For some children, the most acceptable learning activities are all-in, hands-on. Science isn’t just for scientists and engineers; it’s a natural approach for children to learn about the world.
Children’s Science Education
Children have a strong desire to learn about the world around them. Most parents will agree that their children begin to ask a lot of “why” inquiries at a young age. Their questions are relevant to their lives and so meaningful to them. Trees lose their leaves for a variety of reasons. What is the speed at which a ball rolls downhill? What kinds of organisms can be found in the soil? These are also the first steps in the learning process. We foster learning as parents and educators by motivating, feeding, and directing our children’s curiosity and inquiries. We stifle learning by ignoring or dismissing their inquiries and passing up opportunities to assist them in developing critical thinking abilities.
Finding Solutions and Improving Skills
We encourage learning by assisting youngsters in developing key science abilities, which will serve them well throughout their lives. Children are also keen observers. They automatically pay attention, think, and act. Kids advance farther in the learning process as they seek real solutions to their genuine inquiries. As a result, students begin to develop science skills like observing, classifying, reasoning, and forecasting independently.
Science Experiments as a Teaching Tool
Kids are wholly engaged in questioning, watching, testing, thinking, and learning whether they are walking in the park, playing with a ball, or digging in the soil. In a way, they’re “doing science.”
When we direct children’s natural curiosity and build on their growing science skills, we allow them to conduct real science hands-on. They learn science more effectively.
The greatest method for children to learn science is to practice it. A child can learn scientific information by reading them in a book. Problem-solving and a thorough comprehension of science concepts will come once they are fully immersed in the learning process.
Learning science hands-on also reinforces the beneficial “inquiry process.”
They begin by suggesting a question to investigate, then gather data, interpret their results, and present their findings. Each of these stages is fluid rather than linear, and each one leads to another round of revisions.
Instead of looking for easy answers, students are inspired to ask questions about the world around them and apply this method to solve their own problems with a hands-on approach to science.
What does “Real Science” involve?
True science is all about learning about the world via observation, experimentation, and discovery.
True science begins with a question, followed by actions to investigate and find an answer. Take, for example, the scientific method.
True science isn’t only for the classroom; it’s a way of life.
Not only does real science develop knowledge, but it also develops skills, abilities, and capacities.
Invest in your students
Parents and instructors frequently make the mistake of merely providing facts or a quick response to a child’s query. While this is occasionally useful and often convenient, it leads to a learning experience that is stunted. It also teaches our children to look for and deliver solutions without actually thinking about or understanding how or why they do so. Why should I put forth the effort of thinking through a problem when I can quickly discover an answer via an Internet search?
How to persuade curiosity
When children raise questions, we must encourage their curiosity and engage them in the scientific process. We accomplish this by asking them questions, in turn, to help them recognise what they already know, think, need to learn, or need to do to answer their own questions. Questions such as:
What are your thoughts?
What is the mechanism behind it?
What makes you believe that?
What is the root of the problem?
What happens if…?
What can we do to see whether it’s true?
Science’s Easy-to-Use Tools
As children’s interests, inquiries, and science skills grow, providing them with instruments such as a rock pick, insect net, lab equipment, or a microscope can inspire them to continue their scientific exploration. We can pique their interest and encourage them to undertake actual science by giving them tools to enable them to engage in self-directed science learning. A jar to view insects, a magnifying lens to examine the sections of a flower, or a science notebook to record their questions, thoughts, and observations are examples of these tools.
Hands-on exercises and experiments aren’t meant to be cookie-cutter events; simply follow the instructions to attain the desired result. When we treat science experiments like recipes, we educate children that they should give up or dismiss it as a stupid idea if something doesn’t work. This type of behaviour can stifle learning and prevent the development of scientific abilities.
Be Unafraid of Making Mistakes
Most scientific progress is made by learning from failures. Reflecting on an experiment or test that went wrong and determining why it didn’t work and what should be done differently the next time to make it work.
Consider renowned scientific breakthroughs that resulted from “failures,” such as the discovery of penicillin, plastic, or the invention of the pacemaker — all of which were “accidents” in the scientific process. When we teach our children science, we want them to be able to learn from their mistakes and persevere in trying again.
These are talents that will serve them well for the rest of their lives.
A love for science learning and teaching can bring us all together. A child is curious enough to create wonders, so all we have to do is direct their curious mind to the right way of questioning. Xperimentor science kits that make a science lab at home help your child expand the boundaries of knowledge. We desire to bring science to all. To this end, our blended science learning ecosystem is like the Swiss knife of effective learning. It assists your child in learning at their pace while establishing sound foundational knowledge with tons of fun science experiments, activities, and projects. We believe that experiential learning from our science experiment kits could lead to a generation of scientists and innovators. No wonder kids love it, and teachers across schools approve of it.
