At the commencement of 2022 there was an opportunity to be engaged in a curriculum development project focused on reimagining mathematics learning in primary schools. Schools were seeking new experiences to support engaging students and teachers in mathematics learning. Laburnum Primary School participated in the project with Monash University,…

Expectations for increased conceptual outcomes in the early childhood education sector have foregrounded a need for more evidenced-based practice in support of children's play. One such avenue for researching models of play practices that support cognitive outcomes is to study the implementation of Playworlds. Grounded in cultural-historical…

Government guidelines are demanding greater educational outcomes and intentional teaching in Australian preschools. The purpose of this paper is to present the results of a study of how children incorporate concepts into child-initiated play. A cohort of 18 children (aged 3.0-5.8, mean age of 4.8) were digitally observed over seven weeks…

While evolving societal needs have created a demand for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) outcomes in early childhood, research indicates a deficit view on early childhood teachers' ability to teach STEM. Existing teaching models are primarily developed from school-based research, conflicting with the early childhood…

A substantial number of empirical studies in the field of Early Childhood Science Education have explored science concept formation in early childhood educational settings. Most of these studies focus on the process of science concept formation during a teaching intervention or a school year period. However, less is known about how children form…

Eminent scientists, like Einstein, worked with theoretical contradiction, thought experiments, mental models and visualisation--all characteristics of children's play. Supporting children's play is a strength of early childhood teachers. Promising research shows a link between imagination in science and imagination in play. A case study of 3…

In some Western contexts, the pedagogical practices of teachers are to intentionally involve in play-based learning through sustained shared conversations to extend children's thinking (Meade, A., Williamson, J., Stuart, M., Smorti, S., Robinson, L., & Carroll-Lind, J. (2013). Adult-child sustained shared thinking: Who, how and when? Early…

This study investigated the practice of two early-childhood educators and their interactions with 24 children (mean age 5.2 years) in an inner-suburban Australian preschool setting. The study specifically examined the nature of how educators 'intentionally teach' concepts to young children in a child-centred programme. Six hours of educator-child…

Preschool environments offer an abundance of opportunities for exploring the physical world where children can learn "engineering concepts" and "principles" (theories or laws). Yet how teachers design motivating conditions for engineering thinking has not been fully investigated. The study reported in this paper examined how…

As increasing numbers of families migrate from a range of countries into communities where Western science is viewed as valued curriculum content, a need for understanding the cultural nature of teaching Western science has become more urgent. The study reported in this paper sought to investigate pedagogical responses to everyday and scientific…

Examines the research literature in science education to determine how appropriate it is for teaching science to young children 3-5 years of age. In the context of this discussion, a model for the teaching of science in early childhood is presented. For clarity and continuity, the example of teaching electricity is used throughout. (PR)

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…

Stereotypical views of scientists portrayed in the media, and how science is currently taught in Australian schools, both contribute to many students not studying science beyond Year 10. Reports on the status of science teaching in primary schools still tend to focus on the individual teacher's lack of confidence and inadequate content knowledge,…

As societal needs change and STEM solutions are offered, an increasing concern for the participation of girls in STEM has emerged. Research has consistently shown the unintended preferential treatment of boys by teachers during STEM teaching and, although well recognised, has seen limited change over the past decades. Gendered interactions,…

It is reported that engineering for play-based settings is a new body of knowledge under debate and contradictory. Many studies show how play-based settings are full of engineering possibilities for young children, whilst others have identified missed engineering teaching possibilities. In order to better understand the research, this paper…