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Children Explain the Rainbow: Using Young Children’s Ideas to Guide Science Curricula

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Abstract

This study examines young children’s ideas about natural science phenomena and explores possibilities in starting investigations in kindergarten from their ideas. Given the possibilities inherent in how young children make sense of their experiences, we believe it is critical to take children’s perspectives into consideration when designing any activities, and ideally, to design activities from their perspectives and understandings. Specifically, this research focuses on 5- and 6-year old children’s explanations of rainbows, and there are three main findings. First, our analysis demonstrates that opportunities to discuss their ideas revealed children’s different perceptions of the phenomena of rainbows. Secondly, this research emphasizes that peer-to-peer interaction in the co-construction of science concepts provided support to the children to learn from, and with, each other. Third, children’s initial explanations provided the teacher-researcher (second author) with a starting point to scaffold her teaching from. Although rainbows are quite an abstract topic to try to reproduce in the classroom, the children demonstrated their often sophisticated understandings of natural science phenomena, as well as their creative ideas as related to rainbows. In order to foster an appreciation of themes in natural science, it is crucial to build from what children already know and can do, and to use these emergent theories and considerations in designing curriculum. Thus, we draw implications for the importance of teaching science at the early childhood level and for using children’s ideas as starting points in planning instruction.

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Notes

  1. http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/world/city_guides/results.shtml?tt=TT004010.

  2. With the exception of the authors, all participants have been assigned pseudonyms.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Luxembourg, Walferdange, Luxembourg

    Christina Siry & Isabelle Kremer

Authors
  1. Christina Siry
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  2. Isabelle Kremer
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Christina Siry.

Appendix: Questions

Appendix: Questions

Dataset

A.I.I.:

Waat gesäis du op der Foto?

 :

What do you see on the picture?

A.I.II.:

Hues du schon eng Kéier e Reenbou gesin? Wou a wéini?

 :

Have you seen a rainbow before? When and where?

A.II.:

Wi entsteht e Reenbou?

 :

How does a rainbow arise?

A.III.:

Wi fillt sech e Reenbou un?

 :

What does a rainbow feel like?

A.IV.:

Kann een op engem Reenbou stoen oder en als Rutschbahn benotzen?

 :

Can you stand on a rainbow or use it as a slide?

A.V.:

Waat ass geschidd wann de Reenbou net méi do ass?

 :

What happened when the rainbow isn’t there anymore?

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Siry, C., Kremer, I. Children Explain the Rainbow: Using Young Children’s Ideas to Guide Science Curricula. J Sci Educ Technol 20, 643–655 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10956-011-9320-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10956-011-9320-5

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