Scientific exploration skills form the foundations for scientific methods, introducing these to children at an early age is crucial in supporting their development. These skills should be presented through active involvement; children should be engaged physically and mentally (Wilson, 2007). When looking into the different scientific exploration skills, Howe and Davies (2014) highlighted the different scientific processes, these are: exploration, observation, questioning, classifying and identifying; these relate to what has been stated within the non-statutory document ‘working scientifically’(CIEC, nd). To help children develop these skills, progression over the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) and the National Curriculum(NC) must be looked upon, and as practitioners it is vital they know subject knowledge in order for them to explain and scaffold children’s knowledge and understanding (Cutting & Orla, 2015).
I will focus upon: Questioning and Observing considering their similarities and differences and how they correspond to one another. Children in the EYFS (2017) must be supported in developing their skills and understanding to guide/help them make sense of the world around them. Practitioners should encourage the use of simple questions and the observations of similarities and differences. Progressing to KS1 within the NC (DfE,2014), children should be taught how to ask simple questions, observe using equipment and the use of observations (Peacock et al, 2017). Children who are exceeding early learning goals or expectations may be challenged in working at the next developmental stage. Exploration skills are also looked upon throughout the working scientifically document (2013), even though it is non-statutory teachers may use this as guidance alongside the NC and EYFS supporting the children’s learning.
Questioning
Questioning is seen as an effective scientific strategy which children must develop, it can fuel and lead to other work around the relative subject; in order for children to ask effective questions, children must be positively encouraged and feel comfortable within the environment (Brunton&Thornton 2010, Johnston 2014). This has seemed to be particularly true, due to research exclaiming how teachers within the classroom use the child’s curiosity and questions to engage within the science learning which is on offer (Eggers, 2007). Research also states how children’s curiosity could relate to them questioning, however as the child’s curiosity wanders the world around them could affect and influence their questioning (Chin & Osbourne, 2008). Considering this, in the classroom it is important to encourage children to raise productive questions. Looking into questioning within the NC(DfE,2014), for Year 1 it states how children start to ask questions and use secondary sources to find answers; similarly, the NC within Australia (ACARA, n.d) also states how children begin to link experiences and events which promote asking questions. Both curriculums relate as they show how experiences influences questioning. To encourage and foster this learning within my classroom, I could use: interactive displays, post-it notes and a washing line where children could place a question on and take it off once it has been answered (Johnston, pg.15);these ideas could influence my future practice. As children are using a variety of different tools for questioning, it not only develops their scientific knowledge but also literacy skills. Children will be able to develop their oral skills and knowledge of specific terms through the use of questioning, which links to the ‘dialogic classroom’(Mercer, Dawes & Kleine-Staarman 2009).
The Dialogic Classroom supports questioning as an effective scientific strategy, it describes how the participation of children’s talk within the classroom will have positive effects on their education and how scientific skills are dependent on social interactions promoting communication skills between peers and the teacher (Johnston, 2009 & Dale Tunniclife ). The theories behind this approach have stemmed from Vygotsky; he emphasised how social interaction can support cognitive development. Relating this to science, he stated how children use language “talk” to discuss what they have noticed within investigations and how to prompt questions that may encourage their scientific understanding (Vygotsky, L. 1978, 1986). The Dialogic classroom is seen to be dependent on communication skills between peers and specific adults, relating this to Vygotsky’s theory of the Zone of the Proximal Development where adults scaffold children’s existing knowledge and understanding with new ideas to stimulate or develop pre-existing or new knowledge (Vygotsky, L. 1978).It is important for practitioners to show support to their pupils and create an encouraging environment otherwise the children may not be able to develop this specific skill, this can be presented in the classroom through the practitioner initially asking a question to the children so it can lead to a genuine enquiry and a purposeful investigation or discussion (Greygoose, 2016). From previous experiences, I witnessed how a practitioner used a main question around the focussed investigation and their findings out within the classroom but then let the children discuss and talk about it in pairs, this worked well as it allowed them to share their findings out and discoveries. ‘Talk’ also reveals insights to misconceptions children may have perceived (Dunne & Peacock, 2015), it is then easier for the practitioner to plan the next lesson or intervention to support the misconceptions raised.
Relating above, as children raise and compose questions it is likely to indicate misconceptions held by the child and also expose of any gaps within their learning (Johnston, 2005; Dunne & Peacock 2015). As children start to explore and observe (Johnston,2005) they start to raise questions for themselves, these can be influenced by experiments or the world around them due to their natural curiosity. Hence, as a practitioner it is important to support the child and give them guidance when asking questions; relating to the theory of scaffolding (Vygotsky, L. 1978). Research suggests that the nature and structure of the questions formed by practitioners are important in gaining thought about answers (Gillespie, 2004), suggesting how open and closed questions can encourage appropriate answers as they are pupil and subject centred (Gillespie, 2004: Dunne & Peacock, 2015). However, even though these questions are focussed and straight to the point, these range of questions tend to be narrow and only specific to a certain topic or the investigation. This can be argued in favour of the child’s learning as they will be learning specific information, however this does not allow the child to explore for themselves.
Observing:
Observing is a significant skill which children need to develop; it is said to be the first skill children develop due to it scaffolding the development of their curiosity and it underpinning other processes within science (Johnston, 2005 & Peacock et al,2017). Further research to support this claim demonstrated how observation is a basic skill which links to many other identified processes and how it enhances the quality of them (ward et al, 2008). When children use observation, they may learn about the world around them and help answer questions which can prompt future lessons and investigations. As children mature so does their curiosity, the children will then start to filter information out when observing because the world becomes too large for them to observe (Johnston 2005), therefore it is important to ensure the children stay focussed and on task. However, it is fundamental to provide encouragement for the children who may become distracted when observing, one way of doing this is linking it to another scientific skill: questioning, as you can ask questions around the specific area (Harlen & Qualter, 2009 ). As a practitioner, it is important to make the classroom and activities inclusive so that all children can take part, with that in mind there are many ways which observation can be presented in the classroom: through senses, providing observational tools e.g. magnifying glasses, microscopes and rulers, recording the observations using words, numbers or pictures and also allowing the children longer time to observe so they can do this in detail (Johnston, 2005).
As observation is one of the first skills children develop, it is stated how children use all of their senses when applying this process(Johnston, 2005 & Peacock et al, 2017). It is also mentioned by Eggers (2007) how children understand best from what they can see, touch, feel and manipulate. Therefore, in order to encourage observing, the classroom or learning space must be highly practical so children can engage in using all of their senses. Within Development Matters (2012) it states the characteristics of effective learning and how the importance of: playing, exploring, active learning, creating and thinking critically influences this. Environments within the classrooms should be created around these ‘characteristics for effective learning’ so that the children have easy accessible resources available to them. This links to what Smyth (2007) claimed about interactivity being the heart of experience and how imaginative areas help children develop. For this reason, within my future practice I will create a role play area based around the science topic which we are learning about so that the children will get the chance to explore the topic for themselves through play. Looking into why role play is used within science, Ward (2008) suggested how you can use it through progression. In the EYFS (2017), role-play is an important strategy to start to understand the basic knowledge around the subject, whereas as when children move into KS1 and KS2 (DfE, 2014) scientific concepts can be explored as they can approach ideas in many different representations and creative ways. Being a practitioner there are always outcomes needing to be met. Therefore, when using roleplay you can also use ‘scaffolding’ to help the child’s progress. This can be done by using: questions, stories and key words which are presented in the role-play area.
In the EYFS (2017) science is intrinsically and fundamentally linked to play, linking to this Dune and Peacock (2015) also established how play is imperative within learning science and in. Eshach and Fried (2005) promote this as they suggest that an early introduction to science can encourage reasoning and promote better understanding. One way of linking play within science is learning outdoors. Within the EYFS (2017), outdoor learning is well promoted as it enhances children’s development and creates a positive impact on children’s well-being (Outdoor Matters, 2007). Considering curriculums around this area, the Welsh curriculum (2015) stated how using outdoors was an effective teaching approach; Scotland also supports outdoor learning as they have a separate outdoor curriculum (2010). These curriculums suggest how learning outdoors is crucial in science education as it enables children to explore the environment independently, allowing them to use different exploration skills. Through research, LOtC Manifesto (2006) comments upon how having quality learning experiences in real situations can have the capacity to raise achievements. This indicates how having curriculums which includes the opportunity for learning outdoors may benefit children’s attainment. When learning science outside the classroom it allows children to focus on natural curiosity and build on concepts through observations which can help develop understandings of the world around them (Waite, 2017: Dune & Peacock 2015). Not only that, but as children engage in observations, they then may start to form and raise questions which can be explored further (Johnston, 2005), this shows how two scientific skills are closely used in outdoor/exploratory play.
Conclusion:
To summarise, it is clear to see how observation links to questioning in supporting the development of scientific skills, as it is said that it is the first skill children develop and that it underpins all the rest (Johnston.2005, peacock et al.2017, ward et al,2008). Throughout the EYFS and the NC, you can see the progression of the different skills and how they all relate to one another. As a practitioner, it is important that you encourage active learning opportunities for children to be independent. Allowing time for children to observe and question will enable them to explore the environment with few interruptions in hope of developing their science knowledge or stimulating existing ideas. Within my future teaching practice, I will: develop understanding through lesson time, promote the love of children’s curiosity and contribute to the design of the provision and engaging the curriculum in different ways- taken from Teacher Standard 4 (2011). This will hopefully provide and equip children within science, allowing them to take time and explore the different scientific skills they need to develop.