Hands-on and Minds-on? Findings on the Instructional Support of Preschool Teachers to Foster Children's Understanding of Scientific Practices

Abstract

To participate effectively in modern society, it is essential to have both knowledge of scientific concepts and an understanding of scientific practices. Children develop initial knowledge and skills to engage in scientific practices, such as identifying patterns, long before entering school. It can be assumed that instructional support of scientific practices fosters children's understanding of these practices. However, little is known about how scientific practices are implemented and supported in early childhood education and care. Therefore, this study explores which scientific practices preschool teachers initiate in early science activities, and how they support children's understanding of these practices. Further, we analyze whether these practices are combined within a Scientific Inquiry Cycle. To this end, 116 videos of science activities in which German preschool teachers interact with two to eight children (M = 4.57 years, SD = 0.64) were analyzed using a developed coding manual. The analysis revealed that, in most of the recorded science activities, children had multiple opportunities to engage in scientific practices (e.g., observing, predicting). These practices were frequently integrated into a simple inquiry cycle, typically consisting of prediction, testing, and interpretation. Investigations that lacked an underlying question, prediction, or interpretation, were rare. However, as preschool teachers did not provide instructional support that encouraged reflection on the meaning and purpose of scientific practices, this finding points to an opportunity to further promote children's understanding of these practices as they are a fundamental component of scientific literacy. Emphasizing procedural and epistemic knowledge in professional development can help preschool teachers more effectively support such inquiry processes in everyday activities. Building on teachers' implementation of scientific practices, the coding manual from this study offers concrete examples to foster children's engagement in and understanding of these practices.