Conversations - The key to promoting scientific thinking

BestStart Montessori Kilbirnie undertook an inquiry with an outside facilitator – a specialist in Montessori and science education – to extend their science curriculum. This was a three-month engagement that involved a combination of observation, short workshops, and action plans. 

Their inquiry initially showed that while children had access to well-stocked shelves of Montessori materials for science, there was more kaiako could do to foster children’s scientific thinking and dispositions. 

Questions they asked of themselves were: 

• Do we extend understanding following on from presenting materials? 
• Do we recognise science happening in other areas of the classroom? 
• Do we foster exploring, asking questions, observing, testing ideas, making representations, and sharing findings? 

In working with the team, their facilitator drew on the work of Professor Marilyn Fleer at Monash University - in particular, her idea that kaiako conversations with children are the key to building scientific thinking. Kaiako took up the challenge to use scientific concepts in conversations and model a sense of wonder through specific questions such as, “What would happen if … ?”. They also made more use of provocations to spark interest and paid more attention to scientific processes such as data recording and sharing findings. 

Kaiako found that these changes did indeed make scientific thinking a stronger and more visible feature of their curriculum. Investigations were deeper and children’s increased interest and understanding of science was reflected in the new words and concepts they used. Children became very familiar with scientific processes such as testing and representing ideas. Using video to record data enabled children to share their investigations with families and make science a more visible curriculum for all. 

In a Montessori context, where children’s rights to autonomy and independence are highly valued, kaiako have found that by becoming more intentional, they have contributed to (and not hindered) children’s discovery learning.