Enabling Creativity and Inquiry in Early Years

Fani Stylianidou

Ellinogermaniki Agogi, Greece.

Presentation outline

• Background to the ‘Creative Little Scientists’ project (EU/FP7, 2011-2014)

• What do we mean by creativity in early years science and mathematics?

• Potential for creativity and inquiry in practice

– Findings from fieldwork in schools

• Implications – practices and teacher education.

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Background to the project

Context

• Rationale for science education

• Changing perspectives on young children

• Aims for science education in the early years

Importance of early years science

• Perspectives on science development and learning

• Role of the teacher – environment, scaffolding

• Assessment – new roles and priorities

New insights into learning and teaching

• Challenges of inquiry-based approaches

• Beyond the rhetoric of creativity – reviewing potential

• Changing policy climate across Europe

Issues in policy and practice

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Background to the project

Research Questions

1. How are the teaching, learning and assessment of science and mathematics in Early Years in the partner countries conceptualised by teachers and policy?What role if any does creativity play in these?

2. What approaches are used in the teaching, learning and assessment of science and mathematics in Early Years in the partner countries?What role if any does creativity play in these?

3. In what ways do these approaches seek to foster young children’s learning and motivation in science and mathematics?How do teachers perceive their role in doing so?

4. How can findings emerging from analysis in relation to questions 1-3 inform the development of practice in the classroom and in teacher education (Initial Teacher Education and Continuing Professional Development)?

Background to the project

Project Partners

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Background to the project

Project Processes

Conceptual framework

Research Questions

List of Mapping and Comparison

Factors

Policy and teacher surveys

Comparative Report

Report of practices:

Fieldwork in schools

Guidelines for teacher

training

Exemplary training

materials

Final Report &

Recommendations

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Conceptual FrameworkCreativity in early science

and mathematics

Conceptual Framework

Synergies between Inquiry-Based and

Creative Approaches

• Play and exploration• Motivation and affect• Dialogue and collaboration• Problem solving and agency• Questioning and curiosity• Reflection and reasoning• Teacher scaffolding and involvement• Assessment for learning

Conceptual Framework Strands

Dimensions linked to Curriculum Components‘The vulnerable spider web’van den Akker (2010)

Aims /Purpose/Priorities

Rationale or vision: Why are children learning?

Aims and Objectives: Toward which goals are children learning?

Teaching, learning and assessment

Learning activities: How are children learning?

Pedagogy: How is the teacher facilitating learning?

Assessment: How to measure how far children’s learning has progressed?

Methodology

Strands and dimensions from the Conceptual Framework (1)

Methodology

Strands and dimensions fromthe Conceptual Framework (2)

Conceptual Framework Strands

Dimensions

Contextual factors

Content: What are children learning?

Location: Where are children learning?

Materials and resources: With what are children learning?

Time: When are children learning?

Grouping: With whom are children learning?

Contextual factorsTEACHERS

Teacher Personal Characteristics

Teacher General Education and Training

Teacher Science and Mathematics Knowledge, Skills and Confidence

Initial teacher training

Continuing Professional Development

Methodology

FieldworkData collection and analysis

Wider site context

Case pedagogical context• Policy, planning, assessment

documents, resources, map of the space.

Case observation of pedagogical interaction and outcomes• Core Instruments: Sequential digital

images, fieldnotes, audio recording, timeline

Case oral evidence (interviews children and teachers)• Core Instruments: individual

interviews (teachers), group interviews (children) using digital images from observations, ‘learning walk’ led by child, looking at children’s work.

Siraj-Blatchford et al, (2002)

Water play - nursery

‘heavier when higher’

Trying out the syringe

Pedagogical framingTime and Space - to exploreMaterials - Variety of resources accessiblePedagogical interactionsPlay - Role of play valuedScaffolding – sensitivity to stand back

Trying to fill the pipette with the jug

Filling the jug to the brim

Trying to fill the pipette

with a syringe

Opportunities for creativityCreative dispositions: curiosity, motivation, sense of initiativeGenerating ideas and strategies: problem solving, making connections

Interview with Annareviewing photographs of her activity

“I was putting the water in to see which one was the heaviest” (balancing activity)“ I was squirting – yeh something happened and it squirted in my face” (syringe).“ I was it put through the little tuber and it didn’t work’ … ‘it kept slipping off, slip, slip, slip”(trying to fix the pipette on to the syringe).

When asked what she found most interesting she quickly referred to “the tuber”.

When asked what she thought was new or special she commented on her observations of water flow“Well the special thing was the water goes woo, woo, woo’…. ‘the water glows a wee bit’’.

Anna’s recorded her activity with annotations dictated to the researcher. The drawing highlights the balance scales, the holes in the board, the incident with the syringe and the pipette “I was trying to squirt it down the tube” and her observations of moving water “water sparkled and sparkled and sparkled”.

Cars and ramps – nursery(Chioma is the teacher)

Rosalie: That one really fast.Chioma: Look how fast it went – what about

other cars?Rosalie: (Tried a truck on the steeper slope.)

Went faster on this one.Chioma: Went faster on the first ramp than

on the second ramp?Rosalie: Faster on second.Chioma: Why do you think?Rosalie: Because really high?

Zared: Look (he puts a new car on the ramp) – fast really fast.

Chioma: Why do you think that one went fast and Rosalie’s slow?

Zared: (Gesturing with his hands) –Sideways does

not go. Chioma: What happens if you change it?Zared: It goes fast.

Pedagogical framing: Time to explore, range of materials, use of outdoor space.Pedagogical interactions: questioning to encourage observation & reasoning, fostering dialogue and collaboration, scaffolding to support independence

Inanna tries different slopes

Which one is going to come

down first?

Inanna: I want mine to come first.Deanna: What will you need to do?Inanna: Push it.

Inanna: This is very, very slow.Deanna: How do you make it go fast?Inanna: I tipped it up [demonstrating].Deanna: That was fast!Inanna: And when I push it [with a gesture to illustrate].

Opportunities for creativityCreative dispositions: curiosity, perseveranceGenerating ideas & strategies: problem solving, making connections, offering explanations

Forest School - nursery Reflecting on the visit

Ian: When I went to Forest School it was brilliant. I liked the most taking pictures (of fungi) and that was the best thing I did there.R: So the best thing was taking pictures?Ian: And lots of smashing ice on the pond. (...)R: What were you doing in smashing the ice?Ian: So the animals could breathe under the ice?R: Have you been there another time? Have you seen any animals?Ian: I think I been there a long time ago.R: What did you see?Ian: I think I saw frogs in the summer – and before I saw frogspawn.R: That sounds exciting what was it like?Ian: It was sort of jelly – and tadpoles inside the ball of jelly. R: Wow!Ian: Not the kind of jelly from what you eat and got tadpoles inside it.

Opportunities for creativityCreative dispositions: curiosity, motivation, sense of initiativeGenerating ideas and strategies: making connections – life processes & cycles, variety of life

Findings from fieldwork in schools

Approaches used

Aims

• Most often implicit

• Rarely an explicit focus on creativity, though promotion of creative dispositions was evident in majority of episodes

• Strong focus on social and affective factors of learning as well as on development of concepts and process skills

• Limited explicit focus on nature of science

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Implications

Teacher Education

Aims

Focus on

• Perspectives on the nature of science and mathematics and the purposes of science and mathematics education in the early years.

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Findings from fieldwork in schools

Approaches used

Teaching, Learning and Assessment

• Potential for inquiry and creativity in the generation and evaluation of ideas & strategies

– Rich, motivating contexts important

– Purposes for inquiry linked to children’s everyday experiences and scope for children’s decision making.

– Dialogue and collaboration, promoted by group work and teacher questioning

– Sensitive and responsive teacher scaffolding

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Findings from fieldwork in schools

Approaches used

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Teaching, Learning and Assessment

• Opportunities for play limited in primary settings

• The roles of varied forms of representation (incl. ICT) and the processes of representation in developing children’s thinking needed greater recognition

• Few examples of use of outdoor resources/areas, or non-formal settings for learning in museums or the wider community - more in preschool

• Assessment approach informal and formative, but limited involvement of children in assessment

Implications

Teacher Education

Teaching, Learning and AssessmentFocus on

• The characteristics and roles of creativity in learning and teaching in early mathematics and science.

• Use of the outdoor and wider school environment for learning in science and mathematics.

• Ways in which everyday learning activities can be opened up to allow space for children’s agency and creativity.

• The roles of questioning in supporting inquiry and creativity, different forms of teacher questioning, ways of supporting children’s questioning, recognising questions implicit in children’s explorations.

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Findings from fieldwork in schools

Approaches used

Contextual Factors

• Influence of teachers’ perspectives on learning and teaching, and their views of the nature of science and understanding of creativity

• Lack of resources presenting a challenge. Need for further funding to support the use of ICT and of the outdoor environment.

• Limited reliance on textbooks or published schemes

• Pressures of time and curriculum limit opportunities for children’s creativity and inquiry in primary.

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Findings from fieldwork in schools

Children’s learning

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• Observing and making connections most common

• Children’s questioning also present but not always recognisedor built upon

• Explaining evidence and communicating explanations more limited attention, but still evident in more than half the episodes and more strongly in primary

• Explicit examples of children’s developing understanding of the nature of science were limited, but indication of starting points

• Evidence of creative attributes in children’s inquiry skills and understandings

Implications

Teacher Education Materials• Curriculum Design principles and teacher outcomes for

teacher education based on Creative Little Scientists findings

• Exemplar materials for use in teacher education related to each design principle– Selected episodes from fieldwork – with context and commentary

illustrated by extracts from data

– Classroom extracts, photographs, interviews

• Suggested approaches to using exemplar material

• Teacher training summerschool using this material (in the framework of Erasmus+ KA1 activities)

All materials are available on Creative Little Scientists website: www.creative-little-scientists.eu

Contact: fani@ea.gr

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Acknowledgements

Presentation based on Work Packages for Creative Little Scientists: http://www.creative-little-scientists.eu

Coordinator Ellinogermaniki Agogi, Greece: Dr. Fani Stylianidou

This publication/presentation reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be heldresponsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

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