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	Time: 12 hours Level: Introductory

	Introduction Introduction Resource The unit focuses on the knowledge, learning and thinking of children aged between 3 and 8 years old. It has been written for an audience of practitioners working in the full range of early years care and...

	1 General overview 1.1 An overview of the unit Resource The relationship between observation of children and educational theory is central to the teaching of this unit: the theory should help you make sense of what you observe, while your observations should... 1.2 What the unit is about Resource This unit is about the ways in which we come to know and make sense of the world, in particular how we do this using the media of language, mathematics and science. 1.3 Language, mathematics and science in the unit Resource Because of the schooled culture we have grown up in, we are likely to recognise language, mathematics and science as distinct ‘ways of knowing’. The words ‘language’, ‘mathematics’ and ‘science’ probably... 1.4 Subject knowledge Resource Subject knowledge is a critical factor at every point in the teaching process: in planning, assessing and diagnosing, task setting, questioning, explaining and giving feedback. 1.5 Talking, thinking and learning Resource One of the main points which the unit will be making is that information and knowledge are not the same thing and that, in order to learn, learners have to engage actively with new information. We hope...

	2 Knowing in context: language 2.1 Language in everyday life Resource Language is an ever-present feature of human life. In the developed world in particular, we are surrounded by language. Radio and television provide a soundtrack to the lives of many people. Written language... 2.2 Language and shopping Resource The concept of self-service has reduced the use of spoken language dramatically, and nowadays shopping transactions may involve no more than the exchange of a few words. However, uses of literacy in shopping... 2.3 ‘English’ as a school subject Resource In official UK curricula, language appears as a curriculum subject under a range of labels. In all four UK countries – England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales – the curricula for the 3–5 years age... 2.4 What do we know about language? Resource One aspect of language that illustrates the division between school and non-school language is grammar. Many people lack confidence in this subject, so we would like you now to reflect on what this term... 2.5 Communicating with language Resource It has been suggested that our ‘linguistic competence’ (Chomsky, 1965) consists simply of the ability to construct ‘well-formed sentences’. The sociolinguist Del Hymes (1979) considered this notion to... 2.6 Context and language variation Resource As well as contributing to meaning, context can also influence the actual words and sentences that we use. Do you sometimes say ‘Hi’ and at other times say ‘Good morning’? Do you have a ‘telephone voice’?... Summary Resource In this section, you have begun to explore your knowledge about what language is and how you use it in your everyday life. In particular, you have seen that:

	3 Language, mathematics and science in context 3 Language, mathematics and science in context Resource In the opening part of this unit we argued that, as human beings, we are constantly engaging with the world through mechanisms called ‘ways of knowing’, and that three important ways of knowing are language,...

	4 Knowing and thinking in mathematics 4.1 From awareness to understanding Resource In this section the mathematical content is more obvious as we talk explicitly about what it means to know and to think in mathematics. We will also address your own personal knowledge in the subject. 4.2 Knowing mathematics Resource How much mathematics do you think you know? You may feel that you know quite a lot, or that you are ‘out of practice’ and have forgotten much of it; or perhaps you were never very secure in your mathematical... 4.3 Thinking mathematics Resource ‘Thinking mathematically’ is something that everyone does. It involves: Summary Resource In this section, you have had the opportunity to work on some mathematical activities yourself. This should have enabled you to:

	5 The social construction of scientific knowledge Introduction to the social construction of scientific knowledge Resource This section explores how scientific knowledge and scientific literacy can be built up through working in communities of practice (groups of people who work together and share a common language). We also... 5.1 Scientists as a community of practice Resource Science has been described as involving observation, description, categorisation, investigation, experimentation and formation of theoretical explanations for naturally occurring phenomena – activities... 5.2 Objectivity and subjectivity, induction and deduction Resource The purposes of scientific enquiry are to describe, explain, predict and control (Reaves, 1992). Through scientific training, natural curiosity is developed into objective, empirical (experience-based)... 5.3 A brief history of scientific revolutions Resource We now go on to look at the history and traditions of scientific discovery. As an early years practitioner, you will find this survey useful in helping you to challenge the prevailing perception of science... 5.4 How society constructs scientific thinking Resource To understand science, it is important that we appreciate the contexts in which discoveries are made or suppressed. We can see from the account on the previous page that human understanding of the universe... 5.5 Public understanding and perception of science Resource Everyday reality presents itself not just through the senses but intersubjectively (Berger and Luckmann, 1966) – that is, we form meanings about the world because we talk to others about what we perceive.... 5.6 Summary Resource This section of the unit has made you aware that:

	6 Conclusion 6.1 Knowledge and society Resource If I have seen farther than others, it is because I was standing on the shoulders of giants. 6.2 Shaping knowledge Resource It seems inevitable that any understandings we have will have been shaped and influenced by other (past and present) members of the same culture(s) we belong to. Most of these influences ‘just happen’:... 6.3 Meaning in action and interaction Resource Earlier in this unit you considered the importance of manipulating and articulating information in order to understand it. This kind of behaviour is at the heart of constructivist and social-constructivist...

	References and Acknowledgements References Resource Acknowledgements Resource

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