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 Here's a recent publication that reviews the current developmental aspects of children in learning, in case it is of interest.

Available on the National Academies Press for a free online read

http://books.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11625

or request it from Swarthmore

http://tripod.brynmawr.edu/record=b3193546

Description of book:

What is science for a child? How do children learn about science and how to do science? Drawing on a vast array of work from neuroscience to classroom observation, Taking Science to School provides a comprehensive picture of what we know about teaching and learning science from kindergarten through eighth grade. By looking at a broad range of questions, this book provides a basic foundation for guiding science teaching and supporting students in their learning. Taking Science to School answers such questions as:

• When do children begin to learn about science? Are there critical stages in a child's development of such scientific concepts as mass or animate objects?

• What role does nonschool learning play in children's knowledge of science?

• How can science education capitalize on children's natural curiosity?

• What are the best tasks for books, lectures, and hands-on learning?

• How can teachers be taught to teach science?

The book also provides a detailed examination of how we know what we know about children's learning of science about the role of research and evidence. This book will be an essential resource for everyone involved in K-8 science education teachers, principals, boards of education, teacher education providers and accreditors, education researchers, federal education agencies, and state and federal policy makers. It will also be a useful guide for parents and others interested in how children learn.