Why Science & Play?

Albert Einstein once said “play is the best form of research”. It is now widely recognised that children learn through play. All children seem to have a natural curiosity to actively explore, ask questions, make connections, and understand themselves and their world.

Providing positive science experiences in early childhood is vitally important as these experiences will lay the foundations for future learning. Research shows that 75% of brain development occurs during the first few years of life so it is important that we provide experiences for young children that foster their physical, social, emotional and intellectual growth.

Science is all about exploring and discovering, finding out why and how something is so. Science can be found everywhere, whether you’re baking a cake, observing insects in the garden, looking at your shadow or even throwing a ball.

Play promotes creativity and flexibility and provides opportunities for taking risks and exploring different outcomes in a safe environment. American Psychologist Jerome Bruner pointed out in his book Play: Its role in Development and Evolution (1976) that in play the process is more important than the end product. Through play, the child is practising skills and problem solving techniques which they can then apply to real-life situations.

A scientific process of “trial and error” welcomes unexpected outcomes and interprets them as valuable information, not as failure. This concept was expressed by the inventor of the light bulb Thomas A. Edison when he said, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work”. A child trying to complete a puzzle may systematically test different pieces to fit into one area of the puzzle. Even if the pieces are incorrect, the child is getting closer to the solution by ruling out others.

Sensory science experiences are more suited to very young children (birth-2 yrs), whilst problem solving, technical challenges that require more-developed motor skills are more suitable for older children (2-8 yrs). Open-ended science activities are those that don’t always have a predetermined ending and are suitable for children at a wide range of development levels. Examples of open-ended activities include painting, manipulating play dough, allowing children to create their own movements in dance or endings to stories or using building blocks. Blocks, for instance, can be used in many different ways. A child may use blocks to make various structures, to represent a toy car, banged together to create a sound, or a child may carefully sort the blocks into different colours or sizes. Making a changeable ball run is another open-ended activity that involves the process of designing and making, where children can make their own course for the ball to roll down. They can alter the direction and speed the ball travels by moving the tracks.

Cognitive development stages in children

Every child travels on a unique journey of their individual growth and development. Even so, in 1962, Jean Piaget, a cognitive development theorist, identified four general periods of cognitive or mental development – the sensorimotor period (birth-2 years), pre-operational period (2-7 years), concrete operational (7-11 years) and formal operational period (11-15 years). Understanding these approximate stages in cognitive development helps us to provide appropriate activities and learning environments for children at different stages of development.

The first period, called the sensorimotor period (birth to about age 2) is the time when children learn about their world using all of their senses - taste, sight, hearing, smell and touch. By the end of this period children have developed the ability of object recognition and the concept of object permanence (the fact that objects exist even when they are out of sight). They learn to identify objects using information they have acquired about features such as colour, shape and size. As children near the end of the sensorimotor period they engage in representational thought which enables them to think through a solution before attacking a problem. They also enter a time of rapid language development.

The second period, called the preoperational period extends from about ages 2 to 7. Here children begin to play with mathematical concepts such as classifying, comparing, counting, measurement and parts and wholes. They also begin to use describing terms such as big and small. Children use symbolic behaviour in their representational play where they may use a block to represent a car. This symbolic function lays the foundation for later understanding of abstract symbols such as numerals and letters. Socio-dramatic play occurs when two or more children adopt roles and act out a make-believe situation or story. Planning plays a very important role in scientific method. In socio-dramatic play, children must use precise language to plan and carry out their story lines. For example, a group of four year olds were playing in the garden. Three of the children, including a girl named ‘Gemma’ were pretending to be horses and one child ‘Jimmy’ was their owner. Gemma explained to Jimmy that he must pretend to leave the ropes untied so that the horses could escape and that as the owner, Jimmy, had to chase and try to catch them.

By enacting various roles, such as playing a father or mother character, children learn to view things from different perspectives. By viewing things from different perspectives children begin to realise that people, including scientists, might have conflicting ideas or theories. Science should be presented as having many unanswered questions and that scientists often change their minds when new evidence arises.

How can adults facilitate learning science through play?

Adults can act as role models to support children’s explorations. They need to listen, observe, ask questions, supply interesting and relevant materials and relay a positive attitude about the value of science. Science is all around us and it is up to us to identify the science in everyday life. For example, cooking a cake involves chemistry which is the study of matter and its interactions. Children observe the liquid batter change into a solid shape.

In 1976, Lev Vygotsky, a Russian psychologist developed the concept of the zone of proximal development (ZPD). This is the difference between what a child can do without help and what he or she can do with assistance from an adult or more mature child. The educator should ask open-ended questions that promote creative thinking and which can be answered using the child’s own observation, investigation or prior experience. For example, the adult might ask ‘What will happen if you do that?’, ‘Why do you think it is like that?’ or ‘I wonder how it works?’ More direct questions can guide the child’s thought processes such as ‘How does the magnet feel’ or ‘look very closely, what can you see?’ Scientific conversations are important as talking to others helps a person to clarify their own ideas and feelings. Reflection should also occur throughout the learning processes. By reflecting, a person identifies the processes they have used and can apply this knowledge to new situations.

Using the correct words to explain to a child what is happening is important. Using the phrase “it’s magic” does not help a child to develop an understanding of science concepts. A child needs repeated exposure to words to avoid misrepresentation and future confusion. For example, if sugar dissolves in water it does not simply disappear.

Children are natural scientists. They are constantly trying to understand the world around them by asking questions. “How do aeroplanes fly? Why is Granny’s skin wrinkly? Why does water disappear when you leave it outside? Why is the sky blue but sometimes different colours? Where do rainbows come from? How do animals talk to each other?” All these questions are essential in science learning. This natural curiosity that children have is the key to science learning and piecing together how the world works. We as adults should be there to encourage scientific learning through play. The most important thing in science learning is to HAVE FUN! There are a lot of exciting things to discover and explore with your child and questions that will arise from the both of you. Enjoy exploring the world together!

References

Bruner, J.S., Jolly, A. & Sylva K. (Eds.) (1976). Play: Its role in development and evolution, New York: Basic Books.

Charlesworth, R. & Lind, K.K. (1999). Math and Science for young children – Third edition. New York: Delmar Publishers.

Johnson, J.E., Christie, J.F. & Yawkey, (1999). Play and Early Childhood Development. New York: Longman

Koralek, D. & Colker, L.J. (Eds.). (2003). Spotlight on Young Children and Science. Washington: National Association for the Education of Young Children.

Piaget, J. (1962). Play, dreams and imitation in childhood. New York: Norton.

Vygotsky, L. (1976). Play and its role in the mental development of the child. In J.S. Bruner, A. Jolly, & K. Sylva (Eds.), Play: Its role in development and evolution. New York: Basic Books.