Application experience, scientific experimentation in primary school

self-awareness

– experiment with water:

During our internships, we had the opportunity in kindergarten to freely experiment with water. We provided the children with various materials such as mirrors, pipettes, magnifying glasses, buckets and rags and let them experiment freely in groups. During the experiment phase, we documented the children’s experiences with the camera. Afterwards, we also enabled the children to verbalize and categorize their findings.

This free and playful approach is especially important for young children. These are intended to gain initial experience with scientific concepts and procedures in game situations. These then form the basis for the further development of scientific competencies in the subsequent cycles.

Also in cycle 1, we made various materials available to the children to build towers (building blocks, coasters, cubes, Lego bricks, cardboard boxes …). Now the children were allowed to experiment independently, which material is best suited to build stable and high towers. We again documented the children’s experimentation phase with the camera. In the end, the children should also report on their experiences and draw their own conclusions. The photos were then placed in the portfolio, where they can later serve as a starting point for further linguistic statements.

– Experiment "floats – does not float?":

In an internship in the kindergarten, the children experimented with water and objects. You should observe which objects float on the water and which sink to finally explain your observations. The teacher provided the children with an aquarium that was filled with water and a whole range of objects such as pencils, erasers, corks, coins, cubes, plastic bottles, paper clips, etc. The children could then throw the objects into the aquarium in small groups and always watch what happened. You could see that the children enjoyed experimenting and also watched very closely what happened. One group found that a wooden cube floated, but a plastic cube of the same size went under. They were so surprised that they put the dice into the water several times, but the same thing always happened. When asked why this was the case, they explained that the one cube was heavier because a bottle filled with water also goes under while an empty plastic bottle floats. They have thus made a connection to other observations that they have already made. One child also thought that color might matter. So they tried to find an explanation. The aim of such experiments is not to understand a scientific concept, but are important so that the children can gain initial experience with scientific concepts and procedures and ask questions. These then form the basis for further development and the Understand scientific competencies in the following years.

In the following V >As you can see, plasticine is very suitable for this experiment because the children can then make different shapes and observe them so that it is not the weight but the shape that plays a role in whether something swims or goes under.

(from: Wienerl, I. Fleischmann, S. & Rotte, U. (2007). The method manual elementary school. Munich: Oldenbourg Schulbuchverlag.)

– Experiments in art education:

Here we would like to give an example from another area such as the natural sciences, because it is also a good idea to work with experiments in art education. In this way, we enabled the students of cycle 2 to freely experiment with the colors and independently explore which color combinations can be used to create new colors.

expert opinions

At this point we would like to present two different experiments, which according to the authors Wienerl, Fleischmann & Rotte (2007) and Meyer (2011) do justice to the urge to research and experimentation among children, and which enable them to build up basic scientific knowledge.

Meyer (2011) presents an experiment on the topic of “bridging”. Here, the children are supposed to construct a bridge model with the help of apparently less stable material, such as cardboard or cardboard, which can withstand a considerable load of one kilo. Here, the children should independently design models that are evident high Can carry weight even though the material used at first view is not very stable. This activity enables the children not only to do justice to their thirst for discovery, but they can also get to know precise "technical-physical laws" (Meyer, p.324).

Wienerl, Fleischmann & Rotte (2007) propose to their readers an experiment on “sinking and swimming” and they try to find an answer to the question frequently asked by the students. "Why doesn’t an iron ship sink?" After the students have sunk an iron key in the water, they should then put a ball of plasticine into the water. After discovering that it is sinking too, they should try to shape the plasticine into a ship-like shape to find out if it is floating. Thanks to this experiment, the children learn that if the plasticine is shaped accordingly, it can also swim. Analogously, they can conclude that an iron ship can swim because of its special shape and despite its weight.

These are just two experiments that, according to the authors, are well suited for developing basic scientific knowledge and procedures. Both experiments provide answers to fundamental questions that many children ask themselves. When used correctly, the experiments not only satisfy the children’s urge to research, but also enable them to develop important skills.

Swell:

Meyer, H. (2011). Teaching methods. ll: Practice book. Berlin: Cornelsen Verlag Scriptor.

Wienerl, I. Fleischmann, S. & Rotte, U. (2007). The method manual elementary school. Munich: Oldenbourg Schulbuchverlag.

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Christina Cherry
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