Audio Transcript

Published: October 20, 2017
APA 7 Citation: Newsome, B. (Host). (2017, October 20). Ep.24 Accelerating STEM in Preschools [Audio podcast transcript]. Fizzics Education.
https://www.fizzicseducation.com.au/podcast/fizzicsed/accelerating-stem-in-preschools/

Ben Newsome CF is the recipient of the 2023 UTS Chancellor’s Award for Excellence and a Churchill Fellow. He is a global leader in science communication and the founder of Fizzics Education.

[00:00:00]
Heike Schneider: Am I actually looking at the world with open eyes, and how many questions do I have about the world on a regular basis? So, this is really from our perspective the foundation to say, the more curious I am as an educator, the more inquiry-based science, the more exciting discoveries I can make with my children.

[00:00:26]
Ben Newsome: And it is with that sentiment that the Little Scientists are now running science programmes right across Australia for early childhood educators. It is all about professional development in support with the Australian Federal Government. Let’s find out where this all came from.

[00:00:39]
Announcer: You’re listening to the Fizzics Ed Podcast. For hundreds of ideas, free experiments and more, go to fizzicseducation.com.au. And now, here’s your host, Ben Newsome.

[00:00:55]
Ben Newsome: Yes, welcome again to another Fizzics Ed Podcast. This week it is all about the little kids, not the big ones this time. It is about ages three to six. What could they be doing in STEM? And certainly, a group that has been heavily involved in this are the Little Scientists. And two people who are very much involved in this are Heike Schneider and Sibylle Seidler. Let’s meet them and find out what really drives them.

[00:01:21]
Ben Newsome: Sibylle, Heike, welcome to the Fizzics Ed Podcast.

[00:01:24]
Sibylle Seidler: Thank you.

[00:01:25]
Heike Schneider: Pleasure to be here.

[00:01:26]
Ben Newsome: No, thank you. You were describing just before we started that your year has become busier than you could possibly have expected. So, thank you for fitting this in.

[00:01:36]
Sibylle Seidler: Thank you. Yes, it has been a massive roller coaster that is just going up and up and up.

[00:01:43]
Ben Newsome: That is good because roller coasters usually go up and down, so you are just on the crank up. We will see what happens when it goes down.

[00:01:49]
Sibylle Seidler: That is the next podcast!

[00:01:51]
Ben Newsome: We should certainly tune in on that. Thanks for joining in on this. We probably should explain what you do. So, Sibylle for now, what is your thing? What do you do?

[00:02:03]
Sibylle Seidler: We are the Little Scientists, and what we offer is a professional development programme for early childhood educators. It is really about harnessing the vast curiosity that very young children have. We focus on three to six-year-olds, and we enable early childhood educators to turn that curiosity into inquiry-based, joyful, playful learning experiences.

[00:02:31]
Ben Newsome: That would be so much fun, especially being able to show teachers the ideas that you know work with young kids. How long has this been going?

[00:02:40]
Sibylle Seidler: The idea for Little Scientists comes out of Germany. It started in 2006 when McKinsey reps and the Dietmar Hopp Foundation, which stands behind SAP, the large IT company, came together and thought about where we could best place STEM learning. They saw the gap in the early years, the three to six-year-olds.

[00:03:04]
Sibylle Seidler: So, they founded what is called the Haus der kleinen Forscher Foundation in Germany in 2006. Shortly after, the German Federal Government came on board, and it has grown ever since. It is now in its eleventh year and is the largest early childhood foundation in Germany for STEM learning.

[00:03:24]
Sibylle Seidler: That is the big international history. In Australia, we have been here since 2013 through the initiative of Froebel Australia, which is a bilingual education care service provider. They knew the programme out of Germany, saw the gap in the Australian market, and thought that every child deserves early STEM learning, bringing it out to Australia.

[00:03:48]
Ben Newsome: Wicked. A straight-up question for me is, when we say the gap for early STEM learning, that could mean a lot of things for different people. What sort of things are you teaching teachers to be able to do in their own centres?

[00:04:03]
Heike Schneider: Absolutely. Well, to begin with, our programme has two really important components. The first one is the STEM component. Like Sibylle just said, we are focusing on children’s scientific interest. We want to gain or increase their basic understanding of STEM and enthuse them about these subjects. It really is about STEM and their excitement about it, and also this “I can do this” attitude; having the confidence to be a scientist, to be inquisitive.

[00:04:49]
Heike Schneider: On the other hand, and equally important from our perspective, it is an inquiry-based programme. It combines STEM with inquiry-based learning methods. This means for an educator or a teacher that they bring together STEM and a very specific educational approach in their daily practice.

[00:05:18]
Heike Schneider: That comes down to a specific view of the child. We would say this view is all children are inquisitive; the curiosity and inquisitiveness are already there. So, our job as an educator is really just to provide a platform for this learning.

[00:05:40]
Ben Newsome: Certainly, that platform has really driven so far ahead. You arrive in Australia in 2013 with high hopes to do great things for early learning centres across Australia, and bang, the Federal Government gets involved. Tell us about what that was like.

[00:05:58]
Sibylle Seidler: Oh my god. Heike, do you want to jump in? I think we are both excited! It has been amazing. It is a roller coaster, going up and up and up, and we are really going from strength to strength.

[00:06:16]
Sibylle Seidler: In 2015, when Malcolm Turnbull announced his National Innovation and Science Agenda, we were lucky enough that early STEM education finally made it to the forefront of education. We received funding through the Federal Government of Australia, and that is just amazing; we are really thankful for that. It has enabled us to nationally roll out our programme.

[00:06:45]
Sibylle Seidler: I remember that day so vividly because none of us was in the office. Heike was in Melbourne in one of our centres. I was in my other job, because at that stage we were both working part-time. When we got the call, I had always imagined getting loud and acting like I was on a radio station. Instead, I was just blown away. I went quiet, had to sit down, and really got hot flushes. Just an amazing feeling.

[00:07:26]
Heike Schneider: I was actually in a store when Sibylle called me. I had an appointment with ABC News in the morning. We did a short report on Little Scientists, and I was quite nervous about it. I felt a bit relieved afterwards and went to a shop to treat myself. Then Sibylle called and told me. I dropped everything I had in my hand and ran outside. I actually became loud; I screamed. It was quite a big moment.

[00:07:55]
Ben Newsome: And so you should, because all of a sudden you have this programme which was well recognised in Germany doing a fantastic job, and now in Australia, you have this serious platform to roll out genuine professional development opportunities for teachers. We are just seeing this now; you have a big conference coming up. Tell us about that.

[00:08:14]
Sibylle Seidler: Yeah, that is our inaugural Little Scientists conference solely focusing on early childhood educators in early STEM learning. This is really unique in the early learning space. It is happening on the 26th of September in Melbourne, and we are super excited for the day.

[00:08:35]
Sibylle Seidler: We are also super excited because we sold out! That was something we hoped and dreamt about, but certainly didn’t expect. We are just really pumped to be going to Melbourne next week. The office is an absolute mess, a bomb explosion with all our materials, but we are so excited to share our thoughts, enthusiasm, and learnings with our tribe, followers, and educators in Australia.

[00:09:08]
Ben Newsome: Because this will be coming out in a couple of weeks, we will almost have to talk in the past tense about how great it actually was. I would love to know what you have got planned within this conference itself that has made people say, “You know what, I need to get involved.”

[00:09:26]
Heike Schneider: It is going to be quite an action-filled day, actually. We start off with a couple of keynotes. We are going to have Kate Highfield speaking about STEM in the digital age, and Marcus Veerman, who designs really amazing creative playgrounds. They are going to talk about that, which is really exciting for us.

[00:09:54]
Heike Schneider: Then we have four workshops running in parallel. Two workshops for people who are quite new to the programme, taster workshops, and then one water and one engineering workshop. The engineering workshop in particular is for educators who have already been involved in Little Scientists.

[00:10:16]
Heike Schneider: The other really great thing I wanted to mention is that we are very lucky to have support from our network partners. We will run these workshops together with a few of their trainers. We have support from organisations across the country, and it wouldn’t be possible without them. We are just really quite excited about that as well.

[00:10:43]
Ben Newsome: I bet. So, just say I am an early learning centre in Brisbane, and I have come along to the conference, gotten really excited, and I come back to my centre to change the world in my little place. What are the things that are really fundamental for a preschool, daycare, or early learning centre to change the way that science is taught for three to six-year-olds? What are some things every centre could be doing even without much funding behind them?

[00:11:13]
Heike Schneider: The really essential thing is not the materials nor the facilities or the environment you have. It is really your own attitude towards these subjects. As an educator, ask yourself, how do I feel about these subjects? How do I feel about STEM? Am I confident about it? Do I like it? Is my curiosity kindled?

[00:11:48]
Heike Schneider: Am I actually looking at the world with open eyes, and how many questions do I have about the world on a regular basis? This is really the foundation to say, the more curious I am as an educator, the more inquiry-based science and exciting discoveries I can make with my children. That is where I would begin.

[00:12:18]
Ben Newsome: Awesome. Out of interest, obviously there are lots of experiments you could be doing with kids, and they don’t have to be over the top. I’ve seen programmes run completely brilliantly just looking at what water does. What are the sort of experiments that you have seen time and time again that girls and boys just almost lose their mind with enthusiasm with? What really grabs their attention?

[00:12:47]
Heike Schneider: Coming from our angle, the inquiry-based angle, the really great thing is that it comes down to the children’s ideas and interests. There isn’t really one experiment that pops up again and again; it is more the children’s focus.

[00:13:10]
Heike Schneider: For example, speaking of water, Ben, I talked to an educator the other week about something one of the children in the centre did. It was playtime, they were all in the garden, and they had a container full of water. The little boy stirred the sand he was putting in and said he was actually cooking, because from his perception, when water bubbles, it boils, and that is cooking.

[00:13:46]
Heike Schneider: The educator then engaged in a conversation with him, asking exactly what happens if you stir it. Over time, they came to the conclusion that there is a difference between water boiling and bubbling. The little boy added more and more sand to it, so there was lots of exploration happening just by that, and lots of wow moments where they understand a bit more about the world and science.

[00:14:18]
Heike Schneider: The other great thing about that example is that it started with one little boy, and the other children got really interested. At some point, he realised that boiling is not the same as bubbling, so he wanted to make bubbles in a different way. He blew into the bucket with a hose, and that really interested the other children. They all came over and had a conversation about it.

[00:14:50]
Heike Schneider: Which then ended in several children working on different things. One group wanted to see how they can move water from one bucket into the other, some wanted to learn more about making bubbles in different ways, and so on. That is really the learning that can happen every day in all different settings and variations.

[00:15:15]
Ben Newsome: True. Kids understanding what a solid, a liquid, and a gas are is quite different amongst each child. It is very much a component of the early curriculum as they move into kindergarten all the way through to year two. And beyond, to be honest, it comes up in high school again too, it just gets deeper learning.

[00:15:33]
Ben Newsome: I was just listening to what happened with the child pouring sand into a bucket. I have watched kids often say to me when I am pouring cornflour out for them to make slime, there is often a puff of dust up into the air, and the kids will say it is smoking. So the words and the literacy within what they are talking about are just as important as the actual transitions between what they think a solid or a liquid is. It can very much be based on what they know, and considering they are quite young, they don’t know that much, but they try to apply their conceptions of the world using their limited language, and it comes up with some interesting results sometimes.

[00:16:17]
Sibylle Seidler: I think what I would like to add to this is, that is the side of the children, and how they apply their at times limited knowledge, words, and literacy, but it is expanding so rapidly. The other side goes back to your question earlier: what should the educator do? It is about giving the educator confidence in being able to teach science or apply STEM in an early years setting.

[00:16:47]
Sibylle Seidler: One of my aha moments was at a conference we attended. I had an educator come up to me, and we had this great conversation where she said, “We don’t do science in our centre.” Then she went on about how they recently had man-made floods. She talked about how the kids discussed the rain, where the water goes, evaporation, and then they actually went on an excursion to see the man-made floods. Yet, she still said, “Yeah, but we don’t do science.”

[00:17:23]
Sibylle Seidler: I looked at her, gobsmacked, and said, “You are totally doing science. As an educator, you just need to embrace it, have that confidence in applying the knowledge, and give it a name as well.” That was so important for me, and that is why it is so crucial for us at Little Scientists to give language and a voice to the educators about STEM learning.

[00:17:51]
Heike Schneider: Yes, absolutely. What I also hear and talk about a lot with educators and teachers is that they think they don’t have enough knowledge to teach these subjects. From our perspective, this is absolutely not the case. You just mentioned children’s perceptions when they think something is smoking even though it isn’t smoke, or boiling even though it is not hot. The real question is, does the child really need to know the details or the scientific answer at the age of three, four, or five?

[00:18:33]
Heike Schneider: From our pedagogical side of things, we would say no, they don’t. It is really more about gaining an understanding of the world step-by-step. It is okay for the children to have these perceptions. As an educator, it is more about taking that and slowly guiding them in the direction of the potential scientific explanation.

[00:19:05]
Ben Newsome: Fair enough. When you are doing this work with various early learning centres, that is very much in situ in their places of work or at your inaugural conference. Could you imagine being able to go into universities and do the same?

[00:19:20]
Sibylle Seidler: Yes, we are.

[00:19:22]
Ben Newsome: Tell us more!

[00:19:24]
Sibylle Seidler: We think it is so important to talk to pre-service teachers because they are just about to enter the workforce. If we can equip them with this kind of inquiry-based STEM learning that the Little Scientists programme provides, what a chance. They go out enthusiastic about their profession, and they take that enthusiasm and knowledge to infuse it into the workplace they are entering. It is such a multiplier. We are definitely looking at rolling that out with some of the universities in Australia, amongst which is definitely Charles Sturt University.

[00:20:07]
Ben Newsome: Wow, cool. Obviously, you are on this up-and-up roller coaster. Where do you think this might lead, considering how well you have already gotten going in Australia? Where could this go?

[00:20:29]
Sibylle Seidler: Let me take my crystal ball. We really think that every child in Australia deserves access to great early STEM education. The wishful thinking would be that every early learning centre in Australia embraces a programme such as Little Scientists and has components of early STEM education for three to six-year-olds. It is really important for the transition into primary school and then into all the wonderful programmes taught there for STEM learning. Every child should have access to Little Scientists.

[00:21:13]
Ben Newsome: That would be fantastic. I remember talking when we were involved in that programme with PwC, PricewaterhouseCoopers. I was thinking, wouldn’t it be great if you could track students’ progress not within individual programmes or organisations, but literally what they get exposed to between ages three and 18? I would love to know what they are exposed to all the way until they graduate from their first undergraduate degree. It would be so interesting to see the cumulative impact of all these different outreach and enrichment programmes, plus what happens within schools. I would love to know the long-term impact.

[00:22:12]
Sibylle Seidler: Yes, that would be wonderful. I think that is why we have a really amazing STEM community in Australia. We should all get together much more. There are so many handover areas where we interact and transitioning areas where we can work closer together. For us, it is really about all of us together changing the future of Australia.

[00:22:40]
Ben Newsome: Agreed. This is actually one of the reasons this particular podcast exists. I’ve received an email asking, “Why are you doing this considering it’s not about what Fizzics does?” Well, we’re about learners. That’s exactly why we’re doing this, trying to string together some of the programmes we’ve seen so we can let people know these things exist. It’s got to be best for the learner and best for everyone overall.

[00:23:04]
Heike Schneider: I just wanted to say that is the great strength of our network partner or train-the-trainer approach as well. We do work with so many organisations across the country that already have such potential, and with their help, we just have a much greater chance and more strength to really implement inquiry-based STEM learning in all centres, like Sibylle just said. We want more of this community spirit, definitely.

[00:23:40]
Ben Newsome: Going with community spirit, part of community spirit is giving and receiving advice. If you had to give advice to a pre-service teacher literally about to enter their very first preschool next week, what would you say to them in five minutes just to settle their nerves and go forth and conquer?

[00:24:03]
Heike Schneider: In terms of STEM and inquiry learning?

[00:24:06]
Ben Newsome: STEM and inquiry learning. If you had to give them one sage piece of wisdom, what would you say?

[00:24:12]
Heike Schneider: I would probably say, regardless of your own experiences in school with STEM, you do not have to be afraid of these subjects. You also do not have to be a scientist or feel like you have a huge amount of knowledge in these subjects. If you do, it is great. If you don’t, it is equally great; it doesn’t matter. Be curious, be inquisitive, listen to your children’s ideas, and involve them in the process as much as you can in all parts of investigation and discovery. Work together with your children, and you will be so surprised what you can do together.

[00:25:00]
Ben Newsome: Love it. Absolutely. To be honest, I’ve heard so many people say similar things irrespective of their background and what they do. Often it is just, what do the kids want to know? What do they want to understand, and how can you be their guide? I love it; that is fantastic.

[00:25:19]
Sibylle Seidler: Embrace the why. That is what I would say. No matter where, embrace the children’s why, embrace your own why, because we can’t know everything. Reach out, that would be for me as well. Don’t isolate yourself and don’t feel isolated. Reach out; there is an amazing community out there with amazing programmes and forums. Ask your questions and be open to listen.

[00:25:46]
Ben Newsome: Fantastic. Thank you very much, Sibylle and Heike, for popping on the Fizzics Ed Podcast. I know you have got a lot of stuff going on. All the best from all of us here at Fizzics and beyond for your upcoming inaugural conference. I know you are going to rock it. I know you are going to have a lot of fun too at the upcoming Education Changemakers Conference in Melbourne. You have got a lot of conferences on! I know you are going to have a lot of fun. Thanks very much for popping in. I know there will be some early learning teachers who would love to get in touch with you. How could they do that?

[00:26:16]
Sibylle Seidler: They can definitely check us out on the internet. Our webpage is www.littlescientists.org.au. We are also on social media, of course. Check us out on Facebook, just look for Little Scientists Australia, as well as LinkedIn and Instagram. Our hashtags, which our sister who is part of our team would be very proud of me, are #earlySTEM and #LittleScientists.

[00:26:47]
Ben Newsome: That’s right. Don’t forget your Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat, and everything else that you hashtag with. Thank you very much again. Much appreciated. Go forth and make science awesome for young kids.

[00:26:58]
Sibylle Seidler: Thank you, Ben.

[00:27:01]
Announcer: This is the Fizzics Ed Podcast. We’re all about science, ed tech, and more. To see 100 fun free experiments you can do with your class, go to fizzicseducation.com.au. That’s physics spelled F I Z Z I C S and click 100 free experiments.

[00:27:18]
Ben Newsome: Yes, thanks so much to Sibylle and Heike for jumping on this podcast. I know they are very busy, especially when delivering programmes right across Australia. Listeners, what were you thinking about? I’d love for you to drop me a line, send us an email, or a quick text through our contact us page. I’d love to know what you are thinking. Here are my top three learnings.

[00:27:42]
Ben Newsome: Number one is very much true for all educators, but as early educators, targeting misconceptions. Finding out what kids actually think is so important before you go ahead with your lesson. Ask those kids, especially three to four-year-olds. I can tell you myself, I have a five-year-old son, and he asks so many questions. Only yesterday he was asking questions about how shadows work. Little kids will always ask sort of questions based around what they think, and really finding out what kids know is so important. If you are wondering, jump on our website, type in “misconceptions,” and you will find a huge list of different ways that kids think about the weather, how the sun works, all this stuff. Misconceptions exist right from the young age right through adulthood. Check that out.

[00:28:29]
Ben Newsome: Learning number two. Identify your why. Sibylle talked about this. The more curious you are as an educator, the more the kids will follow you, and I really agree with this. It comes down to enthusiasm. Work out why you are doing science, what is the point of it, and then get curious, get excited, and the kids will certainly follow you without a doubt.

[00:28:50]
Ben Newsome: Number three. Embrace that kids at this age love science. That is it. It doesn’t even matter if you don’t use the word “science.” Ideally, if you can bring in the word “science,” it’s probably good from a literacy point of view, but kids are simply just about exploring and discovery. It is okay if you don’t feel that confident; just take little bits of the time and your confidence will grow.

[00:29:10]
Announcer: Thanks for listening to the Fizzics Ed Podcast. Love your science? We do too. Here’s this episode’s education tip of the week. Grab your pencil and get ready to make some notes.

[00:29:21]
Ben Newsome: This week, it would be remiss of me not to talk about science you could do with young kids, with early learners. Grab your pencil, grab your pen, grab your crayon. We are talking with young kids anyway. These are the experiments that you can definitely do. By the way, if you jump on our website and type “toddler,” you will find links to this as well.

[00:29:41]
Ben Newsome: Here is the first one which certainly grabs kids’ attention. Create rainbow flowers. What I mean by that is get some clear jars or clear cups, put some food colouring in them, and then get some white flowers. Cut their stems off and put them into the food colour. Through transpiration, food colouring will go up through the stems and into the white flowers and start to colour them. You can use this for older kids; you can definitely talk about vascular bundles that are in plants. With young kids, it is simply that there is liquid in plants and they get moved from the roots up to the leaves, and in this case, up to the petals, and the kids can definitely see it because the colours work. Try splitting the stem in half and putting them into different pots, one in red and one in blue, and watching half the flower getting red and half getting blue. They will love that.

[00:30:35]
Ben Newsome: Here is another experiment. Do the classic volcano. What I mean by that is get a lump of sand, put a cup in the middle of the volcano, pour in some water, some bicarbonate soda, and some detergent, and you are almost ready to run your volcano. In a separate cup, put some red food colouring and some vinegar, and simply pour that red-coloured vinegar into the crater of your volcano where you have your bicarb soda, water, and detergent. The reason why you have detergent in that is it will actually trap the carbon dioxide and make the magma or lava as it leaves the volcano become bubbly and flow outwards. Kids do love that. Use the sandpit of your early learning centre; it works a treat.

[00:31:22]
Ben Newsome: Number three. Get some Skittles and do some colour mixing. The way you do this is get a white plate, fill the base of it with water, and add a couple of different Skittles. Let the Skittles’ colour dissolve outwards until the colours meet. The reason that is useful is not only do the kids get to watch the colour, you can introduce the word “dissolve” versus “melting.” Trust me, kids get dissolving and melting easily confused. When you melt something, you add heat, and in this case, you have added a sugary thing into water and the sugar is breaking up and mixing through a liquid. So there is a difference between heating and dissolving. But here is the deal, your Skittles are dissolving into your water, and the colours meet in the centre. Then you pose to the kids, what will happen if you put a sugar cube right in the very centre? The kids will have their guesses, and now they can watch what happens. I’m not even going to say what happens; go and try the experiment yourself.

[00:32:21]
Ben Newsome: Another one. Kids love slime. Go and get some maize starch, some cornflour. By the way, when you buy cornflour, you can buy cornflour which is made out of wheat, and it will not work. Look on the side of the box, it will say “maize,” M-A-I-Z-E. You are really after cornstarch, also known as maize flour or maize starch. Add a bit of water, and you have got yourself some slime, a non-Newtonian fluid. Tell you what, when you do this, get the kids to press the cornflour and water mix. The more they press it, the harder it goes. By the way, you can colour the water as well, and you get blue, red, or pink slime; it looks very cool.

[00:33:04]
Ben Newsome: Other thing you could do is make some coloured shadows. Darken your room, put as much butcher paper on the windows as much as possible, and use torches. Put your flashlights with some cellophane over them. Use red, green, and blue cellophane. Red for one, blue for another, green for the other, and get the kids to create coloured shadows. That is very, very cool because you can put the colours together, and you will get white light, but now put your hand in front of those coloured lights, and you will get shadows behind your hand, and kids really, really like that.

[00:33:38]
Ben Newsome: Another one. Prove that air takes up space. In this case, get yourself a ping pong ball or something else that will float, put it into some water. Turn a clear cup upside down on top of the ping pong ball and push down. Ask the kids, what will happen to the ping pong ball? Will it stay at the top of the water, go to the middle of the water, or go to the bottom of the water? The kids will have their guess, and then you just do the experiment and show that air takes up space. As you push down with your cup, your ping pong ball will go all the way down to the bottom.

[00:34:08]
Ben Newsome: There’s lots of other experiments you could definitely be doing with toddlers, and I highly suggest you jump on our website because there are over 150 science experiments on our site which are freely available, and many of them are certainly worthwhile for early learners. So there you go, there’s your ed tip of the week. Let’s start doing some STEM with young kids.

[00:34:26]
Announcer: This is the Fizzics Ed Podcast. We’re excited about science. Grab a copy of our new book, Be Amazing: How to Teach Science the Way Primary Kids Love from our website. Just search Be Amazing book. It’s available in hard copy and ebook. Go to fizzicseducation.com.au. That’s physics spelled F I Z Z I C S.

[00:34:48]
Ben Newsome: One of the things that came up in our discussions with the Little Scientists was the issue that is often quite common: do we have the confidence to teach the science we have to? One of the things I know that can actually drive this is occasionally the fear of failure, of having stuff mess up when you are doing your science experiment with the kids. Even young kids. You know what, it’s actually a really good learning tool. Way back in episode one, we spoke with Adam Selinger from the Children’s Discovery Centre in Wollongong, and he had a bit of something to say about that.

[00:35:20]
Adam Selinger: So when things go wrong, and I say when things go wrong, you can talk your way out of it and you can say, this is what happens when, and you can talk, and that is then part of a valid way to run a lesson. Because things are not always going to go right, and it’s good if you can perhaps even say, “Hey, this didn’t go right. Who’s got ideas? What did I do wrong?” Sometimes in my shows or workshops, I will deliberately make things fail by deliberately leaving things out, because I want these people to be thinking. I also want them to understand that even a so-called expert, and they’ll perceive me as that if I’m in front of the class, will get things wrong.

[00:35:57]
Ben Newsome: Yes, there you go. There’s another tip. Why not deliberately make your lessons fail? Get the kids, even little four-year-olds, working out where you’ve messed up. That means they’re watching, and they’re thinking critically, and that’s so important.

[00:36:13]
Announcer: Thanks for listening to the Fizzics Ed Podcast. Sign up now for our fortnightly email newsletter. It’s loaded with details on new experiments you can do, STEM teaching articles, new gadgets, exclusive offers, and upcoming events. Go to fizzicseducation.com.au, scroll to the bottom, and add your email.

[00:36:31]
Ben Newsome: And that just about brings us to the end of yet another Fizzics Ed Podcast. Hey, check out next week. We are speaking with Ally Watson, the co-founder of Code Like a Girl. This is such an amazing discussion when it comes to actually getting kids really involved in coding and everything tech, with someone that very much works in the industry before setting up her own business around getting girls into coding. It’s brilliant. Until then, I hope your classrooms are awesome. Make them as informative and interesting as possible. You’ve been speaking with me, Ben Newsome from Fizzics Education, and if you’ve been on the Fizzics Ed Podcast, I’ll catch you next week.

[00:37:04]
Announcer: You’ve been listening to another Fizzics Ed Podcast. We’re excited about science. Subscribe to us on iTunes to download the next episode as soon as it’s released. And don’t forget, for hundreds of ideas, free experiments, our new Be Amazing book and more, go to fizzicseducation.com.au. That’s physics spelled F I Z Z I C S.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the Little Scientists programme?
Little Scientists is a professional development programme originating in Germany that focuses on early childhood educators. It aims to harness the natural curiosity of children aged three to six by enabling educators to create inquiry-based, joyful, and playful STEM learning experiences.

2. Do early childhood educators need a strong background in science to teach STEM?
Not at all. The programme emphasizes that an educator’s attitude and willingness to learn alongside the children are more important than prior scientific knowledge. Curiosity, inquisitiveness, and a willingness to explore the “why” are the key components.

3. How can an early learning centre incorporate STEM without expensive equipment?
Effective STEM learning doesn’t require expensive materials or specialized facilities. Simple, everyday materials like water, sand, cornflour, food colouring, and basic kitchen items can be used for engaging experiments. The focus is on the inquiry-based approach rather than the tools used.

4. How can educators deal with the fear of an experiment failing in front of children?
Embracing failure is a valuable teaching tool. If an experiment doesn’t go as planned, it presents an opportunity to model critical thinking and problem-solving. Educators can involve the children in figuring out what went wrong, demonstrating that science is an ongoing process of discovery.

5. Why is STEM education important for three to six-year-olds?
Early STEM education lays a crucial foundation for future learning. It helps children make sense of the world, develops critical thinking and problem-solving skills, and fosters a positive “I can do this” attitude towards science, preparing them for a smoother transition into primary school curricula.

Extra thought ideas to consider

The Role of the Educator as Co-Learner
Reflect on how the traditional dynamic of the teacher as the “expert” shifts in early STEM education. How does adopting the role of a co-investigator alongside children change the learning environment and build trust?

Integrating STEM with Literacy and Language Development
Consider the example of children calling cornflour dust “smoke.” How can STEM activities be utilized to expand children’s vocabulary and help them articulate their observations more accurately?

Tracking Long-Term Educational Impact
With numerous STEM outreach programmes available, imagine a system that could track a student’s exposure to these initiatives from preschool through university. What insights could we gain about the cumulative effect of early interventions on career choices and lifelong learning?