“For young learners, science is just an extension of their everyday world. We don’t have to teach young children how to wonder, discover, and explore through play because they do it naturally.”
Steve Spangler– teacher, speaker, author, and Emmy-award winning television personality
Reading and basic mathematics are the primary focus of early childhood education, and perhaps for obvious reasons. While reading and math are not problematic themselves, the lack of emphasis on science to younger children can create a deficit or gap that is difficult to fill later in life, particularly for students who do not have access to educational resources at home. So why is it important for us to recognize this gap and make changes to early-childhood science education? Let us count the ways.
1. Young children are primed for learning.
Spend a few hours with primary-aged children and you will get a million questions, from “Why is the sky blue?” to “How did I get here?” For pre-adolescents, learning is not something that happens within the four walls of a school. No, learning is life. Around every corner is a new curiosity, and children are not afraid to ask “How?” and “Why?” When we do not spend time on science in these early years, we are missing out on prime timing. Kids are already willing to ask the questions. Shouldn’t we grasp these moments– even construct opportunities to induce these moments?– and dig into some serious scientific inquiry?
2. Young children are already hands-on learners.
True project-based learning is about hands-on activities. Not only do young children eagerly throw themselves into physical play, but they also learn best this way. Learning through play is a perfect opportunity for these kinesthetic and tactile learners to experiment with simple scientific processes such as cause-and-effect. It is a sadly missed opportunity to delay scientific experiments until adolescence, because young children are already ready and eager to dig in.
2. Science allows young children to develop life skills.
School A to Z notes that, “Science involves a lot of talking and listening to others; it develops patience, too – a lot of the time in science things don’t happen overnight.” As those in scientific fields know, scientific inquiry requires communication, perseverance, organization, and attention to detail. All of these are skills that early childhood educators long to cultivate in their students. Yes, these skills can be developed outside of science; but for a true well-rounded education, why not start young children early, helping them to practice these traits in a cross-curricular manner?
3. Children’s early interests directly influence their interests later in life
Caught in the interplay between nurture and nature, children, even the young ones, are busy discovering who they are. “Show me a child until he is seven, and I will show you the man,” a quote attributed to St. Francis Xavier, highlights this point. Starting science education early ensures that scientific interest are in the mix as these young people begin to develop passions and desires of their own. Successful STEM Education notes that, “Studies have identified the elementary years as the period when students form their interests in STEM identities and careers—much earlier than many people probably believe to be the case. This is particularly important for science, which gets short shrift in many elementary schools.” Even parents recognize the dearth of science in schools. According to a poll by NPR, almost a full quarter of parents do not believe that their child’s school emphasizes science enough.
With a steadily increasing number of STEM opportunities in the workplace, it is paramount that opportunities are not lost to engage children in the sciences. Early-childhood education is a perfect time to introduce future generations to the joys of scientific discovery. Addressing the lack of rich scientific discovery in primary schools is an excellent start at ensuring we have a full, diverse population of STEM innovators for the future.
Source: Newscientist