while a teacher works with one small group.
Yes, there will still be occasional times when students do not want to participate. Sometimes a trade book that relates to some of the topics at the stations will engage the students. An assigned job, such as 'materials re-stocker' or 'note taker,' can also re-engage students.
I usually find that trying to dis-engage students from doing science when it is time to pack up and go home is more of a problem than keeping them engaged!
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This conversations reminds me of two posts I saw recently one on Facebook and one on Twitter. I'm going to share the one from Facebook that was shared by Tiffany Neil, a science leader in Oklahoma. This is about a wondering that Tiffany's son had
Greetings FB Friends! Quick science story to share that involved Nate tonight. I was driving him to a birthday party and we were stopped in my jeep at a stop light. Cars were passing us in the opposite direction going 55-60 mph. Our jeep shook each time a car passed by and my Nate said, "Mom do you notice that we keep moving every time a car passes us?" I said, yes. He said, "I wonder why that happens?" I said, "what are your thoughts?" He then began to explain that he thought it was because the cars were driving so fast that the wind being pushed out of the way by the cars was creating a force that pushed our jeep. I then asked if he noticed that same thing happening when we were going the same speed as cars passing us in the opposite direction. He said, "no not really... well when it is a big semi or something it happens, but it also doesn't happen when cars are driving beside us at the same speed going in the same direction. We continued exploring what he thought caused the patterns he noticed and how the situations were different. I'm sharing this story because, one it's about my favorite kiddo and two, because it represents the type of science teaching many Oklahoma science teachers are incorporating into their classrooms this year. It's new for many of them and may be new for your students, but it is amazing to see students engage in science learning this way! Try it with your kids, grandkids or any kid you can barrow legally! Let them observe things around them and encourage them to share what they observe. For kiddos beyond 2nd grade encourage them to share with you what they think may be causing what they observe. Many of us learned in school that science has a single method, but the reality is there isn't one single method for science and what Nate did is scientific thinking and reasoning at a high level! I for one am thrilled as a parent! I hope you not only begin to encourage this type of science thinking with your student, but I encourage you to support your local schools and your student's teachers who are engaging students in science experiences like this in the classroom. I wonder what my own world would have been like if I had learned to think this way before age 35ish?!?! #ThinkingLikeScientists #TakeTime2LookAround #NewDinnerConversationIdea #TheyKnowMoreThanWeThink
Tiffany's response to her son will keep him engaged in scientific thinking . Let's work towards engaging all children in scientific thinking.
Kathy
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I definitely agree that students need to be given the chance to explore especially in science, but it is also important to incorporate hands on activities so that students are able to use their fine motor skills. This also helps student engage in a lesson and enhances their curiosity.
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I agree that some students may struggle with being interested in certain science subjects. I, myself, find that when we are learning more hands on it is more interesting than learning directly from the science book. I think that most science activities these days involves a lot more of paper activities as to actually getting a chance to do it hands on. That is why I really how starting the class off with a short clip or preview of what they are going to conduct today will grasps their attention more.
What skills or strategies can I do to always help engage my students during science?
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An important part of getting students engaged in lessons is by starting off with relating the new lesson to something they already know about. That way they may feel more comfortable in joining into conversations about the new topic and encourage all responses by reacting positively.
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With young learners, teachers always have to be on their toes. Young children often get bored or get confused when the work is too much for them. A way to engage the young students without them getting confused is by doing the project with them step by step. This way, if the students gets confused they can look to the teacher for guidance. A question I have about engaging young learners is, how does a teacher know if a science project is 'too much' for their students?
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