The
Early Childhood Interest Forum (ECSIF), one of the NAEYC interest forums,
contributed to the annual conference in Dallas with dialogue, group discussion,
and attending and presenting sessions. It was a fun time (see the NAEYC YouTubewrap-up video) and a productive one.
The
ECSIF members who went to the 2014 NAEYC conference in Dallas were connected to
those who did not—we had the social media venues to link us. The Facebook page
is the most active so go there if you want to join in the conversations from
afar. This blog and the NAEYC interest forum pages are other places to find
information, including the email address of the ECSIF.
Conference
sessions by ECSIF members included:
·
Breaking new
ground in early childhood science: Best practices in action illustrate a new
National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) position statement—issued this
year by the NSTA and endorsed by NAEYC.
·
Introducing
the physical sciences with rocks
·
Scientific
inquiry: Independent activities for science centers in early childhood
classrooms
·
Integrating
science and literacy in early childhood: Hands-on scientific investigations and
literacy strategies for teachers
·
Children
celebrate nature by finding the power of poetry
·
Integrating
science, technology, and engineering in pre-K: Step up your practice by
transforming common “good start” preschool activities into intellectually
rigorous, developmentally appropriate experiences
If yours is
not listed, please comment below to add your session! You can find sessions and check for uploaded handouts by following these steps:
2.
Enter the presenter's name, the
session topic, or keyword and search.
3. Click on the session title.
4.
Scroll to the bottom of the session description page that pops up. If handouts are available for your selected session, they will be listed
there.
The annual
meeting brought new and continuing members together for networking about our
shared interest in science education. We also viewed video clips of children problem-solving and teachers engaging
children in "minds-on" inquiry, and discussed children's capacity, teacher facilitation that supports inquiry
and reflection, and the language/conceptual development in connection with science
explorations. Sixty minutes wasn’t long enough! Members shared the
accomplishments of the past year—presentations provided and attended, articles written, a new
column in Science and Children reviewing
early childhood science resources of all kinds, and the new NSTA position statement on Early Childhood ScienceEducation which was endorsed by NAEYC.
What we didn’t
do was to talk about the structure and function of the ECSIF, how we want to contribute
to the work of the ECSIF and what our next steps will be. We were so engaged in
the vigorous discussion, sharing viewpoints and enjoying the actions of the
children as they worked to solve problems and reflected on their work!
Upcoming early
childhood science education events happening nationally or in your neighborhood
can be posted in comments below or on the ECSIF Facebook page. What should our next steps be?
If you took
notes at the ECSIF annual meeting, please add updates as a comment. The group enjoys ourselves as we talk about our passion for science education and learn from each other--you should join!
