SCIENCE & INQUIRY BASED
"Children entering school already have substantial knowledge of the natural world, much of which is implicit...Contrary to older views, young children are not concrete and simplistic thinkers ... Research shows that children's thinking is surprisingly sophisticated ... Children can use a wide range of reasoning processes that form the underpinnings of scientific thinking, even though their experience is variable and they have much more to learn (Duschl, Schweingruber, & Shouse, 2007, pp 2-3)".
|
With ACCESS we believe that science should be the center of early childhood curriculum. While young children are well suited to fully engage in science instruction, whether because of a lack of confidence in their own science content knowledge or a preference to teach other subject areas, many early childhood teachers do not teach science. To address this problem, the ACCESS Curriculum books go into depth on how to set up an environment that supports science learning throughout the classroom and playground. The books also give tools for self-assessment to help teachers stage an environment that fully supports science instruction.
To learn more, purchase the ACCESS Curriculum publications:
|
Young children are natural scientists. Curiosity is the driving force behind childhood explorations.
Teachers often steer away from physical science, most likely because they have a low comfort level with physics concepts. This teacher engages these preschoolers in the study of light, refection and mirrors.
|
