Preschool Children's Science Learning: Instructional Approaches and Individual Differences

Early science skills predict later science achievement, and persistent achievement gaps in science appear as early as preschool. The current study compared the effectiveness of different instructional approaches for teaching preschoolers about sinking and floating and examined individual differences in learning. Participants were typically developing 4-5-year-olds (N=93; 47% female). Children were randomly assigned to an Explicit Instruction, Discovery Learning, or No-Instruction Control condition. A pre-post-test design was used to measure change in children's knowledge of sinking and floating using an assessment created for the current study. Participants also completed measures of executive function (i.e., Minnesota Executive Function Scale, Statue Task, Backward Word Span) and non-verbal and verbal IQ (i.e., Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales). Results showed that children in the Explicit Instruction condition learned more than children in the other two groups. Additionally, individual differences in age, socioeconomic status, IQ, and executive function predicted learning, although only age and SES were uniquely predictive when all variables were included in the model. Lastly, children's sinking and floating pre-test scores significantly interacted with instructional condition to predict learning. Among children in the Discovery Learning condition, those with more prior knowledge gained more after instruction than children with less prior knowledge.

These findings highlight the importance of considering how learner characteristics might influence the effectiveness of different instructional approaches.