Should science be taught in early childhood?

Journal of Science Education and Technology

Volumn 14, Issue 3, 2005, Pages 315-336

  Eshach, Haim ^a   Fried, Michael N ^a  

^a BEN GURION UNIVERSITY OF THE NEGEV   (Israel)

Author keywords

Children's scientific thinking; Justifications for early science teaching; K 2 science education; Windows of opportunity

Indexed keywords

EID: 23844535369     PISSN: 10590145     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1007/s10956-005-7198-9     Document Type: Article

References (100)

1. Ausubel, D. P. (1968). Educational Psychology: A Cognitive View. Rinehart and Winston, New York, Holt.
2. Bauer, H. H. (1994). Scientific Literacy and the Myth of the Scientific Method, University of Illinois Press, Urbana.
3. Begley, S. (1996). Your child's brain. Newsweek (February 19), pp. 41-46.
4. Black, P., and Harlen, W. (1993). How can we specify concepts for primary science? In Black, P. J., and Lucus, A. M. (Eds.), Children's Informal Ideas in Science, Routledge, London, pp. 208-229.
5. Bonder, G. (1986). Constructivism: A theory of knowledge Journal of Chemical Education 63: 873-878.
6. Bourdieu, P. (1992). Language and Symbolic Power, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.
7. Boyle, D. G. (1971). Language, and Thinking in Human Development, Hutchinson University Library, London.
8. Brown, A. L. (1990). Domain-specific principles affect learning and transfer in children. Cognitive Science 14:107-133.
9. Brown, A. L., and Campione, J. C. (1994). Guided discovery in a community of learners. In McGilly, K. (Ed.), Classroom Lessons: Integrating Cognitive Theory and Classroom Practice, MIT Press/Bradford Press, Cambridge, MA, pp. 229-270.
10. Bruce, B. C., Bruce, S., Conrad, R., and Huang, H. (1997). Collaboration in science education: University science students in the elementary school classroom. Journal of Research in Science Teaching 34: 69-88.
11. Bruner, J. S. (1960). The Process of Education. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.
12. Carey, S. (1978). The child as word learner. In Halle, M., Bresnan, J., and Miller, G. (Eds.), Linguistic Theory and Psychological Reality, Cambridge, MA, pp. 264-293.
13. Carson, R. (1984). The Sense of Wonder, Harper and Row, Publishers, New York.
14. Chan, C., Burtis, J., and Bereiter, C. (1997). Knowledge-building as a mediator of conflict in conceptual change. Cognition and Instruction 15: 1-40.
15. Cho, H., Kahle, J. B., and Nordland, F. H. (1985). An investigation of high school biology textbooks as a source of misconceptions and difficulties in genetics and some suggestions for teaching genetics. Science Education 69: 707-719.
16. Clark, E. V. (1983). Meaning and concepts. In Mussen, P. H. (Ed.), Handbook of child psychology, John Wiley, New York, pp. 787-840.
17. Clement, J. (1982). Students' preconceptions in introductory mechanics. American Journal of Physics 50: 66-71.
18. Clement, J. (1987). Overcoming students' misconceptions in physics: The role of anchoring intuitions and analogical validity. In Novak, J. D. (Ed.), Proceedings of the Second International Seminar Misconceptions and Educational Strategies in Science and Mathematics, 3 (Vol. 1). Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, pp. 84-97.
19. Cohen, R., Eylon, B., and Ganiel, U. (1983). Potential difference and current in simple electric circuits: A study of students' concepts. American Journal of Physics 51: 407-412.
20. Collins, A., and Quillian, M. (1969) Semantic hierarchies and cognitive economy, Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior 8: 7-240.
21. Crawley, F. E. and Black, C. (1992). Causal modling of secondary students' intention to enroll in physics. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 29: 585-599.
22. Drake, S. (1978). Galileo at Work: His Scientific Biography, University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
23. Driver, R., Guesne, E., and Tiberghien, A. (1985). Some features of children's ideas. In Driver, R., Guesne, E., and Tiberghien, A. (Eds.), Children's Ideas in Science, Open University Press, Philadelphia, pp. 193-201.
24. Driver, R., and Bell, B. (1986). Students' thinking and the learning of science: A constructivist view. School Science Review 67: 443-456.
25. Dunbar, K., and Klahr, D. (1989). Developmental differences in scientific discovery strategies. In Klahr, D., and Kotovsky, K. (Eds.), Complex Information Processing: The Impact of Herbert A. Simon, Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ, pp. 109-143.
26. Einstein, A., and Infeld, L. (1938). The Evolution of Physics, Simon & Schuster, New York.
27. Eshach, H. (2003). Small-group interview-based discussions about diffused shadow. Journal of Science Education and Technology 12: 261-275.
28. Eshach, H., and Schwartz, J. (2004). Middle school students' preconceptions of sound. Presented at the annual meeting of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST), Vancouver, BC, Canada, April 1-3, 2004.
29. Feher, E., and Rice, K. (1988). Shadows and anti-images: Children's conceptions of light and vision. Science Education 72: 637-649.
30. Galili, I., and Kazan, A. (2000). Learners' knowledge in optics: Interpretation, structure and analysis. International Journal of Science Education 22: 57-88.
31. Gardner, H. (1999). The Disciplined Mind: What All Students Should Understand, Simon & Schuster, New York.
32. Gelman, S. A., and Markman, E. M. (1986). Categories and induction in young children. Cognition 23:183-208.
33. Guesne, E. (1985). Light. In Driver, R., Guesne, E., and Tiberghien, A. (Eds.), Children's Ideas in Science, Open University Press, Milton Keynes, U.K./Philadelphia, pp. 10-32.
34. Gustafson, B. J., and Rowell, P. M. (1995). Elementary preservice teachers: Constructing conceptions about learning science, teaching science and the nature of science. International Journal of Science Education 17: 589-605.
35. Halloun, I. A., and Hestenes, D. (1985). Common sense concepts about motion. American Journal of Physics 53: 1056-1065.
36. Hatano, G., Siegler, R. S., Richards, P. D., Inagaki, K., Stavy, R., and Wax, N. (1993). The development of biological knowledge: A multi-national study. Cognitive Development 8: 47-62.
37. Heit, E. (1994). Models of the effects of prior knowledge on category learning. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition 20:1264-282.
38. Heit, E. (1997). Knowledge and concept learning. In Lamberts, K., and Shanks, D. (Eds.), Knowledge, Concepts, and Categories, MIT Press: Cambridge, MA.
39. Hestenes, D., Wells, M., and Gregg, S. (1992). Force concept inventory. The Physics Teacher 30:141-154.
40. Hewson, P. W., and Hewson, M. G. A' B. (1984). The role of conceptual conflict in conceptual change and the design of instruction. Instructional Science 13:1-13
41. Holton, G. (1975). Science, Science Teaching, and Rationality. In Hook, S., Kurz, P., and Todorovich, M. (Eds.), The Philosophy of the Curriculum, Prometheus Books, Buffalo, NY, pp. 101-108.
42. Huxley, T. H. (1893). On the educational value of the natural history sciences. In Huxley, T. H. (Ed.), Collected Essays, III, London, pp. 38-65 (Repr. Greenwood, Press, NY, 1968).
43. Inhelder, B., and Plaget, J. (1958). The Growth of Logical Thinking from Childhood to Adolescence (A. Parsons & S. Milgram, Trans.), Basic Books, New York (Original work published 1955).
44. Keys, C. W. (1994). The development of scientific reasoning skills in conjunction with collaborative writing assignments: An interpretive study of six ninth-grade students. Journal of Research in Science Teaching 31: 1003-1022.
45. Klahr, D. (2000). Exploring Science: The Cognition and Development of Discovery Processes, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.
46. Klahr, D., Fay, A., and Dunbar, K. (1993). Heuristics for scientific experimentation: A developmental study. Cognitive Psychology 25:111-146.
47. Kosslyn, S. M. (1994). Image and the Brain: The Resolution of the Imagery Debate, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.
48. Kuhn, D., Gracia-Milla, M., Zohar, A., and Anderson, C. (1995). Strategies of knowledge acquisition. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, Serial No. 245, 60: 1-28.
49. Kuhn, D., and Pearsall, S. (2000). Developmental origins of scientific thinking. Journal of Cognition and Development 1: 113-129.
50. Kuhn, D., Amsel, E., and O'Loughhlin, M. (1988). The Development of Scientific Thinking Skills, Academic Press, Orlando, FL.
51. Kuhn, D., Black, J., Keselman, A., and Kaplan, D. (2000). The development of cognitive skills to support inquiry learning. Cognition and Instruction 18: 495-523.
52. Kuhn, D., Schauble, L., and Gracia-Milla, M. (1992). Cross domain development of scientific reasoning. Cognition and Instruction 9: 285-327.
53. Langley, D., Ronen, M., and Eylon, B.-S. (1997). Light propagation and visual patterns: Preinstruction learners' conceptions. Journal of Research in Science Teaching 34: 300-424.
54. Layton, D. (1973). Science for the People, George Allen & Unwin Ltd., London.
55. Lee, C. (1992). Literacy, cultural diversity, and instruction. Education and Urban Society 24: 279-291.
56. McCloskey, M., Caramazza, A., and Green, B. (1980). Curvilinear motion in the absence of external forces: Naïve beliefs about the motion of objects. Science 210: 1139-1141.
57. McCloskey, M. (1983). Intuitive physics. Scientific American 248: 113-122.
58. McDuffie, T. E. Jr. (2001). Scientists - geeks and nerds? Science and Children 38: 16-19.
59. Metz, K. E. (1995). Reassessment of developmental constraints on children's science instruction. Review of Educational Research 65: 93-127.
60. Miller, G. E., Abrahamson, S., Cohen, I. S., Graser, H. P., Harnack, R. S., and Land, A. (1961). Teaching and Learning in Medical School, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.
61. Moore, G. E. (1903). Principia Ethica, Cambridge University Press, London.
62. Nash, J. M. (1997). Fertile minds. Time 3: 49-56.
63. NSES (1996). Available at http://www.nap.edu/readingroom/books/nses/html/ 6a.html#sis.
64. Paivio, A. (1986). Mental Representations: A Dual Coding Approach, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
65. Parker, J., and Spink, E. (1997). Becoming science teachers: An evaluation of the initial stages of elementary teacher training. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education 22: 17-31.
66. Piaget, J., and Inhelder, B. (1975). The Origin of the Idea of Chance in Children (Leake, L., Burrell, P., and Fishbein, H. D., Trans.). Routledge and Kegan Paul, London (Original work published 1941).
67. Piaget, J. (1946). Les notions de movement et de vitesse, chez l'enfant. Presses Universities de France, Paris.
68. Piaget, J. (1969). The Child's Conception of Time (Pomerans, A.J., Trans.) Ballantine Books, New York (Original work published 1927).
69. Piaget, J., Inhelder, B., and Szeminska, A. (1952). The Child Conception of Number (Gattengo, C. and Hodgson, P.M., Trans.) Routledge & Kegan Paul, London (Original work published 1941).
70. Piaget, J. (1987). Possibility and necessity: Vol. 2. The Role of Necessity in Cognitive Development (Felder, H., Trans.) University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis (Original work published 1983).
71. Popper, K. (1959). The Logic of Scientific Discovery, Harper and Row, New York.
72. Popper, K. (1963). Conjectures and Refutations, Routledge and Kegan Paul, London.
73. Raffini, J. P. (1993). Winners without losers: Structures and strategies for increasing student motivation to learn. Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ.
74. Ruffman, T., Perner, J., Olson, D. R., and Doherty, M. (1993). Reflecting on scientific thinking: Children's understanding of the hypothesis-evidence relation. Child Development 64: 1617-1636.
75. Ryan, R. M., and Deci, E. L. (2000). Intrinsic and extrinsic motivations: Classic definitions and new directions. Contemporary Educational Psychology 25: 54-67.
76. Ryle, G. (1949). The Concept of Mind, Hutchinson, London.
77. Sahlins, M. (1976). Culture and Practical Reasoning, Chicago University Press, Chicago.
78. Sanger, M. J., and Greenbowe, T. J. (1997). Common student misconceptions in electrochemistry: galvanic, electrolytic, and concentration cells. Journal of Research in Science Teaching 34: 377-398.
79. Schauble, L. (1990). Belief revision in children: The role of prior knowledge and strategies for generating evidence. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology 49: 31-57.
80. Schauble, L. (1996). The development of scientific reasoning in knowledge-rich contexts. Developmental Psychology 32: 102-119.
81. Schauble, L., Glaser, R., Duschl, R. A., Schulze, S., and John, J. (1995). Students' understanding of the objectives and procedures of experimentation in the science classroom. Journal of the Learning Sciences 4: 131-166.
82. Schwab, J. J., and Brandwein, P. (1966). The Teaching of Science, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.
83. Sfard, A. (2000). Steering (dis)course between metaphor and rigor: Using focal analysis to investigate the emergence of mathematical objects. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education 31: 296-327.
84. Shore, R. (1997). Rethinking the Brain: New Insights into Early Development, Families and Work Institute, New York.
85. Skamp, K., and Mueller, A. (2001). Student teachers' conceptions about effective elementary science teaching: A longitudinal study. International Journal of Science Education 23: 331-351.
86. Smith, J. P., III, diSessa, A. A., and Roschelle, J. (1993). Misconceptions reconceived: A constructivist analysis of knowledge in transition. Journal of the Learning Sciences 3: 115-163.
87. Sodian, B., Zaitchik, D., and Carey, S. (1991). Young children's differentiation of hypothetical beliefs from evidence. Child Development 62: 753-766.
88. Stepans, J., and McCormick, A. (1985). A study of scientific conceptions and attitudes toward science of prospective elementary teachers: A research report. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 266024).
89. Strauss, S. (1998). Cognitive development and science education: Towards a middle level. In Damon W. (Series Ed.), Sigel I.E., and Renninger K. A. (Vol. Eds.), Handbook of Child Psychology: Volume 4, Child Psychology (5th ed), Wiley, New York, pp. 357-399.
90. Superior Committee on Science, Mathematics and Technology Education in Israel. (1992). Tomorrow 98. Publications Department, Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport, Jerusalem, Israel.
91. Tosun, T. (2000). The beliefs of preservice elementary teachers towards science and science teaching. School Science and Mathematics 100: 374-379.
92. Toulmin, S. (1960). The Philosophy of Science: An Introduction, Harper & Brothers, New York.
93. Ulam, S. (1976) Adventures of a Mathematician, Charles Scribner's Sons, New York.
94. Viennot, L. (1979). Spontaneous reasoning in elementary dynamics. European Journal of Science Education 1: 205-221.
95. Vygotsky, L. S. (1933/1978). The role of play in development. In Cole, M., John-Steiner, V., Schribner, S., and Souberman, E. (Eds.), Mind in Society, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass.
96. Vygotsky, L. S. (1934/1986). Thought and Language. Translated and edited by Alex Kozulin Cambridge, MIT Press, MA.
97. Wills, P. (1977). Learning to Labor: How Working Class Lads Get Working Class Jobs, Columbia University Press, New York.
98. Wolpert, L. (1993). The Unnatural Nature of Science, Faber & Faber, London.
99. Yates, G. C. R., and Chandler, M. (2001). Where have all the skeptics gone? Patterns of new age beliefs and anti-scientific attitudes in preservice elementary teachers. Research in Science Education 30: 377-387.
100. Zimmerman, C. (2000). The development of scientific reasoning skills. Developmental Review 20: 99-149.