astronomy education at nursery schools 2009 international conference of east-asian science education...
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Astronomy Education at Nursery Schools
2009 International Conference of East-Asian Science EducationSession: Learning Science in Informal Settings (2)
Taipei, 22 October 2009
Tomita, Akihiko(Wakayama Univ, Japan)[email protected]://www.wakayama-u.ac.jp/~atomita/
“Stories about the Universe” - my talk and communication with children
Hikari Nursery School, Osaka, Japan - once a month 30 times so far (for 3 years)
80 children - of 3,4,5-year old (at the same time)
30 minutes - before lunch time
***** Activity *****
Anxieties: Do very young children listen to the talk? Isn’t story about stars too difficult for them?
This study tries: I have tried and looked for tricks for good talk >>> through teachers’ and parents’ comments <<<
Conclusions (the tricks): (1) Encourage children’s communication (2) Misunderstanding? It’s OK. (3) Only 1 section (topic) (4) Many beautiful photos? They’re not needed much. (5) Real photos? Imaginary ones can be impressive. (6) Enough time for children to see and read (7) “Randomly-moving-around” Q&Q&A&Q session (8) Appeal to teachers and parents as well
kindergarten highschool adults-w/kids elder people
age
degree of interest inastronomy (science)
high
low
a b
many activitieswe already have tried
Classification of target for astronomy(science) education
To meet both (a) and (b) at nurseryThis presentation: focused on (a)
HikariHikari children children
Clouds
This time: contrail (stream by airplane)
???
? What’s this?
Find ‘rainbow’ in this room!
Have you ever seen ‘real’ cotton?
Travel to the Universe
-- Go to Mercury --
Travel to the Universe
-- Go to Jupiter --
A volcano satellite, Io
An icy satellite, Europa
Spread very-large-format printings, and see pics, read letters…
How to assess the activityTeachers in charge of 3, 4, and 5-year-old classes discussion for 0.5 hour every time
Principal and chief teacher discussion for 2 hour every time
Teachers in charge also have: - ‘What will today’s talk be like?’ before the activity - ‘What did you enjoy today’s talk?’ after the activity
Once a year, I visit a festival that parents also join. chance to hear what parents feel about my activity
Though not quantitative, above comments are valuable and useful to improve the talk
Many failures…(1) Info-pouring, one-sided outreach(2) Too many section(3) Rely too much on excellent photos(4) Stick too much to being real(5) Only slide projection(6) Formal Q&A session
Trying to improve
Next activity
CommentsASSESSMENT
Chaotic, randomly-moving-around, jumping-all-over Q&Q&A&Q session
Friends in Kaumana Keikiland, Hilo, Hawaii, USA
Dr. Kumiko Usuda-Sato, an outreach scientist of Subaru Telescope, Hawaii, kindly introduced me wonderful friends!
- Where are we?children: Earth!- Yes! You and your friends in Japan live on Earth!
Young children? Astronomy?Is it OK? –(examining the comments) OK!
Summary (the tricks): (1) Encourage children’s communication (2) Misunderstanding? It’s OK. (3) Only 1 section (topic) (4) Many beautiful photos? They’re not needed much. (5) Real photos? Imaginary ones can be impressive. (6) Enough time for children to see and read (7) “Randomly-moving-around” Q&Q&A&Q session (8) Appeal to teachers and parents as well
At Nakayoshi Nursery
>>> A talk can triggers a continuous activity <<<
July 7, 2006
Trigger: Talk on
a school-stay night
September 8, 2006
Planetarium!
December 8, 2006A parents-children event
January 2007 Messages to Kaguya
Nov 30 & Dec 1, 2006
Hand-made planetarium!
January 2007 Enjoy Moon watching
February 2007
Star watching using a small telescope.Adults jumped for joy.
HikariHikari children children
Spread very-large-format printings, and see pics, read letters…
Chaotic, randomly-moving-around, jumping-all-over Q&Q&A&Q session