Post by Amanda Dougherty
created and sourced from Canva by Amanda Dougherty
When thinking about science communication efforts, there are likely many stakeholder groups or target audiences that come to mind. Are any of these groups children? Children are often overlooked as important science stakeholders and may not be considered in communication efforts. While it is true that there are many programs that exist solely to engage children in scientific activities and exploration, I would like to propose a less traditional format to attract children to science themes that at first glance does not seem like science.
Engaging children in science can promote critical thinking skills, problem-solving skills, as well as teamwork (Subali et al. 2019). Science is a pattern of thinking that can help our youngest stakeholders understand the world, as they are continually learning and trying to understand how things work. Scientific thinking allows children to learn flexibility as science requires continual adaptation and revision of ideas through observation, testing, and evaluation. Curiosity and open mindedness about the world can integrate to other disciplines and create a framework in which children can begin to develop unique thoughts and ideas.
Many elementary educators are not formally trained in science as part of their teaching programs, therefore teaching science may seem daunting, or they may be unsure how to successfully teach scientific concepts. (Appleton 2003). Traditionally, science has been communicated by scientists through formal journal publications that are generally inaccessible to the public. While open access journals are becoming more available, scientific publications are still written with scientific peers as target audiences and use jargon appropriate to the discipline. Science is often miscommunicated to the world through news articles or publications as those without a science background try to interpret scientific findings from the primary source, which is often difficult. Scientists know science best; therefore, one might argue that scientists are best suited to convey their messages to the intended audiences. However, scientists often have little training in how best to relate complex scientific themes to stakeholder groups of varying backgrounds and knowledge, especially children.
If we consider children to be an important stakeholder to communicate science and we suggest that scientists are best to communicate that science, but have little training in effective methods, how do we bridge the gap to get scientists to communicate effectively to our youngest stakeholders?
I suggest the use of children’s literature.
Think about your favorite literary character from childhood. Winnie the Pooh, Paddington Bear, Charlotte and Wilbur, and Stuart Little are a few that come to mind. Each of these characters might conjure up nostalgic feelings or fond memories of some aspect of childhood, or maybe some other beloved character has the same effect. Now I encourage you to think about what you learned from these characters. Maybe it was lessons about kindness, sharing, or friendship, but what if these characters taught you science? What scientific concept might you remember years later if it was delivered by your favorite literary character?
Children’s literature can be an effective science communication tool. Through storylines, children can follow ideas in a manner that is likely easier to understand and more engaging than facts in a textbook format (Butzow et al. 2010). Other research has shown that children can learn biological concepts from picture books, could generalize ideas outside of the book framework, and remember the knowledge three months later (Ganea and DeLoache 2011, Gripshover and Markman 2013, Hardimann et al. 2019, Keleman et al. 2014).
If children’s literature can be used successfully to create effective learning about science does this mean that all scientists should translate their work into storybooks? It could be argued that there is a need for more science-based children’s literature that creates unique storylines and new beloved characters to teach scientific concepts, but this does not mean that all scientists need to become children’s book authors to help engage a younger audience in science.
There are many wonderful children’s books already published that could be used to convey science concepts and combined with age-appropriate activities to facilitate learning. As an example, The Biggest Pumpkin Ever by Steven Kroll, is a story about two mice who work to grow the biggest pumpkin possible. A house mouse and a country mouse are each taking care of the same pumpkin, without knowledge of the other. They each have different intended uses for the pumpkin but a similar desire to grow the biggest pumpkin. This book is not necessarily rooted in scientific concepts, but there are lessons to be learned about pumpkin growth, watering, fertilizing and protection from cold and frost. There are many science-based activities that one could implement in a classroom that follow the themes in this book. Perhaps a scientist in botany or plant science who explores plant growth parameters or tests fertilizer types for optimum production could relate the themes of the story to their work, or simply teach about the basic elements plants need to grow, thrive, and produce. There are many other children’s books of varying topics that could be used to teach science if viewed creatively through a science communication lens (Bishop 2022, Meier 2011). Integrating literature with some science activity is an effective way to communicate science, get children engaged and begins to lay the foundation for curious and creative minds related to science.
Literature is a great example of an effective tool that meets many of the criteria for effectively communicating science. Most stories are written simply with plain language that is easy to understand for the target audience (age group), without using complicated terms. Books can be meaningful and relevant to the intended audience’s stage of development. One additional consideration is meeting science standards for the grade level to ensure that the concepts are age appropriate but also are meeting educational requirements. The addition of active learning components such as hands on activities or demonstrations or the use of simple visuals will further enhance science communication. Science activities that complement storybooks can enhance learning and leave lasting impacts. These same considerations are also at play when choosing to create a novel children’s story centered around science. Further considerations must be made for the topics, characters, and style of writing to be most effective in relaying science concepts.
While not every scientist has the capacity to become a children’s book author, I encourage scientists to think about engaging our youngest stakeholder groups in scientific exploration through books and activities to create lasting memories and lifelong learning.
Emily Dougherty is a graduate student at the University of Wyoming.
references
Appleton, Ken. 2003. How Do Beginning Primary School Teachers Cope with Science? Toward an Understanding of Science Teaching Practice. Research in Science Education. 33: 1-25.
Bishop McKean, Patricia. 2022. Using Children’s Literature to Teach Science. Sacred Heart. Greenwich, Greenwich CT. USA. http://intranet.cshgreenwich.org/heartNet/childrensLitAndScience.asp?websitemasterID=439&webpageDetailID=2818 (28 February 2022)
Butzow, Carol M. and J. W. Butzow. 2010. Science through Children’s Literature: An Integrated Approach. Science Activities. 27(3). https://doi.org/10.1080/00368121.1990.9956738.
Ganea, P.A., L. Ma, and J. DeLoache. 2011. Young Children’s Learning and Transfer of Biological Information from Picture Books to Real Animals. Child Development. 82(5).
Gripshover, Sarah J., and E. M. Markman. 2013. Teaching Young Children a Theory of Nutrition: Conceptual Change and the Potential for Increased Vegetable Consumption. Physiological Science. 24(8):1541-1553.
Hardiman, Mariale, R.M. JohnBull, D.T. Carran, and A. Shelton. 2019. The Effects of Arts-integrated Instruction on Memory for Science Content. Trends in Neuroscience and Education. 14:25-32.
Keleman, Deborah, N. A. Emmons, R. S. Schillaci, and P. A. Ganea. 2014. Young Children can be Taught Basic Natural Selection Using a Picture-Storybook Intervention. Psychological Science. 25(4): 895-902.
Kroll, Steven. 1993. The Biggest Pumpkin Ever. Cartwheel Books, Scholastic, Inc. New York, NY.
Meier, Joanne. 2011. Picture books in science. Reading Rockets, Colorin, CO, USA. https://www.readingrockets.org/blogs/sound-it-out/picture-books-science-class#:~:text=The%20colorful%20pictures%20and%20graphics,can%20help%20correct%20science%20misconceptions (4 March 2022)
Subali, B., Kumaidi, N.S. Aminah, and B. Sumintono. 2019. Student Achievement Based on the Use of Scientific Method in the Natural Science Subject in Elementary School. Jurnal Pendidikan IPA Indonesia. 8(1):39-51.
Tomovic, Cynthia, and S. McKinney. 2017. Scientific literacy Matters: Using Literature to Meet Next Generation Science Standards and 21st Century Skills. K-12 STEM Education. 3(2):179-191.
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