Developing a database of inquiry-science activities in the early years

Abstract

The vision for science education document subscribes to the inquiry-based approach in science education; also, including the Early Years (3-7 years). The European Commission also invested in many projects aimed at developing and promoting educational material in inquiry-science among them, also with the Early Years. The aim of this dissertation is to identify resources in inquiry science developed by these projects as well as other educational websites, and to put together a database on the internet which can be used by early years’ teachers. The methodology involves the following: identifying projects that developed inquiry activities in the early years; classifying and categorizing the resources; developing a simple, user friendly database online using WordPress, which allows links as well as documents which ca be accessed; and inviting teachers to browse through the database and to carry out an evaluation of the database. Different research tools (interviews and questionnaires) were used to evaluate the database developed by the researcher. The database was distributed amongst all early years’ educators working within state schools in Malta. The evaluation investigated the relevance of the database, the information provided and, the user-friendliness. Most of the teachers interviewed and those who answered the questionnaire indicated that they liked the database mainly because it provided a direct link to activities, identifying themes, topics and ages for whom the inquiry activities were directed. The teachers also highlighted that it helped them learn science themselves.