A joint event organised by the ‘Haus der kleinen Forscher Kreis Kleve’ and the ‘Early Years Education’ degree programme at Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences
Language acquisition and language support have been among the most pressing issues in the education sector, and not just since the influx of refugees. At the same time, there are numerous initiatives aimed at improving science and technology education in early childhood. Now, combining these two approaches appears to lead to a win-win situation. At least, that is what a new study suggests.
For years now, many speech and language therapists have been pointing out that real-life situations linked to specific activities offer many opportunities for long-term language development – without the need for a specific language support programme. The EASI Science-L (Early Steps Into Science and Literacy) study, carried out by the research group led by Professor Dr Astrid Rank at the University of Regensburg, has now spent three years examining potential language learning outcomes and the quality of interaction within the context of science education programmes in pre-school settings. The focus was on investigating whether joint exploration can yield benefits in terms of language skills and to what extent the effects on language development depend on how the teaching and learning situation is structured whilst supporting this exploration.
For the studies, one early years teacher from each of 58 nurseries, accompanied by a small group of four children (two girls, two boys, two first-language speakers, two second-language speakers) aged between five and six, to visit a laboratory at the universities in Karlsruhe or Heidelberg, where video recordings of the experiment on the topic of ‘floating and sinking’ were made (duration: approx. 30 minutes). Further data were collected quantitatively using questionnaires and tests.
The ‘Haus der kleinen Forscher’ in the Kleve district, the regional partner of the nationwide foundation for the promotion of science and technology education in early childhood, is now delighted, together with the project partners and lecturers from the Bachelor’s degree programme in Early Childhood Education at Rhein-Waal University of Applied Sciences, to have secured Professor Dr Astrid Rank for a lecture followed by a discussion. Educational professionals, teachers and anyone working in nursery schools, all-day schools or primary schools who deal with the topics of language development and/or science education, as well as the interested general public, are warmly invited. The organisers look forward to a stimulating professional exchange on the possibilities and limitations of designing language-conscious, science-based research activities in nursery schools and primary schools. In keeping with the theme, the event will take place at the KLEX university learning workshop, where various materials and tools for interdisciplinary experimentation are available.
As space is limited, please register at: barbara.maue@hochschule-rhein-waal.de
