Thesis (M. Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 1990. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 111-117).

Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 1990. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 111-117). Also available in print.

The purpose of this study is to investigate witch knowledge and thoughts children will have about the term of floating and sinking, and witch possibilities there is to make various knowledge visible in preschool physics through playing with water. The study also concern the differences and similarities between two different groups of age who have participated in the study. The study was carried out by an activity with participant observation and feedback interviews afterwards. The result shows that the possibilities to physics are many in preschool. The children expressed new thoughts and ideas who concern other phenomena in physics during the investigation and discussed similar experiments and material to examine. The result shows that the children used previous experience and knowledge to explain and ask hypotheses. They also used their language through interaction with each other to understand, create and recreate knowledge. / Syftet med studien är att undersöka vilka kunskaper och tankar barn har kring begreppen flyta och sjunka, och vilka möjligheter det finns att synliggöra de olika kunskaperna inom fysik i förskolan genom vattenlek. Studien berör även skillnader och likheter mellan två åldersgrupper som deltagit i undersökningen. Studien genomfördes genom en aktivitet med deltagande observation samt återkoppling med intervjuer efter aktivitetstillfället. Resultatet visar på att möjligheterna till fysik i förskolan är många. Under undersökningen gav barnen uttryck för nya tankar och idéer som berör andra fenomen inom fysiken samt diskuterade vidare om liknande experiment och material de ville undersöka. Resultatet visar att barnen använde sig av tidigare erfarenheter och kunskaper för att förklara och ställa hypoteser. De använde sig även av språket genom samspelet med varandra för att förstå, skapa och omskapa kunskap.

This study aims to explore preschool teachers&#039 / attitudes toward science teaching and its impact on classroom practices through the frequency of science activities provided in the classroom. In addition, attitudes of preschool teachers&#039 / toward science were investigated in terms of affecting factors such as age, educational level, years of teaching experience, undergraduate course work on science, number of children in classroom, and the age group they work with. The present research was conducted with 292 preschool teachers who work in public and private schools in different districts of Ankara during the second semester of 2006-2007 academic years. The data were collected by administering Early Childhood Teachers&#039 / Attitudes toward Science Teaching Scale (ECTASTS). Analysis of the data indicated that there is a statistically significant relationship between preschool teachers&#039 / attitudes toward science and the frequency of science activities that they provide in the classroom. Also, all factors were found highly related with the teachers&#039 / attitudes toward science teaching and the frequency of science activities except for age and in-service training.

The purpose of this study was to increase knowledge how preschool children act to explore and managing scientific phenomena. The phenomenon´s that was chosen for this study is magnetism and friction, the study was conducted through qualiative semi-structured interviews in group. By interviewing the children while the experiments were carried out their thoughts and reflections about the chosen phenomena made visible. To deepen the children´s learning in a pleasurable and inspiring way Information and Communication Technology (ICT) was intergraded, with help of a computer where the children got to watch the education program Tiggy test. By the children's act during the experiments you can see that the children follow a certain pattern when they explore and manage scientific phenomena. The children exploratory go through three different phases the "experience phase", the "study phase" and the "reflection phase". The phases build on each other and for the children to reach the final "reflection phase" they need support from the teacher (Fischer and Leicht Madsen, 2004). Furthermore the result indicates that children have ability to reflect, discuss and develop hypotheses in science. / Syftet med min studie är att få ökad kunskap om hur förskolebarn agerar för att utforska och hantera naturvetenskapliga fenomen. I studien valdes de fysikaliska fenomenen magnetism och friktion att utforskas, metoden som användes var semistrukturerade gruppintervjuer. Genom att intervjua barnen samtidigt som barnen genomförde experiment synliggjordes barnens tankar och reflektioner om de utvalda fenomenen. För att fördjupa barnens lärande på ett lustfyllt och inspirerande sätt integrerades informations-och kommunikationsteknik (IKT), med hjälp av en dator fick barnen titta på utbildningsprogrammet Tiggy testar. Genom barnens agerande under experimenten kan man se att barnen följer ett visst mönster när de utforskar och hanterar naturvetenskapliga fenomen. Barnens utforskande genomgår olika faser, upplevelse-upptäckarfasen, undersökningsfasen och reflektionsfasen, faserna bygger på varandra och för att barnen ska nå den slutliga reflektionsfasen behövs stöd från pedagogen (Fischer & Leicht Madsen, 2004). Vidare visar resultatet att barnen har en förmåga att reflektera, resonera och utveckla hypoteser inom naturvetenskapliga ämnen.

I have chosen to do a study on creating science education in the children’s everyday life at preschool. Where I take a closer look at whether and how pedagogues integrate science into children’s everyday situations. The preschool curriculum emphasizes that all children need to learn more about the world around them, how it’s structured and who we share it with. I carried out two focus group interviews with six educators in the preschool.Although the educators themselves were very unsure about science in general, the results show that the pedagogues do a lot of science-based education that integrates in the children’s everyday life at preschool. This takes place both as spontaneous and planned activities, based on children’s interest and everyday life situations. The result highlights how the educators, independently of their own knowledge, create goodconditions for learning and teaching together with the children. An important implication is that educators should continue to try and discover science together with the children and encourage the children in their everyday life to show interest and curiosity for science and especially chemistry

The aim of this thesis was to find out if and why aspiring preschool teachers who study science and technology in their undergraduate courses show a greater interest in biology than the other subjects. The investigation was conducted on 64 students who during the time of this investigation, wrote thesis as the final step in their education. The to-be preschool teachers in the survey showed the greatest interest in the subject of biology, while interest in chemistry and physics turned out to be very low. Early childhood experience from preschool age can affect the view on a topic that a person later develops. It is therefore important that there are teachers in preschool that can help give children a positive image of all the natural sciences and technology.

Abstract The purpose of the study is to contribute knowledge about working with physics in preschool, and how the youngest children perceive natural science phenomena, and to make visible how educators work with the subject of physics. Our focus is forces, and we therefore designed and allowed the children and educators to conduct experiments on, gravity, static electricity and magnetism. The study involved 19 children, aged 1 to 3 and 5 educators.  The data collection method for this study consists of observations of the children when they experiment, as well as semi-structured with the educators. We used video recording when conducting the experiments and voice-recording when interviewing the educators. The interviews used a phenomengraphic methodological approch in order to capture preschool teachers different experiences of physics.  The youngest children expressed themselves with body movements, mimicry and the older children also expressed hypotheses and reasoning. The results of the interviews show that educators to a large extent feel unsafe when it comes to science in preschool. Unsure about how and what to say, and how to perform spontaneous physics aktivities, and unsure what level is appropriate for the younger children.

Syftet med denna studie är att lyfta fram hur förskolepersonal beskriver och uppfattningar om barns spontana nyfikenhet på naturvetenskapliga fenomen. Kvalitativa enkäter och semistrukturerade intervjuer användes som undersökningsmetod för att lyfta fram förskolepersonalens beskrivningar och uppfattningar. Totalt har tio anställda från tio olika förskolor svarat på enkäten och tre av respondenterna har ställt upp på en mer djupgående intervju. Respondenterna svarar att de ofta möter barns spontana nyfikenhet. Genom de tre fördjupade intervjuerna i denna studie, beskrivs hur barns spontana nyfikenhet bidragit till långa utvecklade naturvetenskapliga projekt. Studien visar att nyfikenhet kan ses genom barns frågor och kroppsspråk och tycks vara grunden till allt lärande. Genom ett positivt förhållningssätt och en närvaro som förskolepersonal kan de möta, lyfta och utveckla barns frågor och nyfikenhet. Enkätsvaren visar att biologi fortfarande är det dominerande naturvetenskapliga ämnet i förskolan även om skillnaderna var mindre än vad tidigare forskning visat. Något alla tre intervjupersoner lyfter kopplat till barns nyfikenhet är förskolepersonalensförhållningssätt, miljö och material samt användandet av naturvetenskapligabegrepp i undervisningen. / The purpose of this study is to highlight how preschool personnel describe and comprehend children's spontaneous curiosity about natural science phenomena. Qualitative survey and semi-structured interviews were used as research methods to obtain the preschool personnel's descriptions and perceptions. In total, ten employees from ten different preschools answered the survey and three of the respondents agreed to a more in-depth interview. The respondents answer that they often encounter children's spontaneous curiosity. Through the three in-depth interviews in this study, it is described how children's spontaneous curiosity contributed to long, developed natural science projects. The study shows that curiosity can be seen through children's questions and body language and seems to be the foundation of all learning. Through positive approach and preschool personnel that is present, they can meet, raise and develop children's questions and curiosity. The survey results show that biology is still the dominant science subject in preschool, although the differences were smaller than previous research had shown. Something all three interviewees mention in connection with children's curiosity is the preschool staff's approach, environment and materials as well as the use of scientific concepts in teaching.

Studiens syfte var att undersöka äldre barns kunskapsutveckling efter högläsning i kombination med undersökande verb samt de estetiska lärprocesserna drama och bild i undervisning om solrosens livscykel.  Vi har undersökt om högläsning med fokus på undersökande verb, bild och drama i kombination med varandra har en påverkan på äldre förskolebarns lärande av naturvetenskap. Arbetet tar utgångspunkt i John Deweys pragmatiska lärteori. Dewey menar att man lär sig av att erfara omvärlden genom att göra. Studien genomfördes med för- och efterintervjuer med förskolebarn, i fyra-femårsåldern. Mellan intervjuerna har det genomförts en intervention i form av en undervisningssituation med vår egenskrivna bok Solrosens livscykel - solrosens resa från frö till blomma. Två grupper med barn ingick i studien, med fem barn i varje grupp. Den ena gruppen erbjöds undervisning med enbart högläsning, och den andra gruppen erbjöds undervisning med högläsning i kombination med de estetiska lärprocesserna, drama och bild tillsammans med undersökande verb. Datamaterial samlades in, transkriberades och analyserades med en innehållsanalys samt stapeldiagram som följdes av resultat och diskussion. Studien har resulterat i att man kan se att högläsning i sig har en positiv inverkan på barnens inlärning, men att det finns en marginell kunskapsökning hos de barn som har fått undervisning i form av högläsning kombinerat med drama, bild och undersökande verb. / Based on John Dewey's pragmatic theory of learning, this study explores the outcome of using a model that combines storytelling with drawing pictures, drama and exploring verbs, compared to ordinary storytelling to teach preschool children nature science. Dewey means that you collect knowledge through experiences from the environment around you, learning by doing. Preschool children, at the age of four to five years old, were interviewed before and after a teaching session. Between the interviews we performed a teaching opportunity with our self-written book (The circle of the sunflower - the sunflower´s travel from seed to bloom). During the study we followed two groups with preschool children. The first group was offered teaching with only storytelling.  The second group was offered the same teaching with storytelling and after the story was told a play was performed with the children, telling the same story again together with exploring verbs. After that the children also made drawings. The data was analysed through a content analysis followed by a discussion where we decided how to rate the answers. The result of our study showed that storytelling itself has a positive impact on the children's learning. There is a marginal increase in knowledge for the children who received teaching with storytelling in combination with drama and picture drawing.