Abstract
Concerns are escalating with regard to “science and technology phobia” or “science phobia” in junior and senior high school education in Japan. While numerous policies have been implemented to cater to this issue, few efforts are being made in education to try to nurture scientific and technological literacy in childhood. Gopnik (2009) shows that while careful observations of young children will reveal differences in their level of precision or competence, young children and scientists share a sense of innate curiosity that makes them want to know more about the world through experiment and observation. The purpose of the Kids Science Academy project was to develop and implement a STEM program for 5–8-year-old children to develop and help transform the primitive intellectual curiosity of young children into scientific inquiry and scientific worldviews using technological tools. This chapter presents results on the rich STEM learning of gifted young children achieved through the implementation of the program from 2010, and on the curriculum and worksheet materials developed in conjunction therewith. Also, the results of questionnaire for parents about the growth of children are presented. The author proposes needs to provide quality opportunities for children to encounter STEM at an early age and goes beyond the dichotomy of experience-oriented versus knowledge-oriented approaches to science education for the early years.
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Sumida, M. (2015). Kids Science Academy: Talent Development in STEM from the Early Childhood Years. In: Khine, M. (eds) Science Education in East Asia. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16390-1_10
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