relevant science learning paths for preschool - rochel gelman
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CollaboratorsCollaborators
# * Dr. Kimberly Brenneman# Gay Macdonald-UCLA# Moises Roman -UCLA
•*Dr. Christine Massey-U of Penn•Jenny Cooper•Lindsay Downs•Girlie Delacroix - UCLA •Dr. Beth Lavin•Susan Wood -UCLA•Irena Nayfeld•Dr. Stephanie Reich - UCLA•Zipora Roth - Penn•Juanita Salter -UCLA•Dr. Lisa Travis-UCLA•Dr. Earl Williams-UCLA•Dr. Osnat Zur -UCLA•More teachers at UCLA
•Teachers and Directors in New Brunswick - mainly inner city, Spanish speaking families.
Co-Authors on PrePS book with RGCo-Authors on PrePS book with RGCurrenCurrent t Co-Co-PI’s PI’s with with RGRG
Partial Funding From NSF LIS and ROLE
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Partial Funding From NSF LIS and ROLE
Relevant Science Learning Paths for Preschool
Rochel Gelman
Psychology and Rutgers Center for Cognitive Science
Irvine Stem ConferenceIrvine Stem Conference Feb, 2010Feb, 2010
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Three Major Three Major DevelopmentsDevelopments
1. The convergence of different disciplines on a shared topic of research interest……. How individuals learn about STEM subjects.
Cognitive Development Educational Psychology
Cognitive Science and policy concerns about STEM illiteracy
2. We must teach science in a meaningful and better way much earlier than we have.
3. Even preschool children have some relevant abstract abilities. (NAS publications. How People Learn, Eager to Learn, Mathematics Learning in Early Childhood, Science book, etc.; AAAS, Arise. )
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Important Lessons from Cognitive Important Lessons from Cognitive ScienceScience
1. 1. Concepts Do not Stand AloneConcepts Do not Stand Alone
——Domains of knowledge are organized - Domains of knowledge are organized - principles and entities of the domain principles and entities of the domain are intimately linked are intimately linked
—Science domains, like any other domain of knowledge involve a set of key concepts/principles, terms, methods and tools. The content is organized by deep principles.
— Contrast with Linguistics - Principles that organize knowledge about phonemes, morphemes, words and sentences as well as combination rules. Own intuitions are taken as deeply relevant data about what is and is not in the language
Lessons ContinuedLessons Continued
2. The mind likes structure and coherence about 2. The mind likes structure and coherence about knowledge and ways to gain knowledge.knowledge and ways to gain knowledge.
1.1. Easier to attend to & learn more about what we Easier to attend to & learn more about what we already know, already know, especially if already have an especially if already have an organized domain, where principles outline the organized domain, where principles outline the domain, relevant entities and the combination of domain, relevant entities and the combination of these. these.
2.2. True, even when available structure is skeletal, True, even when available structure is skeletal, because …... because …...
3. Learners are active participants in their own learning, Existing knowledge structures bias attention and to the class of relevant data.
Warning ….—Need to take into account what is known—Inputs may not be interpreted as intended — — Absence of existing knowledge domain spells Absence of existing knowledge domain spells
trouble for learningtrouble for learningFor example: math learning lesson US and Japan (J. For example: math learning lesson US and Japan (J.
Stigler et al.)Stigler et al.)
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Science in Preschool?
• Yes, yes, and yes !!!
• Why?– They are ready- - strong exploration and questioning
inclinations; – active learners; – have some science relevant organized knowledge.
• So, can have the goal of everyone liking to learn science -- – boys and girls, poor and not poor, first generation or 6th
generation, etc.
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How Can THAT Be !?
After all, for a very long time Pre-K and K’s said to be:
1. perception-bound
2. without the ability to form abstract concepts
3. absent the requisite conceptual format
…….. For abstract thoughts
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Partial Reply
•A natural tendency to explore, often a given object over and over again
•Ask questions - lots and often repeatedly
•76/hour
•No one denies these. But claim is that it not about understanding science. Not enough for understanding and doing science
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The Domain of ScienceThe Methods and Content of Science are The Methods and Content of Science are InterrelatedInterrelated. .
•Observe and explore; develop amplifiers Observe and explore; develop amplifiers
•Predict and Observe (Check); induction or deductionPredict and Observe (Check); induction or deduction
•Record - enter date as well as…..Record - enter date as well as…..
•Compare and Contrast - start experimentCompare and Contrast - start experiment
•Relate all above to existing knowledge & search for or Relate all above to existing knowledge & search for or test of deep principles about the worldtest of deep principles about the world
•Eventually use numbers and mathematicsEventually use numbers and mathematics
The Role of Observation in the Development of Science
Giants of the Renaissance related their
observations to conclusions that started modern
science.
•Observations were not neutral - were focused.
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Galileo
From :commons.wikimedia.org
Galileo’s Drawings of Different Phases of the Moon with Telescope that he Made
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Galileo’s Observations
• Were informed• He was an artist and an excellent
draftsman• He made a telescope - having heard
about this device• Concluded that Copernicus, and not
Ptolemy was correct. • Got in a lot of trouble.
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Trouble
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Andreas Vesalius- (1514-1564): Started Anatomy
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Vesalius, A. and Kalkar, J.S. (1538). Tabulae Anatomica, P.D. Bernardi, Venice.
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Some Relevant Research with Preschoolers.
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Causal ReasoningBaillargeon and Gelman
Also, M. Bullock, S.Gelman, Gopnik, Saxe, Also, M. Bullock, S.Gelman, Gopnik, Saxe,
Opfer, DuBois, etc.Opfer, DuBois, etc.
3-and 4-yrs olds’ 3-and 4-yrs olds’ correctly predict the correctly predict the effect of relevant and effect of relevant and irrelevant changes in irrelevant changes in “initial’ cause and “initial’ cause and mechanism as to whether mechanism as to whether “Fred” will fall. “Fred” will fall.
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The Animate-Inanimate Distinction
AlsoAlso
R. Baillargeon, S. Carey, S. Gelman, Hatano and Inagaki, R. Baillargeon, S. Carey, S. Gelman, Hatano and Inagaki, Leslie, Opfer, E.S. Spelke, etcLeslie, Opfer, E.S. Spelke, etc
Different sources of “energy”, Different sources of “energy”, stuff, and interaction stuff, and interaction
potential:potential:
1. Animate’s - from within and 1. Animate’s - from within and ‘biological material and ‘biological material and internally determined internally determined
organizationorganization
2. Inanimate’s -from external 2. Inanimate’s -from external agent, and man-made or inert. agent, and man-made or inert.
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Brenneman and GelmanBrenneman and Gelman
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Uphill-downhill Stimuli inUphill-downhill Stimuli inMassey & GelmanMassey & Gelman
AnimateAnimate-like like inanimatesinanimates
AnimatesAnimates
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A mature understanding of biological phenomena includes awareness that:
o Living things grow and change over time
o Individuals maintain their identity across these changes
o Offspring are of the same species as their parents
Children’s Biological Concepts
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Young children have an intuition that offspring resemble their parents (Springer, 1992).
However, whether they readily understand the biological nature of inheritance is debatable (Solomon et al., 2006)
Like knowledge of plants, preschoolers’ understanding of kinship relations is somewhat fragile
Biological Concepts: Parent-Offspring Relations
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4- & 5-yr olds, are quite good at attributing life status to animate entities and denying life status to nonliving entities (Opfer & Siegler, 2004)
By 5-years of age most children know that plants and animals share many biological capacities:o Growtho Reproductiono Death
Biological Concepts: Plants
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More Research Background
Natural Number Arithmetic- Lots and Natural Number Arithmetic- Lots and lots of people lots of people
Distinguish between drawing and Distinguish between drawing and writing - writing - Landsmann-Landsmann-Tolchinsky, Levin, Brenneman, Massey Tolchinsky, Levin, Brenneman, Massey et al; et al;
Learn words very fast if know Learn words very fast if know something about how to use them. . (6-something about how to use them. . (6-9 words a day). Carey, Lipton, 9 words a day). Carey, Lipton, Markman, S. Gelman, etc., etcMarkman, S. Gelman, etc., etc
Adjust communications for different Adjust communications for different listeners. Shatz, etc. listeners. Shatz, etc.
Take to technology with ease -- Take to technology with ease -- example of “trash”example of “trash”
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Opportunities to Make Observations
• 1) First level - near beginning of program
pass apple in group time:
2) Ask each child to make an observation
- encourage idea that there are different ones
3) Record
4) Predict and check insides
5) Record
Taking Preschoolers onto Science Learning Pathways
•Many preschoolers can learn a list of human senses•Not same as differentiating kinds of information from different senses •Overestimate information available with eyes
• Don’t recognize specific strengths / limitations of each
sense (e.g., can’t tell the color with touch) • Need to work on ideas about observations
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Initial Step on Observations
• During group time, pass around apple
• Introduce topic - about making observations with eyes, nose, etc.
• Each child has a turn
• Write each answer and post these
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More - repeat former
•When ready, move to predictions– What is on the inside
•When ready, move to compare and contrast and then recording
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Introductory Learning Experiences
• make observations using multiple senses
• describe feature-sense links
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More Learning Experiences about each Sense and its Function
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What’s inside the sock? What color is it?
•Explicit attention to the kinds of information we can -- and cannot -- get through each sense
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Examples of ‘Across the Curriculum”
Growing a Sunflower House
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Growing Plants - Manipulating Variables
• Two different plants
• Same plant seeds - vary light
• etc
Healthy Plant:
“They have more leaves than the other ones and they have everything they needed”
Unhealthy Plant:“And this is green but it has little yellow spots”
A: Lets look at one of these. If you look at this one, how do you know that this one is the healthy one, and not this one?
C: Because this one is standing up, and this one is bending down
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Mature understanding includes awareness that
• Living things grow and change over time
• Plants, like animals, are living things
• Individuals maintain identity across changes
• Offspring are the same species as their parents
Life Cycles
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• Most 5-year-olds know that plants and animals share capacities such as growth and healing after injury
• But unlikely to group plants with animals as living things
• Intuition that offspring resemble their parents (same ontological category)
• But understanding of the biological nature of inheritance is debatable
What Children Know
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Focus on Plant and Animal Life Cycles
• to highlight similarities• to support understanding of within category parent-
offspring relations• to follow “individuals” as they change
Learning Experiences
• Seed- Growing Plant-Seed cycle for different plant species
• Contrast seeds, sprouting, growth patterns•Discussions of animal life cycles• Sequencing activities
Educational Intervention
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Pre- and Post-Intervention Assessments
Stories in which a character grows and changes over time
• Seed “Dara” that grows into a bean plant• Caterpillar “Paula” that forms a cocoon and
changes into a moth
Maintenance of Individual Identity
Is this still Dara/Paula? after significant changes to the character’s appearance (2x per story)
• High accuracy at pretest
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Parent-Offspring Relations
•After each story, a seed or an egg came from the target character
•Children shown two sets of six illustrations
•Set 1 - “Could the thing that comes out of the seed/egg look like this?”
•Set 2 - “Could the thing that comes out of the seed/egg look like this after it grows and changes?”
Ex. Illustrations in Set 1
Ex. Illustrations in Set 2
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•At post-test only, scores were above chance
•No age differences
•Conceptually connected science experiences support understanding of parent-offspring relations for animals and plants
Findings
Conclusions1, Can teach preschoolers science, of the kind that puts them on a relevant learning path.
2. Can build positive affect for doing science
iff - build on what they know and their exploratory, questioning minds.
iff - do not treat science as a fact memorization task