Course Information
SemesterCourse Unit CodeCourse Unit TitleT+P+LCreditNumber of ECTS CreditsLast Updated Date
4EEC201Early Childhood Science Education3+0+03421.10.2026
Course Details
Language of Instruction Turkish
Level of Course Unit Bachelor's Degree
Department / Program Pre-School Teaching
Type of Program Formal Education
Type of Course Unit Compulsory
Course Delivery Method Face To Face
Objectives of the Course This course aims to enable pre-service teachers to: (A1) understand the definition and importance of science education in early childhood, the nature of science and the process of acquiring basic science concepts; (A2) critically examine principles and standards in science education, the science domain of the MoNE (2026) curriculum and science programs used in early childhood education; (A3) gain skills in planning and implementing science activities using methods and techniques and learning centres that support science process skills and scientific thinking; (A4) recognize the principles of safety, respect for living things and environmental sensitivity in science education and the contribution of nature-based learning and family involvement to sustainability awareness.
Course Content Definition, importance and goals of science education in early childhood; nature of science and scientific literacy; development of science concepts and misconceptions; principles and standards in science education and the science domain in the MoNE (2026) curriculum; planning science activities; basic and integrated science process skills and experimentation; methods and techniques, inquiry-based learning; science and nature centre, outdoor and nature-based learning; thinking routines; integrating science with other domains and STEM; the project approach; early childhood science programs around the world; basic science concepts (living things, matter, force and motion, light and sound, earth and sky); safety, respect for living things, sustainability and family involvement; implementing science activities through micro-teaching.
Course Methods and Techniques Lecture, question and answer, discussion, demonstration and experiment, inquiry-based activities, thinking routines, group work, activity plan preparation, micro-teaching and peer feedback.
Prerequisites and co-requisities None
Course Coordinator None
Name of Lecturers Asist Prof.Dr. Mehmet Ceylan mehmet.ceylan@hku.edu.tr
Assistants None
Work Placement(s) No

Recommended or Required Reading
Resources Uludağ, G. (Ed.). (2020). Erken çocukluk döneminde fen eğitimi: "Çocuğun keşif yolculuğu" [Science education in early childhood: "The child ` s journey of discovery"]. Nobel Akademik Yayıncılık.
Ministry of National Education. (2026). Türkiye Century Maarif Model preschool education curriculum. MoNE.
Akerson, V. L., Buck, G. A., Donnelly, L. A., Nargund-Joshi, V., & Weiland, I. S. (2011). The importance of teaching and learning nature of science in the early childhood years. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 20(5), 537–549.
Akman, B. (Ed.). Erken çocukluk döneminde fen eğitimi [Science education in early childhood]. Anı Yayıncılık.
Aktaş Arnas, Y. Okul öncesi dönemde fen eğitimi [Science education in the preschool period]. Vize Yayıncılık.
Eshach, H., & Fried, M. N. (2005). Should science be taught in early childhood? Journal of Science Education and Technology, 14(3), 315–336.
Katz, L. G., & Chard, S. C. (2000). Engaging children ` s minds: The project approach (2nd ed.). Ablex.
National Research Council. (2012). A framework for K–12 science education: Practices, crosscutting concepts, and core ideas. National Academies Press.
Ritchhart, R., Church, M., & Morrison, K. (2011). Making thinking visible: How to promote engagement, understanding, and independence for all learners. Jossey-Bass.
Worth, K., & Grollman, S. (2003). Worms, shadows, and whirlpools: Science in the early childhood classroom. Heinemann.
Fondation La main à la pâte. La main à la pâte. https://fondation-lamap.org/
National Research Council. (1996). National science education standards. National Academy Press.
National Science Teachers Association. (2014). NSTA position statement: Early childhood science education. NSTA.
NGSS Lead States. (2013). Next generation science standards: For states, by states. National Academies Press. https://www.nextgenscience.org/
Project Zero. Thinking routines toolbox. Harvard Graduate School of Education. https://pz.harvard.edu/thinking-routines
Course Notes Uludağ, G. (Ed.). (2020). Erken çocukluk döneminde fen eğitimi [Science education in early childhood]. Nobel Akademik Yayıncılık.
Ministry of National Education. (2026). Türkiye Century Maarif Model preschool education curriculum.
Lecture notes, the activity plan template and assessment criteria are shared via Google Classroom.

Course Category
Field %100

Planned Learning Activities and Teaching Methods
Activities are given in detail in the section of "Assessment Methods and Criteria" and "Workload Calculation"

Assessment Methods and Criteria
In-Term Studies Quantity Percentage
Mid-terms 1 % 30
Assignment 5 % 20
Final examination 1 % 50
Total
7
% 100

 
ECTS Allocated Based on Student Workload
Activities Quantity Duration Total Work Load
Course Duration 14 3 42
Hours for off-the-c.r.stud 14 1 14
Assignments 5 4 20
Presentation 5 4 20
Mid-terms 1 10 10
Final examination 1 14 14
Total Work Load   Number of ECTS Credits 4 120

 
Course Learning Outcomes: Upon the successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
Bilgi 
1 Explains the definition, importance and goals of science education in early childhood by relating them to the nature of science and scientific literacy.
Beceri 
2 Identifies misconceptions by analyzing children ` s explanations of basic science concepts within the framework of cognitive development theories.
3 Comparatively evaluates principles and standards in science education and science programs used in early childhood education in terms of the science domain of the MoNE (2026) curriculum.
4 Distinguishes science process skills with examples from children ` s behaviour and selects, with justification, methods, techniques and learning centre arrangements that support each skill.
Yetkinlik 
5 Designs developmentally appropriate, inquiry-based science activities related to MoNE (2026) learning outcomes, together with plan-specific materials.
6 Implements the designed science activities through micro-teaching and improves them based on peer feedback.
7 Develops nature-based activity and family involvement proposals that support sustainability awareness, based on the principles of safety, respect for living things and environmental sensitivity.

 
Weekly Detailed Course Contents
WeekTopicsStudy MaterialsMaterials
1 Course introduction. Definition, importance and aims of science education in early childhood Weekly reading. Study questions: Are children "little scientists"? What is the difference between a science activity and a "demonstration experiment"? Syllabus; Uludağ (2020), Ch. 1; optional: Ch. 14; Eshach & Fried (2005)
2 The nature of science, scientific literacy and the scope of science education Weekly reading. Study questions: How can a five-year-old be helped to notice the difference between "observation" and "inference"? How can the tentative nature of scientific knowledge be reflected to children? Uludağ (2020), Ch. 2; optional: Akerson et al. (2011); NRC (2012), Ch. 3
3 How do children learn science concepts? Concept development and misconceptions Weekly reading. Study questions: How does a child who says "The sun follows us" think? Is it more effective to correct a misconception directly or to let the child test their idea? Uludağ (2020), Ch. 4
4 Principles and standards in science education, the science domain of the MoNE (2026) programme and planning science activities Weekly reading. Study questions: How do content-based standards and a skill-based curriculum guide activity selection differently? What should be written in the evaluation section of an activity plan? Uludağ (2020), Ch. 1 and 13; MoNE (2026), science domain, Appendices 1, 6, 7; NRC (1996)
5 Science process skills I: basic skills Weekly reading. Study questions: How do "This stone is pretty" and "This stone is rough and heavy" differ as observations? What is the difference between a scientific prediction and a random guess? Uludağ (2020), Ch. 5; MoNE (2026), observation, classification and prediction skills
6 Science process skills II: integrated skills and experiments Weekly reading. Study questions: What must be held constant to turn "Which ball bounces higher?" into a fair test? How should an unexpected experimental result be handled? Uludağ (2020), Ch. 5 and lecture notes; MoNE (2026), experimenting, inference, evidence and inquiry skills
7 Methods and techniques in science education; inquiry-based learning Weekly reading. Study questions: How do "What happened?" and "Why do you think it happened?" direct children ` s thinking differently? When should the teacher intervene in guided inquiry? Uludağ (2020), Ch. 7 and 13; optional: Ch. 9
8 Midterm exam Review of weeks 1–7 Uludağ (2020); MoNE (2026)
9 Learning environments in science education: science and nature centre, outdoor and nature-based learning Weekly reading. Study questions: What makes a science centre active? What learning opportunities and responsibilities does keeping a living thing in class bring? Uludağ (2020), Ch. 18; MoNE (2026), learning environments; lecture notes
10 Thinking routines in science education Weekly reading. Study questions: How does the "See-Think-Wonder" routine support the distinction between observation and inference? How can routines be used without becoming mechanical? Uludağ (2020), Ch. 6; optional: Ritchhart et al. (2011); Project Zero
11 Integrating science with other areas and STEM Weekly reading. Study questions: How does the science goal remain visible in an integrated activity? How does the engineering design process differ from scientific inquiry? Uludağ (2020), Ch. 3 and 10; optional: Ch. 11 and 20
12 The project approach Weekly reading. Study questions: What distinguishes a project from a thematic week? What roles can families and the community take in a project? Uludağ (2020), Ch. 8 and 15; optional: Katz & Chard (2000)
13 Early childhood science programmes in the world: Wings of Discovery, Tool Kit for Early Childhood Science Education, La main à la pâte Weekly reading. Study questions: What makes a science program "inquiry-based"? How can the principles of La main à la pâte be adapted to classrooms in Türkiye? Uludağ (2020), Ch. 16 and 17; lecture notes; optional: La main à la pâte; Worth & Grollman (2003)
14 Acquisition of basic science concepts: living things, matter, force and motion, light and sound, earth and sky Weekly reading. Study questions: How should abstract topics such as seasons and day and night be addressed in preschool? How has your view of science teaching changed during the term? Uludağ (2020), Ch. 12 and 15; MoNE (2026), Appendix 7; optional: Ch. 21
15 Overall review Review of all topics Uludağ (2020); MoNE (2026)
16 Final exam Review of all topics Uludağ (2020); MoNE (2026)

 
Sustainable Development Goals
Contribution of Learning Outcomes to Programme Outcomes
P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 P6 P7 P8 P9 P10 P11 P12 P13 P14
All 5 5 5 5 5 3 4 3 5 4 3 4 4 4
In1 1 4 3 3 2
Sk2 5 3 5 2 4 3 3 2
Sk3 5 4 3 3
Sk4 3 5 3 3 5 2 4
Co5 4 4 3 5 3 2 2 5 2 2
Co6 3 3 5 5 2 5 2 4
Co7 2 3 3 4 2 2 4 4

  Contribution: 1: Very Slight 2:Slight 3:Moderate 4:Significant 5:Very Significant