Creative Little Scientists: enabling creativity through science and mathematics in preschool and first years of primary education: exemplary teacher training materials (D5.3)

Abstract

This report focuses on the Exemplary Teacher Training Materials. The aim of these materials is to illustrate the teacher education Curriculum Design Principles and related Teacher Outcomes, which were developed during Work Package 5 as part of D5.2 Guidelines and Curricula for Teacher Training and can also be found in this report. They are designed for teacher educators to use in Initial Teacher Education (ITE) and teacher Continuing Professional Development (CPD). They aim to extend professional understanding and enhance professional development in order to foster creativity in science and mathematics education in the early years. This report explains the methodology used to develop the materials, the nature and structure of the materials and includes suggestions for their use in all phases of teacher education. Methodology used to develop the exemplary teacher training materials In the Creative Little Scientists project, the comparative research and the in-depth fieldwork in particular identified significant issues that need to be tackled in teacher education in order to foster creativity in science and mathematics education in the early years. Based on these issues the teacher education Content Design Principles, created during the curriculum design research, were refined, and a set of Teacher Outcomes developed. To produce the Exemplary Teacher Training Materials, classroom examples of creative learning and teaching were selected using these Content Design Principles and related Teacher Outcomes. All partners re-visited their data from the in-depth fieldwork (Work Package 4) to select pertinent images, interviews or classroom extracts that evidenced one or more of the Teacher Outcomes. To support and record the selection process a grid was provided where partners could record links between the fieldwork data selected, Teacher Outcomes and factors associated with creativity in learning and teaching in science and mathematics. Templates were then used to structure the classroom materials and provide consistent information about the contexts from which they were drawn. Teacher training materials: an overview and how to use them In total 169 templates are available containing exemplary materials from fieldwork for use in teacher education. These are structured in an Excel-file and can be found on the website http://www.creative-little-scientists.eu. In order to support the full use of this diverse range of resources for teacher training, suggestions are provided in this report of selection and use of these exemplary materials in relation to particular themes and associated Content Design Principles as follows: o Suggestion 1: Use of questions and ideas of children by teachers (Principles 10 and 11) o Suggestion 2: Resources and learning environment as essential context factors for Creativity and Inquiry (Principles 10, 14, 17) o Suggestion 3: Focus on the nature of science – a link with creativity (Principle 3) o Suggestion 4: Focus on Inquiry Based Science Education – link with creativity (Principle 6) o Suggestion 5: Focus on Practical Investigations which foster creativity (Principles 2, 17) o Suggestion 6: Collaboration/group work in inquiry and creativity based approaches (Principle 15) o Suggestion 7: The role of play in inquiry and creativity based approaches (Principles 7, 8, 17) o Suggestion 8: The use of the various modes of expression and representation of science and mathematics learning to support inquiry and the development of creativity – link with assessment (Principles 7, 9) o Suggestion 9: The role of the teacher in Inquiry and Creativity approaches (Principles 1, 7, 11) o Suggestion 10: Cross curricular project work to foster inquiry and creativity (Principle 6) The suggestions above are carefully chosen since they encourage inquiry and creativity in science and mathematics education for early years, by focusing on the synergies between Inquiry-Based Science Education (IBSE) and Creative Approaches (CA): play and exploration; motivation and affect; dialogue and collaboration; problem solving and agency; questioning and curiosity; reflection and reasoning; teacher scaffolding and involvement; and assessment for learning. As noted in the Conceptual Framework (D2.2) and experienced during the in-depth fieldwork, developing contexts for inquiry and exploration which foster creative learning, and achieving a balance between teacher intervention and children collaboration, as well as teacher standing back and learner agency, represent considerable professional challenges. The provided exemplary teacher training materials and associated suggestions for their use help address these challenges.