Early Years Science and Mathematics Education in Europe: Survey of Existing Approaches

1. Early Years Science and Mathematics Education in Europe: Survey of Existing Approaches FaniStylianidou, DimitrisRossis, EllinogermanikiAgogi, Greece;EsmeGlauert, Institute of Education, University of London, UK;Sari Havu-Nuutinen, University of Eastern Finland, Finland Presentation based on Creative Little Scientists Work Package 3: Mapping and comparative assessment of existing practice http://www.creative-little-scientists.euCoordinatorEllinogermanikiAgogi, Greece: Dr.FaniStylianidou

2. Aims of Creative Little Scientists Project The project seeks to provide • A clear picture of existing and possible practices in science and mathematics education in the early years • Implications for development of children’s creativity and the emergence of appropriate learning outcomes, including children’s attitudes to science and mathematics • Policy guidelines, as well as curricula and exemplary materials for teacher education

3. Project Partners

4. Focus on potential for creativity in early years mathematics and science

5. Research questions • How are the teaching, learning and assessment of science and mathematics in Early Years in the partner countries conceptualised by teachers and what role if any does creativity play in these? • What approaches are used in the teaching, learning and assessment of science and mathematics in Early Years in the partner countries and what role if any does creativity play in these? • In what ways do these approaches seek to foster young children’s learning and motivation in science and mathematics, and how do teachers perceive their role in doing so? • How can findings emerging from analysis in relation to questions 1-3 inform the development of practice in the classroom and in teacher education (ITE and CPD)?

6. Survey processes

7. Strands and dimensions from the Conceptual Framework (1)

8. Strands and dimensions from the Conceptual Framework (2)

9. Factors from the Conceptual FrameworkRationale or Vision • Science economic imperative • Creative economic imperative • Scientific literacy • Technological imperative • Context for developing general skills and dispositions

10. Policy Survey:Rationale or Vision • Main emphases on fostering • Socially and environmentally aware citizens • Skills and dispositions to support future learning • Little emphasis on producing future scientists or innovative thinkers • Creativity associated with inquiry, curiosity, critical evaluation

11. Teacher survey:Rationale or Vision

12. Teacher survey:Rationale or Vision To provide a foundational education for future scientists and engineers

13. Factors from the Conceptual FrameworkAims and objectives • Knowledge and understanding of science content • Understanding about scientific inquiry • Science process skills • Capabilities to carry out scientific inquiry • Social factors • Affective factors • Creative dispositions

14. Policy Survey:Aims and objectives • Main emphases on cognitive dimensions • Process skills • Understanding scientific ideas • Limited attention to • social and affective dimensions • nature of science • Role for creativity in relation to investigating, curiosity • Limited emphasis on creativity in developing scientific ideas

15. Teacher survey:Aims and objectives

16. Factors from the Conceptual Framework: Learning activities • focus on cognitive dimensions, such as: • questioning • designing or planning investigations • gathering evidence, e.g. observing, running experiments (using equipment, manipulating materials, collecting data) • making connections • focus on social dimensions, such as: • explaining evidence • communicating explanations

17. Policy Survey:Learning activities • Observing, communicating and questioning (pre-school)most emphasised • Some emphasis on investigating and use of equipment (in primary) • More varied emphasis on planning investigations or using data to construct explanations.

18. Teacher Survey:Learning activities

19. Teacher Survey:Learning activities Design or plan simple investigations or projects

20. Factors from the Conceptual Framework:Pedagogy • Play and exploration • Motivation and affect • Dialogue and collaboration • Problem solving and agency • Questioning and curiosity • Reflection and reasoning • Teacher scaffolding

21. Policy Survey:Pedagogy • Common emphasis on • Play, autonomous learning in preschool • problem solving and children trying out ideas • Promoting inquiry skills • More limited attention to affective and social dimensions • Varied contexts for learning – drama, history, field trips • reflection or connecting explanations to scientific ideas • Role of imagination or discussion of alternative ideas

22. Teacher Survey:Pedagogy

23. Factors from the Conceptual Framework:Assessment • Assessment function/purpose • formative (assessment for learning) • summative • recipient of assessment results • Assessment way/process • Strategy • Forms of evidence • Locus of assessment judgment

24. Policy Survey:Assessment • Wide variation in policy requirements • Limited guidance and often lack of match with rationale and aims. • Greatest focus on scientific ideas. • Some references to understandings and skills of inquiry • Neglect of social and affective dimensions • Limited attention to multimodal assessment or involvement of children

25. Teacher survey:Assessment

26. Teacher survey:Assessment

27. Implications for WP4 and WP5 • Potential for inquiry and creativity in earlyyears science and mathematics • Complexrelationshipsbetweenpolicy and practice and betweendifferentdimensions of policy • Areas for furtherexemplification and supportinclude • social and affectivedimensions of science learning • planninginvestigations and evaluatingideas and explanations • nature of science • approaches to assessment • mutimodalapproaches to representing and expressingideas • scope for autonomy – for bothchildren and teachers

28. Acknowledgements Presentation based on Work Package 3: http://www.creative-little-scientists.eu CoordinatorEllinogermaniki Agogi, Greece: Dr. FaniStylianidou Lead partners for this Work Package D 3.1 University of Eastern Finland, Sari Havu-Nuutinen D 3.2 Institute of Education, EsméGlauert and Andrew Manches D 3.3 EllinogermanikiAgogi, Greece, FaniStulianidou, DimitrisRossis Contributing partners Open University, UK: Anna Craft, Teresa Cremin, Jim Clack; Bishop Grosseteste University College Lincoln, UK: Ashley Compton, Jane Johnston, Alison Riley; University College Aarteveldehogesschool, Belgium: Hilde Van Houte, Kirsten Devlieger, Marike De Smet; Goethe University Frankfurt: Annette Scheersoi; University of Minho, Portugal, Manuel F.M. Costa, Paulo Varela; National Institute for Laser, Plasma and Radiation Physics: Dan Sporea, AdelinaSporea: Université de Picardie Jules Verne, France: Olga Megalakaki; University of Malta: Suzanne Gatt. This publication/presentation reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

29. Survey items:Rationale or Vision

30. Survey items:Aims and objectives • To know and understand the important scientific ideas (facts, concepts, laws and theories). • To understand that scientists describe the investigations in ways that enable others to repeat the investigations. • To be able to ask a question about objects, organisms, and events in the environment. • To be able to employ simple equipment and tools, such as magnifiers, thermometers, and rulers, to gather data and extend to the senses. • To know and understand important scientific processes. • To be able to communicate investigations and explanations. • To understand that scientific investigations involve asking and answering a question and comparing the answer with what scientists already know about the world. • To have positive attitudes to science learning. • To be interested in science. • To be able to plan and conduct a simple investigation. • To have positive attitudes to learning. • To understand that scientists develop explanations using observations (evidence) and what they already know about the world (scientific knowledge). • To be able to collaborate with other children

31. Survey items:Learning activities

32. Survey items: Pedagogy Contexts Approaches Building on children’s prior experiences Fostering collaboration Encouraging different ways of recording and expressing ideas Encouraging problem finding Encouraging problem solving Encouraging children to try out their own ideas in investigations Fostering classroom discussion and evaluation of alternative ideas Fostering imagination Relating science to everyday life Using questioning as a tool in science teaching Using digital technologies Fostering autonomous learning • Open/unstructured play • Role/Pretend play • Drama • Teaching science from stories • Using history to teach science • Working in small groups • Physical exploration of materials • Using outdoor learning activities • Taking children on field trips/science museums and industry • Integrating science with other curricular areas

33. Survey items:Assessment Priorities for assessment Ways of assessing Using checklists to record observations of children During classroom interaction Evaluating children’s pictures, graphs etc which show their scientific reasoning Evaluating children’s relevant gestures or physical activity Marking their homework Using authentic problem-based tasks Asking each child to reflect on their own learning and progress Using closed question tests Using open question tests Using questions in context Using portfolios (collection of evidence of children’s work and progress) Children correcting each other's work and giving each other feedback • Knowledge and understanding of scientific ideas (facts, concepts, laws and theories) • Knowledge and understanding of scientific processes • Competencies necessary to carry out scientific inquiry • Understandings about scientific inquiry (e.g. how science and scientists work) • Positive attitudes and increase of interest in science • Positive attitudes and increase of interest in learning science

34. Curriculum components‘ The vulnerable spider web’van den Akker (2010) • Rationale or vision: Why are children learning? • Aims and objectives: Toward which goals are children learning? • Content: What are children learning? • Location: Where are children learning? • Learning activities: How are children learning? • Teacher role: How is the teacher facilitating learning? • Materials and resources: With what are children learning? • Grouping: With whom are children learning? • Time: When are children learning? • Assessment: How to measure how far children’s learning has progressed?