Our work with teachers in Beijing was eye-opening. In some aspects of their classroom practice, teachers were using methods that were play-based and asset-oriented and that promoted each child’s development and learning. But not in science. Teachers viewed science as a body of knowledge and saw science teaching as best accomplished by providing children with experts who could tell or show children science ideas. However, teachers were committed to improving their science teaching, and through our three-year collaboration, were able to move to more effective and developmentally-appropriate science learning experiences. Geographic and linguistic barriers made it difficult to observe teachers’ classroom practice, so in our work we focused on lesson planning. We helped our teachers to see goals that included, but reached beyond, conceptual understanding. We emphasized using children’s interests as the basis for lessons and following children’s leads during lessons. We provided teachers with a model for inquiry science lessons that aligned with these goals, systematically built children’s understanding, and allowed flexibility for children’s curiosity, explorations, and findings to influence the direction of the lesson. Across all of this work we emphasized professional collaboration among teachers. In this session, we detail our professional development efforts that helped teachers move from teacher-directed, concept-focused science instruction to student-led, skills-based and curiosity-centered inquiry lessons. A model for early childhood inquiry lessons and connections between this model and the goals for early childhood science will be described. We also discuss the joys and challenges of providing international and virtual professional development.

Authors:
William Straits, California State University Long Beach, United States
Lauren Shea, American University, United States

About the Presenter(s)
Dr. William Straits is a professor of science education and the director of the National Center for Science in Early Childhood at California State University Long Beach, USA.

See this presentation on the full schedule – Tuesday Schedule

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