Creating Embedded Opportunities for Further Learning

Problem-Solving Skills

how2 Create Embedded Opportunities for Further Learning

Creating embedded opportunities for further learning is a proactive process that impacts not only your choice of content and the science story, but also the contextual child-referenced connection your class can make to the content. Content that lacks child-world context, a reference point, will likely not leave a lasting impression on the child and as such will not have a high retention value after the in-class exploration has concluded. A lack of child-world context means the child will likely not encounter the content, as it was presented, again. see: MC²-Making Content Count

Content & Context. In selecting science topics to explore, look at the child’s world. What is familiar? What is part of their routine? What can they do on their own? What can they observe directly, repeatedly and independently?

Example: how2CLOUDS. Choosing to explore clouds in their various forms provides embedded opportunities for further learning each and every day (except perhaps in the desert). Any day, every day, a child can look up at the clouds in the sky. What they learned during an in-class exploration of clouds is reinforced each time they see clouds. Their appreciation and knowledge about the “science” of clouds is ongoing. They can repeat the “look up at the clouds” exercise independently. Most importantly, they can easily use the sky’s canvas as a visual tool as they re-tell the science story, in whole or in part, to a parent in answer to the ever-present question…“what did you do today?”

Developing Memorable Science Story Elements. As noted in the cloud example, the sky provides the necessary cues and visuals to facilitate a child’s ability to re-tell their science story. Another means of creating an embedded opportunity for further learning is to include an in-class, take-home activity or project. Using clouds as an example, your semi-theatrical description of the three main categories of clouds as, “wispy, fluffy and thick as a blanket” can be complemented with a bit of “art” showing each cloud type, respectively (see: how2CLOUDS).

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