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Peer-reviewed article

Explanatory conversations and young children's developing scientific literacy

January 1, 2001 | Public Programs, Informal/Formal Connections
When designing programs for science learning, it is important to consider that children's experiences with science begin years before they encounter science in the classroom. Children's developing understanding of science begins in their everyday activities and conversations about the natural and technical world. Children develop "scientific literacy" as they begin to learn the language of science (e.g., concepts such as "gravity" or "metamorphosis"), the kind of causal explanations that are used in scientific theories (e.g., the day-night cycle results from the rotation of the earth), and the kinds of procedures that are used to answer scientific questions (e.g., testing hypotheses, controlling variables).

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    Author
    University of California, Santa Cruz
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    Author
    California Polytechnic State University
  • Citation

    DOI : 978-0805834734
    Publication Name: Designing for science: Implications from everyday, classroom, and professional science
    Page Number: 29
    Resource Type: Research Products
    Discipline: Education and learning science | General STEM | Literacy | Nature of science
    Audience: Elementary School Children (6-10) | Pre-K Children (0-5)
    Environment Type: Public Programs | Informal/Formal Connections

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