Kindergarten Science Research Articles

Predictors of Kindergarten Science Achievement and Its Growth Across Elementary School for Multilingual and English Monolingual Learners

Predictors of Kindergarten Science Achievement and Its Growth Across Elementary School for Multilingual and English Monolingual Learners

How the Affordances of Different Modeling Tools Impact Kindergartener‐Constructed Models and Modeling Reasoning

ABSTRACTThis study seeks to enrich our understanding of modeling‐based learning (MbL) in kindergarten science education, investigating the influences of different modeling tools on kindergarten child‐constructed models and their modeling reasoning. Therefore, this multi‐case study aimed at providing in‐depth descriptions of how MbL was enacted by 66 kindergarteners while combining the use of three modeling tools: paper‐and‐pencil, three‐dimensional structures, and dramatic play. We studied three different classes of children engaged in MbL who studied and modeled three different physical phenomena (wildflowers' parts and their functions, dissolving substances in water, shadow formation). We varied the modeling tools to investigate the ways these tools contributed to children's MbL. Data sources included the child‐constructed models, their modeling discourse, and mechanistic reasoning. From the videotaped lesson transcripts, we developed detailed accounts of the three MbL cases, and we analysed the discourse using modeling frame analysis and mechanistic reasoning analysis, along with the model component artifact analysis of the child‐constructed models. Findings suggested that the use of different modeling tools impacts child‐constructed models and their corresponding modeling‐based mechanistic reasoning. The findings also suggest that children's representational proficiencies seem to be related to the use of a variety of modeling tools, which enabled children to talk about the possible different ways of developing models and the different affordances of the various modeling tools' representational power. We use this evidence to argue that different modeling tools may afford different modeling possibilities that kindergarten children may draw upon possibly combining with modeling resources they have (e.g., role‐playing, storytelling, drawing).

Research on Teacher Education Support Strategies in Kindergarten Science Activities Based on Eagle Frame Theory

In order to optimize teacher education support strategies in scientific activities in kindergartens, this article studies the support methods of teachers based on the scaffolding theory. By analyzing the core essence of the scaffolding theory, strategies such as grasping the zone of proximal development of young children, emphasizing the dynamic adjustment of scaffolding, creating real situations, and strengthening teacher child interaction are proposed, in order to provide theoretical guidance and practical reference for the development of scientific activities in kindergartens.

Exploration of High-Quality Development of Kindergarten Science Education in the Age of Metaverse

Technology drives the progress and development of human society, and the emergence of metaverse is the result of the joint action of many modern technologies. The arrival of the metaverse era provides a driving force for the high-quality development of kindergarten science education. In the future, the scene of science education will move towards the integration of reality and reality, the way of science education will be more flexible and diversified, the selection of science education content will be more scientific and comprehensive, science education resources will be integrated in many ways, science education evaluation will be more objective and efficient, and the quality of the science education teacher team will be effectively improved. Based on this, kindergarten science education in the era of metaverse will create a real-time interactive science education environment that integrates reality and reality, build a science education teacher team with the synergistic development of humans and machines, and create a science education evaluation system with the data of the whole process, which will stimulate young children's interest in science, enrich their experience in science, and develop their scientific emotions, and allow them to acquire scientific concepts, deepen scientific knowledge, improve scientific skills, and promote the development of science skills in the process of hands-on manipulation and problem solving. In this way, we can stimulate young children's interest in science, enrich their scientific experience, develop their scientific emotions, enable them to acquire scientific concepts, deepen their scientific knowledge and improve their scientific skills in the process of hands-on operation and problem solving, promote their all-round growth, and push forward the high-quality development of kindergarten science education.

Discussion on the improvement strategy of kindergarten science education based on STEAM

Discussion on the improvement strategy of kindergarten science education based on STEAM

“I’m the Head Zoologist!”: Integrating Science and Literacy Learning in Kindergarten with Inquiry and Animals

“I’m the Head Zoologist!”: Integrating Science and Literacy Learning in Kindergarten with Inquiry and Animals

A Parallel Process Growth Curve Analysis of Teacher-Student Relationships and Academic Achievement

Teacher-student relationships (TSR) have been a key focus of study for developmental and educational psychology researchers interested in improving proximal and distal academic outcomes for children and youth. Although prior empirical work suggests some degree of association between TSR and achievement, the co-development of TSR and achievement during elementary grades remains unclear with most findings limited to reading and mathematics achievement. The current study used parallel process growth curve models (PPGCMs) to examine the longitudinal growth trajectories of teacher-student closeness and conflict, and science, reading, and mathematics achievement simultaneously for children followed from kindergarten to third grade in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010-2011 (N = 13,490). Findings from the final PPGCM showed teacher-student closeness in kindergarten was positively associated with science, reading and mathematics achievement in kindergarten (r = 0.234 to 0.277) and the linear growth of achievement through third grade (r = 0.068 to 0.156). Teacher-student conflict in kindergarten was negatively associated with science, reading, and mathematics achievement in kindergarten (r = −0.099 to −0.203) and the linear growth of achievement through third grade (r = −0.081 to −0.135). Child biological sex, family socioeconomic status, and child racial and ethnic identity predicted TSR and achievement developmental trends. Implications of the findings and future directions for research are discussed.

Perception and Self-efficacy to Teach Science in Kindergarten: Undergraduate Students’ and Teachers’ Point of View

Perception and Self-efficacy to Teach Science in Kindergarten: Undergraduate Students’ and Teachers’ Point of View

Research on the evaluation system of kindergarten science education curriculum

Research on the evaluation system of kindergarten science education curriculum

Curriculum Development of Future Kindergarten Science Education Integration Based on STEAM Concept

Curriculum Development of Future Kindergarten Science Education Integration Based on STEAM Concept

Field trips in French schools: teacher practices and motivations

ABSTRACT We explored the use of field trips for educational and teaching purposes by French kindergarten, primary-school teachers and natural science teachers in secondary schools. More specifically, we studied field trips in a natural environment by undertaking a French curriculum analysis and surveying teachers. We examined the responses of 511 teachers about their practices and motivations, as well as the levers and barriers to implementing these field trips. Results showed that this practice is widespread at all years of education, and differences between years seem to be related to the curriculum. We found few differences in learning motivations (reasons/objectives and interests/specific feature) and perceived barriers between different school teachers. Indeed, the teachers’ motivations are essentially scientific and rooted in a scientific inquiry approach. Studying ‘on real’ was the interest most often cited by teachers, essentially for the purpose of scientific learning. The only notable difference we found concerns the levers for implementing the field trips: a larger proportion of kindergarten and primary-school teachers see field trips as an ideal support for environmental and sustainable development educations. These results are dependant of the French official curriculum which plays a key role in influencing the current implementation of school-organised field trips by the teachers.

The teaching of Natural Sciences in kindergarten based on the principles of STEM and STEAM approach

Across all levels of education, Natural Sciences is a scientific field that is gaining considerable research interest. However, in recent years a growing interest in the introduction of Science in Preschool Education can be seen among scientists, as they realize that the children’s first experiences will be the cornerstone of the relationship they are going to develop with this scientific field in the future. It is accepted that children approach and understand the new knowledge taught in the classroom in the context of what they already know. Their pre-existing beliefs and experiential knowledge are the foundations upon which the new concepts will be merged. Based on these perceptions, children approach, "decode," and understand new knowledge through the interaction of the two cognitive systems, the pre-existing and the taught new enriched cognitive patterns. The kindergarten environment cannot remain isolated and uninfluenced by the developments in a constantly changing world. The goal of Kindergarten is to properly prepare its students to become active citizens of their country by helping them get all the necessary skills. In this way, the STEM and STEAM approach seems to be progressively gaining ground in Preschool Education. Various researchers emphasize the importance and positive outcomes of implementing a STEM education program in Kindergarten, as children can acquire at an early age all the necessary resources that will play a decisive role in their later life. According to the above, this study is a literature and article review with its primary purpose to verify the above assumptions. More specifically, this article showcases the importance of teaching Science in Preschool Education and its practicability at this age group. There is also a presentation of the holistic educational STEAM approach. The main goal of this presentation is to emphasize the contribution of this educational approach towards a more effective teaching of Science in Kindergarten and in-depth learning and understanding of natural concepts by preschoolers.

Introduction to the Special Issue on Innovations in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education in Kindergarten

Introduction to the Special Issue on Innovations in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education in Kindergarten

The Effect of Using Thinking Hand Strategy in Implementing The Science Activities on The Scitific Concepts in kindergarten Children

The research problem was determined in the low level of children's acquisition of some scientific concepts, which led the researcher to use the thinking hand strategy in implementing the field of science in kindergarten to acquire some scientific concepts among second-level children. The researcher prepared the research materials: a list of scientific concepts, a book of activities, a teacher's guide, and also a research tool: an illustrated test of scientific concepts. The researcher used the semi-experimental method with two equal groups of pre and post measurements to measure the effect of using the thinking hand strategy on imparting some scientific concepts to the kindergarten child. The sample included 30 children from the kindergarten of 25 January Primary School in Balsafoura. The search tool was previously applied to both groups. Then the search experiment was applied using the thinking hand strategy, then the post application of the search tool on the two groups, then the results were statistically treated. The results resulted in the effectiveness of using the strategy of the thinking hand in implementing scientific activities on the acquisition of kindergarten children of some scientific concepts.

Teaching STEM through play in kindergarten: analysis towards pre-service early childhood teachers preparing the lesson plan

Integrating science with other disciplines like technology and mathematics supports early childhood have awareness and interest in science and affects their overall school performance further down in their education. The integration is commonly referred to as STEM which is an acronym of science (S), technology (T), engineering (E), and mathematics (M). STEM Education is provided to achieve educational aims that prepare people for future life and the workforce. However, designing a STEM-based learning process needs more attention, moreover carried out in early childhood. This study investigates preparing lesson plan early childhood pre-service teachers teaching STEM through play. The study used the phenomenology approach, qualitative data collection through observation, questionnaires, and interviews. The study involved pre-service early childhood teachers semester VII which has experienced the learning process of the Field Teaching Practices. The results showed that pre-service early childhood teachers when designing learning through games had an awareness that early childhood would provide a greater understanding of science concepts than children who teach science through direct instruction. Further findings show that designing the process of learning science through enjoyable experiences is a very important approach to promote students’ understanding of developing kindergarten science concepts.

Pratiques enseignantes en éducation scientifique et technologique à l’école maternelle : perspectives curriculaires

Cet article propose la description et l’analyse des pratiques enseignantes ordinaires en éducation scientifique et technologique (ÉST) à l’école maternelle. Dans un contexte de curriculum non disciplinaire, une double investigation des pratiques, restituées dans des carnets de bord ainsi que dans des entretiens, et déclarées dans un questionnaire, met tout d’abord au jour une dominante dans les pratiques : la connexion de l’ÉST avec d’autres enseignements. Une typologie des pratiques enseignantes en ÉST est ensuite proposée, précisant notamment les types de connexités que les enseignants identifient ou privilégient, et leur hiérarchisation. La recherche permet de discuter la spécialité des enseignants en école maternelle, envisagée comme des compétences spécifiques associées à des phénomènes identitaires.

幼稚園・小学校・中学校における地球科学の内容構成 －領域「環境」・生活科・理科－

幼稚園・小学校・中学校における地球科学の内容構成 －領域「環境」・生活科・理科－

Estimating the Relationship Between Preschool Attendance and Kindergarten Science Achievement: Implications for Early Science Achievement Gaps

Recent evidence demonstrates that disparities by race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status in science achievement are present in the earliest grades of school. Preschool represents one potential policy solution; however, little research has explored the relationship between preschool attendance and science outcomes. This study examines whether preschool participation may improve science outcomes overall and reduce science achievement gaps by race/ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status. Using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study of 2011, this study uses school and classroom fixed effects models with a robust set of controls to estimate the relationship between preschool attendance and early science outcomes. Results suggest that attending preschool is predictive of higher teacher-rated science ability in the fall of kindergarten but that preschool is not predictive of higher science achievement in the spring of kindergarten. The relationship is not found to consistently differ by student race, socioeconomic status, or gender, though descriptive results demonstrate that subgroups have different patterns of preschool attendance. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.

Children as mediators of their own cognitive development: The case of learning science in kindergarten and first grade

ABSTRACTAs the United States experiences greater income inequality, more and more students experience an early science achievement gap. This study tested several competing theoretical models of early science achievement with a longitudinal sample of 14,624 children who were followed from kindergarten entry to the end of 1st grade. To understand why and when differences emerge among children, we adopted a theoretical approach to study early science achievement because theories, if they are accurate, appeal to the factors responsible for achievement differences. Results from a structural equation modeling analysis revealed a mediation-only model provided an excellent fit to the data that was minimally changed when some of the indirect pathways were dropped and several direct pathways were added. This finding suggests that children who are more advanced in their understanding of science topics, have more expertise, or have more working-memory capacity are likely to process the same classroom material more effectively and completely than their classmates who have a less advanced understanding, less expertise, or less working-memory capacity. From a theoretical perspective, these findings provide strong support for individual theories of conceptual knowledge, expertise, working memory, and motivational development, and they also demonstrate the value of a large-scale, longitudinal, and multivariate approach for understanding science achievement. Implications for developmental theory and educational policy are discussed.

The Application of Modern Multimedia Technology in Early Childhood Science Education

With the rapid development of science and technology, more and more modern multimedia technology has been applied to the kindergarten science education activities. Compared with the traditional teaching of modern multimedia technology, modern educational technology teaching is a comprehensive use of a variety of media sound, images, text, animation, video and so on, not only interesting, but also is controllable and interactive. This paper, mainly through the application of modern multimedia technology in science education of kindergarten, explores the modern multimedia technology in children’s science education and the role of multimedia in prospects of kindergarten’s development, and hopes to bring some inspiration to improve the teaching quality of kindergarten’s science education.