Doing, knowing, caring and feeling : Exploring relations between nature-oriented teaching and preschool children’s learning

• Research has shown that early childhood science education is based on education and care, sometimes stressed as a dichotomy. The purpose of this study is to empirically investigate the relations between teachers’ teaching and children’s learning in preschool practice, both in terms of educative processes and nature oriented content. The ambition is also to develop and present an analysis method that facilitates these investigations. Outdoor nature experiences of preschool children (aged 1-3) were video-recorded, transcribed and analysed. The methodology is based on John Dewey’s pragmatic philosophy. Here, Epistemological Move Analysis, oriented toward teachers’ guiding processes as moves, and Substantive Learning Quality Analysis, oriented toward multidimensional learning qualities, are developed and used as analysis tools. The analyses show that the relations between teaching and learning processes and nature content are intertwined and include education and care. The teachers guide towards aesthetical, moral, cognitive and physical qualities in learning by challenging, admonishing, instructional, confirming, generative, reorienting and reconstructing moves. The results contribute to nature-oriented teaching practice and nature-oriented preschool research when discussing and investigating teaching and learning processes and nature content.

Subject headings

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Utbildningsvetenskap -- Pedagogik (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Educational Sciences -- Pedagogy (hsv//eng)

Keyword

preschool teaching

transactional approach

John Dewey

nature

epistemological moves

Education

Pedagogik

Publication and Content Type

vet (subject category)

ovr (subject category)