{"id":197,"date":"2023-11-13T16:09:28","date_gmt":"2023-11-13T16:09:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/accintroductiontoece\/chapter\/guiding-principles-for-supporting-science\/"},"modified":"2025-06-22T19:25:26","modified_gmt":"2025-06-22T19:25:26","slug":"guiding-principles-for-supporting-science","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/accintroductiontoece\/chapter\/guiding-principles-for-supporting-science\/","title":{"raw":"8.2: Guiding Principles for Supporting Science","rendered":"8.2: Guiding Principles for Supporting Science"},"content":{"raw":"<div class=\":-guiding-principles-for-supporting-science\">\r\n<p class=\"lt-socialsci-39287\">The following principles guide teachers in establishing a preschool science program that fosters children\u2019s curiosity and develops their skills and habits to explore and learn about their world. These principles are consistent with a constructivist approach to learning, where children actively construct knowledge through physical and mental interactions with objects and people in their environment. The principles are drawn from current research-based models and approaches to early childhood science and are consistent with the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) guidelines on developmentally appropriate practice.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li class=\"lt-socialsci-39287\">The preschool environment supports children\u2019s curiosity and encourages inquiry and experimentation<\/li>\r\n \t<li class=\"lt-socialsci-39287\">The teacher:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li class=\"lt-socialsci-39287\">Acts as a researcher, joining children in exploring their world<\/li>\r\n \t<li class=\"lt-socialsci-39287\">Asks open-ended questions to encourage children to think and talk<\/li>\r\n \t<li class=\"lt-socialsci-39287\">Introduces children to new vocabulary, including scientific terms such as observe, explore, predict, and measure<\/li>\r\n \t<li class=\"lt-socialsci-39287\">Demonstrates appropriate use of scientific tools<\/li>\r\n \t<li class=\"lt-socialsci-39287\">Invites children to reason and draw conclusions<\/li>\r\n \t<li class=\"lt-socialsci-39287\">Encourages children to share their observations and communicate their thoughts<\/li>\r\n \t<li class=\"lt-socialsci-39287\">Models respect for nature<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li class=\"lt-socialsci-39287\">The content of the inquiry is developmentally appropriate and builds on children\u2019s prior experiences<\/li>\r\n \t<li class=\"lt-socialsci-39287\">Scientific inquiry experiences are interesting and engaging for children and teachers<\/li>\r\n \t<li class=\"lt-socialsci-39287\">Children explore scientific concepts directly through active, hands-on, minds-on, playful experiences<\/li>\r\n \t<li class=\"lt-socialsci-39287\">Children explore scientific concepts in depth through multiple, related learning experiences over time<\/li>\r\n \t<li class=\"lt-socialsci-39287\">Children construct knowledge through social interactions with peers and adults<\/li>\r\n \t<li class=\"lt-socialsci-39287\">Children use language and other forms of communication to express their thoughts, describe observations, and document their work<\/li>\r\n \t<li class=\"lt-socialsci-39287\">Teachers support children who are English learners in understanding and communicating scientific knowledge and skills<\/li>\r\n \t<li class=\"lt-socialsci-39287\">Science is embedded in children\u2019s daily activities and play and provides a natural vehicle for integrating mathematics, literacy, and other content areas<\/li>\r\n \t<li class=\"lt-socialsci-39287\">Individual differences are recognized, and all children are included and supported<\/li>\r\n \t<li class=\"lt-socialsci-39287\">The preschool environment, home, and community are connected through science[1]<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<div id=\"section_1\" class=\"mt-section\">\r\n<h2 class=\"lt-socialsci-39287 editable\">References<\/h2>\r\n<p class=\"lt-socialsci-39287\">[1]The California Preschool Curriculum Framework, Volume 3\u00a0by the California Department of Education is used with permission<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<footer class=\"mt-content-footer\">\r\n\r\n<hr class=\"autoattribution-divider\" \/>\r\n\r\n<div class=\"autoattribution\">\r\n\r\nThis page titled\u00a08.2: Guiding Principles for Supporting Science\u00a0is shared under a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CC BY\u00a0<\/a>license and was authored, remixed, and\/or curated by Erin Jones, EdS, ECSE, MBA.\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/footer><\/div>","rendered":"<div class=\":-guiding-principles-for-supporting-science\">\n<p class=\"lt-socialsci-39287\">The following principles guide teachers in establishing a preschool science program that fosters children\u2019s curiosity and develops their skills and habits to explore and learn about their world. These principles are consistent with a constructivist approach to learning, where children actively construct knowledge through physical and mental interactions with objects and people in their environment. The principles are drawn from current research-based models and approaches to early childhood science and are consistent with the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) guidelines on developmentally appropriate practice.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li class=\"lt-socialsci-39287\">The preschool environment supports children\u2019s curiosity and encourages inquiry and experimentation<\/li>\n<li class=\"lt-socialsci-39287\">The teacher:\n<ul>\n<li class=\"lt-socialsci-39287\">Acts as a researcher, joining children in exploring their world<\/li>\n<li class=\"lt-socialsci-39287\">Asks open-ended questions to encourage children to think and talk<\/li>\n<li class=\"lt-socialsci-39287\">Introduces children to new vocabulary, including scientific terms such as observe, explore, predict, and measure<\/li>\n<li class=\"lt-socialsci-39287\">Demonstrates appropriate use of scientific tools<\/li>\n<li class=\"lt-socialsci-39287\">Invites children to reason and draw conclusions<\/li>\n<li class=\"lt-socialsci-39287\">Encourages children to share their observations and communicate their thoughts<\/li>\n<li class=\"lt-socialsci-39287\">Models respect for nature<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"lt-socialsci-39287\">The content of the inquiry is developmentally appropriate and builds on children\u2019s prior experiences<\/li>\n<li class=\"lt-socialsci-39287\">Scientific inquiry experiences are interesting and engaging for children and teachers<\/li>\n<li class=\"lt-socialsci-39287\">Children explore scientific concepts directly through active, hands-on, minds-on, playful experiences<\/li>\n<li class=\"lt-socialsci-39287\">Children explore scientific concepts in depth through multiple, related learning experiences over time<\/li>\n<li class=\"lt-socialsci-39287\">Children construct knowledge through social interactions with peers and adults<\/li>\n<li class=\"lt-socialsci-39287\">Children use language and other forms of communication to express their thoughts, describe observations, and document their work<\/li>\n<li class=\"lt-socialsci-39287\">Teachers support children who are English learners in understanding and communicating scientific knowledge and skills<\/li>\n<li class=\"lt-socialsci-39287\">Science is embedded in children\u2019s daily activities and play and provides a natural vehicle for integrating mathematics, literacy, and other content areas<\/li>\n<li class=\"lt-socialsci-39287\">Individual differences are recognized, and all children are included and supported<\/li>\n<li class=\"lt-socialsci-39287\">The preschool environment, home, and community are connected through science[1]<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div id=\"section_1\" class=\"mt-section\">\n<h2 class=\"lt-socialsci-39287 editable\">References<\/h2>\n<p class=\"lt-socialsci-39287\">[1]The California Preschool Curriculum Framework, Volume 3\u00a0by the California Department of Education is used with permission<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<footer class=\"mt-content-footer\">\n<hr class=\"autoattribution-divider\" \/>\n<div class=\"autoattribution\">\n<p>This page titled\u00a08.2: Guiding Principles for Supporting Science\u00a0is shared under a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CC BY\u00a0<\/a>license and was authored, remixed, and\/or curated by Erin Jones, EdS, ECSE, MBA.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/footer>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":154,"menu_order":2,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[48],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-197","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry","chapter-type-numberless"],"part":342,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/accintroductiontoece\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/197","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/accintroductiontoece\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/accintroductiontoece\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/accintroductiontoece\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/154"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/accintroductiontoece\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=197"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/accintroductiontoece\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/197\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1521,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/accintroductiontoece\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/197\/revisions\/1521"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/accintroductiontoece\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/342"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/accintroductiontoece\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/197\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/accintroductiontoece\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=197"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/accintroductiontoece\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=197"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/accintroductiontoece\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=197"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/accintroductiontoece\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=197"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}