Research On The Record And Representation In Children’s Science Exploratory Activity

With the advocate of explorative learning, the cultivation of children’s scientific exploratory ability becomes the core objective of science education in kindergarten. As the main approach of children’s communication and sharing, the record and representation plays an important role in science exploratory activity. And it is an essential aspect of scientific exploratory ability. However, children’s record and representation is confronted with some problems, such as the concept and the level difference are not clear and the guidance of teachers is aimless. Therefore, the research of children’s record and representation becomes imperative.From the angle of view of core experience in science, the main content of the research includes three aspects as below. First, what’s the concrete content of children’s record and representation in science exploratory activity? Second, what’s the level difference and expressed features of children’s record and representation? Third, how can the teachers provide the useful guidance and assistance?The brief account of the documents and the interviews of five teachers in Shanghai figure out that the specific content of children’s record and representation mainly includes two respects:the significance for children’s development and children’s different forms of expression. Also, the research is conducted in a random sample of135children from three kindergartens in Shanghai. By the three designed tests and the analysis on children’s works, the study finds out the obvious different features under the different thinking circumstance, including the understanding of the task about the record and representation, the capacity and the forms of the record and representation. At last, on the basis of the document research, the interviews of teachers, the tests in situations and the analysis on children’s works, the research points out eight teaching suggestions for teachers, those are, creating the circumstance for record and representation, leading to the interaction between the children and the materials, making a thinking pattern for exchanging ideas, focusing the process of science exploratory activity, the appropriate intervention, encouraging the various forms of record and representation, designing scientific forms and making the different record contents for different children. By means of these suggestions, the teachers may provide the effective guidance in the process of children’s record and representation, and help the children achieve the communication and sharing, thus improve children’s scientific exploratory ability.