Science talks : a new kindergarten teaching strategy

Abstract

Kindergarten students need more opportunities and explorations to increase their science observation and questioning skills. A new teaching strategy called Science Talks was designed to focus on these skills and it was administered for twenty minutes each day for one week. A total of three weeks of Science Talks were administered, and they were alternated with three weeks of science instruction that did not include a Science Talk. These talks began with a science question being posed that included two variables and the students worked with a peer to develop a testable investigation or question. Overall, the Science Talk teaching strategy showed improvement in both the students' observation and questioning skills during the mid-data analysis and a more dramatic improvement during the post-data analysis. The peer-peer communication and class discussions during the three-week treatment phases were also found to be beneficial to the students' learning and aided the teacher's instructional strategies.