How Scientific Thought Develops in Preschoolers

Active Learning Process

• For a science-based activity to be effective, whether in school or at home, children need to be engaged both physically and mentally. They have to be active learners and participate in the experience in order to fully benefit. For example, a parent may take her child to a river to study the organisms in the water. Perhaps they wear boots so they can wade in the water or bring a jar to scoop up the water and study it. These types of activities make science an active learning process, as opposed to simply a subject to study in school.

Children's Own Theories

• To learn science from an inquiry-based approach, preschoolers should be given the opportunity to discover and develop their own scientific theories. As young children, they may have misconceptions about how the world works. A teacher can encourage the children to investigate these theories and use them as a tool for learning. If the children seem to be at a dead end or need a boost in their experiments, the teacher can ask productive questions to get them thinking again. These questions would help a child to think about more possible answers to a question, rather than getting stuck on one "right" fact.

Time for Exploration

• Children develop more advanced scientific thought when given the chance to create their own theories about the world around them, according to the Center for Science Education. Parents and teachers can facilitate this development by giving them time, space and materials to use in any way that invigorates their curiosity. This scientific exploration does not need to be a separate part of the day or one single subject in preschool. Rather, it is more effective to allow and encourage scientific exploration throughout the day, as children at this age are naturally asking questions all day long.

Being Social About Science

• It is useful for the child's developing scientific mind to make science lessons a social activity. Young children can bounce ideas off of each other, either verbally or by showing another child something they have learned about the world. Even if one of the children has a factually incorrect view of a scientific concept, the action of discussing scientific theories can be beneficial for all the children involved. Such a discussion stimulates more ideas, gets them asking more questions and leads them to be eager to learn more about the topic.