Ψηφιακά διδακτικά σενάρια με αντικείμενο τις Φυσικές Επιστήμες στην Προσχολική Εκπαίδευση: ένα παράδειγμα από την ψηφιακή πλατφόρμα «Αίσωπος»

Abstract

The present study attempts to highlight the role of digital teaching scenarios and the digital tools that these employ for the purpose of achieving the Greek Curriculum goals regarding Science in Preschool Education. The case of a digital “exemplary” teaching scenario was selected; it was designed in the context of the Action “Development of methodology and digital teaching scenarios for the subject areas of Primary and Secondary General and Vocational Education” that was implemented by the Institute of Educational Policy (IEP). The digital teaching scenario draws from the subject area of Science and the natural water cycle. Where young children are concerned, the natural environment is an endless source of images, information and experiences, that stimulate their curiosity and allow them to form their first ideas and interpretations about the natural world surrounding them, at a very early stage. Curiosity, interest and the innate tendency that children exhibit to explore the world around them, as well as their prior notions and knowledge concerning the natural environment, render the children’s involvement with Science necessary. In the current Preschool Curriculum (Cross-Curricular Thematic Framework, 2003) Science Education is included in the subject area called  “Child and Environment” which involves designing and developing activities concerning the study of the environment, whereas in the complementary (revised) Curriculum of the New School (IEP, 2014) Science Education constitutes an autonomous subject area. In both cases, one of the most important goals in children’s involvement with the natural environment is to foster scientific literacy. Through their involvement with Science young children find answers to their inquiries, they learn and comprehend the modus operandi of the natural world and of the various products of culture as well. Involvement with Science further enables children to realize that their quality of life and survival depend directly on the maintenance of natural balance (Kalogiannakis, 2015). Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) provide an advantageous field for approaching and processing the natural and biological world, and for this reason the connection between the two subject areas (ICT and Science) is encouraged by both the current and the complementary Curricula for Preschool Education (CrossCurricular Thematic Framework, 2003; IEP, 2014). Kindergarten thus promotes young children’s scientific and technological literacy at the same time (IEP, 2014).  Information and Communication Technologies offer the kindergarten teacher a plethora of material in various forms (such as photos, videos, texts, audio files, etc.) which can be utilized according to the learning goals that teachers set, the pupils’ cognitive level, needs and interests.  In the context of the Action “Development of methodology and digital teaching scenarios for the subject areas of Primary and Secondary General and Vocational Education”, the Institute of Educational Policy (IEP) has designed a special digital platform called “Aesop” (or A.E.S.O.P – Advanced Electronic Scenarios Operating Platform). This platform provides teachers of all levels with innovative digital tools that allow them to design, develop and implement digital teaching scenarios in daily practice that are absolutely compatible with the goals of the current Curriculum.  The digital teaching scenario of the “Aesop” platform is a teaching proposal that is addressed to educators and students and takes advantage of contemporary teaching methods, with an emphasis on exploratory – discovery learning and collaborative learning in an interactive manner that employs new technologies (Grammenos, 2017). It consists of phases of realization, teaching objectives, assessment and selfassessment activities, as well as of a detailed description of the teaching issue (or problem) that is examined in the same scenario.  Due to the peculiarity of preschool education, the model scenarios for kindergartens found on the “Aesop” platform are not proposed solely as material for autonomous teaching practice, but as material that can be utilized in the context of a more general exploration. What is more, despite the fact that the majority of model scenarios focuses on one of the subject areas of the current Curriculum, they maintain their cross-curricular nature by integrating the rest of the subject areas in the process of exploring the issue at hand (Tsalagiorgou, 2015).  The digital teaching scenario by the name “Where are you from, little river? The water cycle” (http://aesop.iep.edu.gr/node/6212) is one of the “exemplary” or model scenarios that were designed in the context of the project “Development of methodology and digital teaching scenarios for the subject areas of Primary and Secondary General and Vocational Education” and are proposed for use in Preschool Education. The scenario draws from Science Education (IEP, 2014: 229-230) and more specifically from the unit “Notions and phenomena of the natural world” (ibid, 253) and aims at facilitating the comprehension of the water cycle and the stages that characterize this natural phenomenon through various activities. Water is one of most favourite subjects among kindergarten pupils and it provides numerous opportunities of exploration, observation, experimentation, action/play and sensitization. The scenario encourages young children to learn and comprehend the endless journey of water, its cycle and forms (solid, liquid and gaseous) and moreover to familiarize themselves with the process of experimentation that involves water boiling, evaporation and condensation. The goal of the scenario is to help young children understand on one hand the continuous recycling of water on earth and the incessant process of the water cycle, and on the other hand the constant change of the natural state of water, from the solid state of ice, to the liquid state of rivers/lakes and the sea and to the gaseous state of vapours.  The paper provides an analytical presentation of the phases of the digital scenario, of the goals and the course of realization with the use of elements/tools of the “Aesop” platform. The analysis highlights the importance of Science Education in kindergarten work, as well as the valuable contribution of New Technologies in the young pupils’ study of the natural world. Simultaneously, the “Aesop” digital platform provides teachers with various tools to design digital scenarios and thus emerges as an excellent resource in the kindergarten teachers’ attempt to take advantage of the children’s natural curiosity, to foster young pupils’ experimentation and exploration of the natural world and to enhance their critical thinking abilities and scientific literacy.