scholarly journals Follow the leader: Child-led inquiries to develop science learning of young children

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 303-313 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pauline Roberts
Keyword(s):  
Young Children ◽  
Science Learning ◽  
Research Study ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Exploratory Research ◽  
Leading Role ◽  
Natural Connection ◽  
Understanding Of Science ◽  
Age Range

Science education in the early years has been found to be lacking when compared to other content areas, specifically numeracy and literacy. It has been suggested that this lack of opportunity for young children to learn science is due to educator’s lack of confidence to teach science, fuelled by concerns regarding a reduced understanding of science concepts.  For young children, however, science is everywhere and is embedded in all aspects of their lives as they explore and interact to make sense of the world around them. Given this natural connection to science, it is important for educators to notice and respond to children’s interest to encourage science learning to occur. This paper reports on an exploratory research study in which children took the leading role in inquiry-based interactions during off-site school days that took place within a metropolitan city zoo. Through the collection of observations and interactions with the research, several inquiries were documented. The children challenged the educators within the program to follow up on questions posed by them and engage the children across a broad age range in an inquiry to answer these questions.

Measuring the Size of Working Memory in Very Young Children: The Imitation Sorting Task

1994 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 125-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. Ercan Alp
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Young Children ◽  
Transitional Period ◽  
Sorting Task ◽  
Linear Fashion ◽  
Very Young Children ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Age Range ◽  
Related Increase

Development of working memory in the transitional period from infancy to preschool years was investigated from a neo-Piagetian perspective. A new task, the Imitation Sorting Task, was specifically designed for this purpose. The task involves a game of imitation. An increasing number of disparate objects are sorted into two containers and the child is asked to reproduce each demonstrated sorting. The number of objects in the largest set that the child can successfully sort in imitation determines the child's score on the task. The task was administered three times to children from 12 to 36 months of age. Scores increased in a linear fashion with age in all three administrations. Upon retesting within a few weeks after the original administration, children's score and rank remained very similar. Their score increased at the follow-up after 6 months, but their rank still remained similar to their original rank. The age-related increase in the scores appears to be about one unit every six months in this age range.

scholarly journals Early Childhood Science Education from 0 to 6: A Literature Review

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 178
Author(s):  
Gillian O’Connor ◽  
Glykeria Fragkiadaki ◽  
Marilyn Fleer ◽  
Prabhat Rai
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Science Education ◽  
Concept Formation ◽  
Science Learning ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Science Concept ◽  
Early Childhood Science ◽  
Early Childhood Science Education ◽  
Birth To Three ◽  
Understanding Of Science

Over the past three decades, our understanding of science learning in early childhood has improved exponentially and today we have a strong empirically based understanding of science experiences for children aged three to six years. However, our understanding of science learning as it occurs for children from birth to three years, is limited. We do not know enough about how scientific thinking develops across the first years of life. Identifying what we do know about science experiences for our youngest learners within the birth to three period specifically, is critical. This paper reviews the literature, and for the first time includes children in the birth to three period. The results are contextualised through a broader review of early childhood science education for children aged from birth to six years. Findings illustrated that the empirical research on science concept formation in the early years, has focused primarily, on children aged three to six years. The tendency of research to examine the process of concept formation in the birth to three period is also highlighted. A lack of empirical understanding of science concept formation in children from birth to three is evident. The eminent need for research in science in infancy–toddlerhood is highlighted.

Do Young Children Modulate Their Cognitive Control?

2016 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
pp. 117-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Solène Ambrosi ◽  
Patrick Lemaire ◽  
Agnès Blaye
Keyword(s):  
Young Children ◽  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Inhibitory Control ◽  
Age Range ◽  
Stroop Tasks ◽  
And Task

Abstract. Dynamic, trial-by-trial modulations of inhibitory control are well documented in adults but rarely investigated in children. Here, we examined whether 5-to-7 year-old children, an age range when inhibitory control is still partially immature, achieve such modulations. Fifty three children took flanker, Simon, and Stroop tasks. Above and beyond classic congruency effects, the present results showed two crucial findings. First, we found evidence for sequential modulations of congruency effects in these young children in the three conflict tasks. Second, our results showed both task specificities and task commonalities. These findings in young children have important implications as they suggest that, to be modulated, inhibitory control does not require full maturation and that the precise pattern of trial-by-trial modulations may depend on the nature of conflict.

Instruction Helps and Hinders Young Children’s Feature Learning

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles Kalish ◽  
Nigel Noll
Keyword(s):  
Young Children ◽  
Feature Learning ◽  
Irrelevant Information ◽  
Diagnostic Feature ◽  
Older Children ◽  
Prediction Task ◽  
Feature Correlation ◽  
The Future

Existing research suggests that adults and older children experience a tradeoff where instruction and feedback help them solve a problem efficiently, but lead them to ignore currently irrelevant information that might be useful in the future. It is unclear whether young children experience the same tradeoff. Eighty-seven children (ages five- to eight-years) and 42 adults participated in supervised feature prediction tasks either with or without an instructional hint. Follow-up tasks assessed learning of feature correlations and feature frequencies. Younger children tended to learn frequencies of both relevant and irrelevant features without instruction, but not the diagnostic feature correlation needed for the prediction task. With instruction, younger children did learn the diagnostic feature correlation, but then failed to learn the frequencies of irrelevant features. Instruction helped older children learn the correlation without limiting attention to frequencies. Adults learned the diagnostic correlation even without instruction, but with instruction no longer learned about irrelevant frequencies. These results indicate that young children do show some costs of learning with instruction characteristic of older children and adults. However, they also receive some of the benefits. The current study illustrates just what those tradeoffs might be, and how they might change over development.

Primary Calvarial Ewing Sarcoma: A Case Series

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandeep Mohindra ◽  
Manjul Tripathi ◽  
Aman Batish ◽  
Ankur Kapoor ◽  
Ninad Ramesh Patil ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ewing Sarcoma ◽  
Tumor Resection ◽  
Case Series ◽  
Radical Excision ◽  
Term Outcome ◽  
Long Term Outcome ◽  
Intradural Tumor ◽  
Age Range

Abstract Background Calvarial Ewing tumor is a relatively rare differential among bony neoplasms. We present our experience of managing primary calvarial Ewing sarcoma (EWS), highlighting their clinical and radiological findings. Method In a retrospective analysis, we evaluated our 12-year database for pathologically proven EWS. A literature search was conducted for the comparative presentation and update on the management and outcome. Result From January 2008 to December 2020, we managed eight patients (male:female = 5:3; age range 6 months to 19 years, mean 11.5 years) harboring primary calvarial EWS. All cases underwent wide local excision; two patients required intradural tumor resection, while one required rotation flap for scalp reconstruction. Mean hospital stay was 8 days. All patients received adjuvant chemo- and radiotherapy. Three patients remained asymptomatic at 5 years of follow-up, while two patients died. Conclusion Primary calvarial EWS is a rare entity. It usually affects patients in the first two decades of life. These tumors can be purely intracranial, causing raised intracranial pressure symptoms, which may exhibit rapidly enlarging subgaleal tumors with only cosmetic deformities or symptoms of both. Radical excision followed by adjuvant therapy may offer a favorable long-term outcome.

scholarly journals Cyber-safety and COVID-19 in the early years: A research agenda

2021 ◽  
pp. 1476718X2110149
Author(s):  
Susan Edwards
Keyword(s):  
Young Children ◽  
Research Agenda ◽  
Internet Use ◽  
Early Years ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Children And Families ◽  
Internet Studies ◽  
School Aged Children ◽  
Cyber Safety ◽  
Primary And Secondary School

Young children aged birth to 5 years are known users of the internet, both unsupervised and in collaboration with adults. Adults also use the internet to share details of children’s lives with others, via sharenting and educational apps. During COVID-19 internet use by children and families rose significantly during periods of enforced stay-home. Internet use by children, and by adults on behalf exposes children to conduct, contact and content risks online. These risks mean that cyber-safety in the early years is increasingly necessary, especially concerning increased internet usage during COVID-19. While cyber-safety is well developed for primary and secondary-school aged children this is not the case for young children, their families and educators. This paper proposes a research agenda for cyber-safety in the early years, using critical constructivism and internet studies to define the internet as a non-unitary technology. Three main objects of study concerning cyber-safety in the early years, including the reference to COVID-19 are identified for targeted research, including: technologies, context and policy.

scholarly journals Unilateral lateral rectus recession is an effective surgery for intermittent exotropia in young children

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Oriel Spierer ◽  
Abraham Spierer
Keyword(s):  
Young Children ◽  
Success Rate ◽  
Lateral Rectus ◽  
Intermittent Exotropia ◽  
Age At Surgery ◽  
Surgical Methods ◽  
Before And After ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Consecutive Esotropia

Abstract Background Different surgical methods have been suggested for the correction of intermittent exotropia. Unilateral lateral rectus recession has been described as a surgical alternative for small and moderate-angle exotropia. In general, previous studies did not focus on the outcomes of unilateral lateral rectus recession in young children with intermittent exotropia. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the surgical outcomes of unilateral lateral rectus recession in the treatment of moderate-angle exotropia (≤ 25 PD (prism diopters)) in children. Methods The charts of all patients younger than 12 years of age with moderate-angle exotropia (up to 25 PD) who were operated during the years 2006–2018 were retrospectively reviewed. Fifty-eight patients underwent unilateral lateral rectus recession and had a minimum follow up of 6 months. The angle of exotropia (PD) before and after surgery and the success rate were documented. Results Mean age at surgery was 6.4 ± 1.9 (range 3.5–11.0) years. Exotropia improved from a preoperative angle of 21.4 ± 4.0 PD to 3.5 ± 5.9 PD postoperatively (p < 0.001). Success rate, defined as deviation of ≤ 10 PD, was achieved in 86.2%. There were 2 (3.4%) cases of overcorrection (consecutive esotropia). There were no intra- or postoperative complications. The mean follow-up duration after surgery was 2.3 ± 1.7 years. Conclusions In children with moderate angle exotropia, good postoperative success rate was achieved by performing unilateral lateral rectus recession.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document